149 South Fitzhugh Street

This beautiful and rare sadly abused house is consistant with the conditions that many other buyers faced and overcame in restoring Third Ward homes.

Style and Features:

It is the Third Ward's only formal city house in the Gothic Revival Style.
The designer emphasized the verticality of the Gothic by dividing the facade into three tall narrow sections, by defining the corners of the brick walls with stone quoins.
The interior once was equally fine but rain and snow have taken their toll and thieves have taken all the marble fireplaces.
The current owners have restored the plaster moldings and ceiling rosetts, the tall panel doors and interior window shutters.
An unusual feature is the graceful staircase, curving from the back of the hall up over the front entrance and around to the bedrooms, the reverse of the typical arrangement.

The site was puchased by Abelard Reynolds, a pioneer who had come to the Falls of the Genesee soon after Colonel Rochester founded the village.
The house was rented and later sold to C. Henry Amsden, a teller in 1871.
Later owners included Seth J. Arnold, a dry goods wholesaler, and James Mathews, a lawyer.
Gerald Dyer moved into the house in the 1920s and converted the carriage house into a double; at one time the house was split up into 8 separate dwelling units.
The house was vacant and deteriorated whn the Urban Renewal Project bought it in 1968.
It suffered further decay until it was sold at auction to Karl and Dr. Valentina Fascher, who later restored the house in 1975.