North Tonawanda History Museum © 202 Niagara Street

Boat craftsman’s home - Philippine mahogany, 3 bathrooms with colored 1930’s bathroom fixtures

A bit of Normandy in North Tonawanda. This mansion was designed in the French Eclectic style, which was sometimes referred to as Norman Cottage; the design was drawn from medieval farmhouses of Normandy in France.

The exterior of this large cross-gabled house has several notable features. The most prominent feature is the round stucco-clad tower capped by a conical roof, which contains the main entrance. Diamond pane windows in the tower and small half-timbered dormers further accentuate the medieval flavor; the use of clinker (misshapen) bricks on the exterior heightens the picturesque effect.

The extremely wide windows on the first floor are a very unusual feature for the period. The main rooms of the interior are grouped around the circular reception hall in the base of the tower. Much of the wood in the interior is Philippine mahogany, the same material that the original owner used to build boats.

Also notable are the original fixtures in the bathrooms, and the counterweight door closer in the front hall. Another unique feature is a built in shoe shine stand in the back hall.

At the rear of the property is the original brick garage, built to match the house.

This house was built in 1930 for George R. Richardson, president of the Richardson Boat Co., a very successful local boat-building firm. Established in 1909 as a one-man operation, the company lasted for 53 years. Richardson established its position as a major boat builder, employing over 200 workers in the North Tonawanda plant. The company built patrol craft during World War II in place of its wide range of pleasure boats, earning commendations from the Federal government for its war work. The range of Richardson boats covered custom built to order cruisers, sailboats, runabouts, hydroplanes, government work boats, military craft, and (in later years) molded plywood and aluminum hull experiments.

The company was known for one of its methods of boat deliveries, inaugurated in the 1930’s, the Richardson “Sailaways.” The sheer magnitude of these events, dozens of brand new boats, many with first time boat owners, taking off on a 500 mile trek from the Richardson Boat factory in North Tonawanda, along the Erie Canal, down the Hudson River to New York City, generated tremendous publicity.

Richardson was commonly known as Reid rather than George. Richardson yachts and cruisers were crafted with Philippine mahogany. The home is believed to have been built by Richardson Boat Company employees when business was slow during the Depression so the employees wouldn’t have to be laid off.