Built 1836 Opened 1836 Added to NRHP 13 November 1989 | NRHP Reference # 89001948 Area 4,000 m² | |
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Location 203 W. Genesee St., Auburn, New York Architectural styles Greek Revival architecture, Neoclassical architecture Similar Willard Memorial Chapel, Cayuga Museum of History, Fort Hill Cemetery, William H Seward House | ||
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
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.