Historic Tour - Potter Place: Past & Present 2015
Held Sunday, October 4, 2015
Potter Place: Past and Present was the theme of the annual House Tour sponsored by the Perinton Historical Society.
Visitors had the opportunity to tour seven homes on Potter Place. These homes represent several popular architectural styles of the 1920’s, 30’s, and 50’s, including Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Prairie, and Minimal Traditional/Cape Cod.
This home at 54 Potter Place, which was on the tour, is an outstanding example of the Colonial Revival style home built in 1926.
During the tour the Society hosted a reception at the Potter Mansion. Tour goers were invited to stop by to view historical displays and enjoy some cider and cookies. Visit the Potter grounds to learn more about the Potter family and its legacy:
- The Potter Memorial, built by Spencer Philbrick, a local businessman, and once the grand home of Alfred and Huldah Potter, and their children, Alice, Bertha, and Fred, who willed it to the village;
- The carriage barn and mounting block, reminders of another era of transportation;
- The Veterans Memorial, originally constructed in 1946, modified in 1987, and reconstructed and dedicated in 2014;
- The Privy (Outhouse), a rare brick “three-holer” moved from 76 East Church Street to its present location behind the Potter Memorial;
- The Community Gardens, once World War II victory gardens, on land made available by Fred Potter, and
- The Potter Memorial, including all these areas, was designated a Village landmark in June 2010.
Society members receive their tickets in the mail. Friends and family and others wanted to attend to became members of the Society. The membership form can be found on the right hand column or on the Membership page.
 This 1910 stately home was built in the Prairie Box or Four Square style with Craftsman features. It originally had a tile roof and an open front porch.The outstanding features of Prairie style are the huge hipped roof with a slight flare, the deep overhanging eaves and the exposed rafters at the roof line. It also emphasizes the horizontal. This can be seen in the lines the bricks form across the facade, the linear wood siding, the sills beneath the windows and the architectural detail along the top of the bricks.
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The charm of this 1930 Colonial Revival home is its simplicity. The outstanding features of the house are the set back entryway and the symmetry of the facade with its window combination of 4 sets of 8 over 8 and the upper 6 over 6 windows under the gable roof. The wide cedar shingles and cedar clapboards finish the simple but elegant facade. Note the detail in the shingles at the peak of the gable and the slight flare of the shingles where they meet the clapboards.
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 This 1926 home at 54 Potter Place was built in the Colonial Revival style and shows many classic details. There are pilasters at all four corners of the house and porch. Broken pediments are seen on the end gables and a wide cornice or frieze board adorns the house front. Finishing it off is the classic doorway with its doubled pilasters under the stunning arched roof, with urn and detail under the arch.
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 This 1930 brick Colonial Revival house at 60 Potter Place has strong classic style credentials, starting at the front door with the leaded glass pattern in its elliptical fanlight and sidelights. Note the unusual brick patterns throughout: the sunburst lintels in the brick above the windows and the prominent brick sills below; the double line of vertical bricks at the foundation line and the quoin pattern at the house corners. The doorway with its gable arched portico of pilasters and slender columns is typical of the style. The slender columns are repeated in clusters at the open porch on the north side.
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 This home is at 68 Potter Place is a unique and charming house was built in 1951 and falls into the post-war era of Minimal Traditional/Cape Cod homes. The gabled doorway and garage are typical features of Minimal Traditional style as well as the low roof line and the one and half story build. Minimal Traditional houses have little or no roof overhang and are simple and practical in every dimension. The two opposing dormers are unusual placements but striking nonetheless. Shingle clad, and note the secluded porch tucked in behind the garage.
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 This home at 71 Potter Place is a Minimal Traditional style home in the Cape Cod form. Built in 1943 this house, like its neighbor across the street, is in the Minimal Traditional/Cape Cod form but with the side gable facing to the street. These post-depression era homes were very simple and show little decoration. There is no overhang or extraneous decoration at the roof line. This cozy one and a half story home has charming colonial revival details in the lintel decorations over the doorway and windows. Simple, minimal, unadorned.
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 This lovely 1927 home at 50 Potter Place was built in the Craftsman bungalow style. The Craftsman details are seen in the large dormer and the long sloping roof, the wide eaves and the triangular knee braces at the roof lines. The full width porch sheltered under the deep roof overhang is a classic feature of the style.
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