440 East Buffalo Street

This house was built between 1873 and 1874 for Judge Marcus Lyon (1827-1899). It is a solid example of late nineteenth-century architecture, blending Queen Anne features with Gothic Revival. (Some historians would call this house an example of High Victorian Gothic.)

Gothic Revival architecture, popular from 1840 to 1880, is characterized by strong vertical proportions. Typical features include steeply pitched gables and dormers, pointed-arch window heads, and fancy gable and roof ornamentation including bargeboards, finials, and cresting.

The brickwork, the iron cresting, and the elaborate porch spindles on this house have led some people to attribute it to William Henry Miller because these were some of his favorite devices.

The house was purchased in 1888 by Jared T. Newman (1855-1937; an attorney and partner of Charles Blood in the development of Cayuga Heights) and remained in the Newman family until the 1920s, when it became the Sigma Alpha Iota sorority house for Ithaca College. It now contains offices and apartments.

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