Holley-Rankine House
Posted by: Rayman
N 43° 04.881 W 079° 03.310
17T E 658312 N 4771684
This Gothic style home near the brink of Niagara Falls was home to some important people in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Waymark Code: WMZTV
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 11/26/2006
Views: 53
Constructed during the late 1850s-1860s, the Holley-Rankine House is significant architecturally and historically. It is the best preserved Gothic Revival cottage in Niagara Falls and epitomizes the style of rural domestic architecture of the mid-19th century.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Holley-Rankine House served as the residence of men prominent in the economical, political, and social life of Niagara Falls.
Holley purchased from Peter Porter, his business partner and distant relative, this wooded piece of land overlooking the Niagara River just above the Falls. He built a substantial house and created elaborately landscaped grounds which included carriage drives and an artificial pond. The majority of the land has since been taken up by the Robert Moses Parkway to the south. While living in this house, Holley surveyed the Falls and the surrounding area.
After Holley's death in 1897, the house remained vacant until 1902 when it was purchased by William B. Rankine. Rankine was trained as a lawyer, but his dream was to harness power from the Falls. In 1890 he gave up his law firm and drew upon his connections in New York City to become responsible for the Niagara Falls Power Company and built the Adams Power Plant Complex. The Adams Plant was the first hydro-electric plant to transmit power over long distances. Rankine died in 1905.
The house went through several different owners after Rankine's death. In the 1920s-40s, the house was owned by Frederick Laurens Lovelace, director of the Niagara Falls Power Company and prominent local businessman.
Street address: 525 Riverside Dr Niagara Falls, NY United States 14303
County / Borough / Parish: Person, Architecture/Engineering
Year listed: 1979
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899, 1900-1924
Historic function: Domestic: Single-Dwelling
Current function: Domestic: Single-Dwelling
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 1: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.