Dr. Sylvester Willard Mansion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Dr. Sylvester Willard Mansion
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Dr. Sylvester Willard Mansion
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| Location | 203 W. Genesee St., Auburn, New York |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1836 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Neoclassical |
| NRHP reference No. | 89001948 |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1989 |
Dr. Sylvester Willard Mansion, also known as the Cayuga Museum of History and Art, is a historic mansion and related outbuildings located in Auburn, Cayuga County, New York state.
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Architecture
The Willard Mansion is a monumental Greek Revival style brick mansion, originally built in 1836-1843 by Dr. Sylvester Willard. It had Classical Revival wings added in the late 19th century. It is a two-story, five bay, center hall building, resting on a stone foundation.
The front facade features a monumental Greek Revival pedimented portico with massive fluted Ionic columns. A large dining wing and small palazzo-like wing was added to the main block in the 1870s-1880s. The interior features a rare example of a Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company domestic window added about 1894-1896.
The property also includes an ornate, late 19th century cast iron fence with stone pillars, and an elaborate wrought iron garden gate with cast iron embellishments.
Cinema research
- See also: Theodore Case Sound Test: Gus Visser and His Singing Duck
In 1916, the Willard Mansion was acquired by Theodore Case (1888–1944). He converted several outbuildings to pursue his cinema technology research projects: a former 19th century carriage house, converted into an experimental movie studio, and a former 19th century greenhouse, converted in 1916 to the Case Research Laboratory, to support his research into sound-on-film technology.
Ted Case was an American physicist and inventor known for the invention of the Movietone optical sound-on-film method for sound films ("talkies").
Museum
The property now houses the Cayuga Museum of History and Art and Case Research Lab. It is a history museum with collections of fine art and local history, and a cinema museum presenting the work of the Case Research Laboratory.
The Dr. Sylvester Willard Mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Gallery
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Tiffany window.
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Tiffany window detail.
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Tiffany window close-up detail.
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Elaborate cast and wrought iron garden gate.
