Tour of Historic Knox Mansion Provides STEP BACK IN TIME
In October 2021, Buffalo attorney Ross Cellino moved his law firm into the Knox Mansion at 800 Delaware Avenue. Designed by architect Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert, the French Renaissance-style mansion was built for Seymour Knox, co-founder of the Woolworth and Knox department stores. Before it was completed in 1918, the patriarch unexpectedly died.
Knox’s widow, Grace Millard Knox, oversaw completion of the 28,000-square-foot home where she raised their three children. It’s replete with polished marble, including a stunning marble staircase off the foyer, several ornate fireplaces, amazing dentils and plasterwork, and a rotunda with ceiling paintings in the neo-classical style and a Tiffany stained-glass window designed like a peacock. The public had the opportunity to tour the breathtaking residence during the 2021 Decorators’ Show House that ran August 21 through September 18.
“It is one of Buffalo’s grandest mansions,” said Megan Ortolani, public relations chair for the signature event. “Much of its original architecture has been preserved.” During the biennial event that is sponsored by the Junior League of Buffalo and The Buffalo News, local designers work their magic on a different house. Since its inception in 1981, the event has raised more than $4.4 million for the Western New York community. This year, the designers decorated 37 different spaces.
“One of my favorite spaces was the drawing room, which was done by Michael Poczkalski, owner of room on Hertel,” Ortolani said. “He worked with Red Disk studio, which created wallpaper that was designed by artist Karen Matchette. It features illustrations of old Buffalo homes, including the Knox Mansion.”
Conley Interiors designed the grand music room with a soaring ceiling and chandeliers; Mark Taylor Interiors designed the dining room; and Lockwood Greenhouse provided potted plants in the entryway.
“It felt historic,” she said. “They decorated the first floor as it might have looked in the 1920s.”
And the selection of the Knox house is apt; Grace Millard Knox hosted Buffalo’s first Junior League meeting in 1919. She or her children lived in the home over the next 50 years. Computer Task Group (CTG) was the most recent occupant, purchasing the house in 1978, and was a “tremendous steward,” according to Cellino. The only major renovation was a 20,000-square-foot addition made by the Montefiore Club to house athletic facilities in the 1970s. The addition is where the Cellino attorneys and support staff now work. Cellino and his wife live part time in the main residence.
After the show house ended, Cellino bought a few favorite pieces of furniture and art to keep in the house he’s made his own.
“I feel honored and privileged to continue to maintain this structure for Buffalo,” he said.