Three-and-one-half-story brick and clapboard vernacular residence,
irregular massing, three-and-one-half-story tower with mansard roof with
paired occuli, second story wraparound porch.
Near West Side District National Parks Application.
Written by a HistoryForge volunteer:
Another grand mansion is up for sale in Elmira and I think most of us are excited to see an ambitious rehabilitator tackle it.
359 West Church St, is known as The Richardson-Kennedy House or The Ritz Carriage House. No matter what you call it, we all hope to see it be built back to the grandeur it had many years ago.
The home was built by the very successful Elmira boot & shoe manufacturer Jackson Richardson in 1870. The well known family made their home there for about 40 years. After the death of Jackson Richardson, his son Fred notoriously ran his father’s company into the ground and squandered the family fortune. In 1909 the magnificent home was assessed at $50,000, and would cost $70,000 to build, but was purchased for a mere $8,000 by the Chemung Canal Trust Company.
Our 1910 Census shows Daniel Kennedy, President of Kennedy Valve Co, and his family lived in the mansion. From the census we can see he and his wife are Irish immigrants, and their sons Matthew and Daniel are employed in the family business. The Kennedy family and their descendants lived and raised their family there until 1958.
Since the Kennedy family there have been several owners. The rear of the large home was lost to fire in 2007, in 2009 it was under threat of demolition by the city. Since then it has been sitting, waiting for the right person to save it. JD Iles of Hidden Landmarks did a great video of the inside, she sure needs a lot of love but could be magnificent again.