Mrs. Seymour H. Knox House
The Mrs. Seymour H. Knox House is a 48,000-square-foot mansion located in Buffalo, New York, which was built between 1915 and 1918. The house was designed by architect C. P. H. Gilbert for Grace Millard Knox, widow of Seymour H. Knox. The building is a contributing property to the Delaware Avenue [Historic District (Buffalo, New York)|Delaware Avenue Historic District] designated in 1974.
History
In 1915, Grace Knox, the recent widow of Seymour H. Knox, purchased property on Delaware Avenue north of Summer Street. The Knoxes lived at 1035 Delaware Avenue previously. Grace hired New York City architect C. P. H. Gilbert to replace an older Italianate house that stood on the property with a new residence. The resulting structure was an extravagant stone mansion built over the course of three years that was completed in 1918. The house was designed in the French Renaissance style with a symmetrical façade and a U-shaped floor plan. The projecting side pavilions flank a recessed central elevation with French doors on the ground floor topped with round arches.After the house was completed, Grace moved in with her three children, Seymour Jr., Marjorie, and Dorothy Knox. She lived there until her death in 1936, after which her eldest daughter, Marjorie, inherited the house. Marjorie sold it to the Montefiore Club in 1969.
Recent ownership
The Montefiore Club added a 20,000-square-foot addition to the building to house athletic facilities to the rear of the building, which included a gym, locker rooms, and three squash courts. In 1978, CTG purchased the property, which they used as their corporate offices.In December 2020, it was announced that attorney Ross Cellino purchased the Knox Mansion for $2,470,000 million from Computer Task Group in June 2020. Cellino announced that he planned to make the house the new corporate headquarters for Cellino Law, the law firm he formed after the breakup of Cellino & Barnes. Cellino also plans to fully restore the mansion.