This Eagle Street home was built in 1851, and is in a vernacular Italianate style with a low hip roof on the main structure, gabled roof on the rear extension and a pillared covered porch as the main entrance. The traditional Italianate has a tower with arched openings, molding and double doors, which may have been lost during home updates. There are also some Eastlake elements such as the brickwork on a chimney and the brick alterations on the front. Both the covered porch and the enclosed porch were original to the house. The open porch was added in 1979.
The first owners appear to have been S. M. Grant and James Crane, a wigmaker. Over the years the single home morphed into an eight unit boarding house, and in the 1980s was returned to a single family dwelling.
As you approach the side door of the home, notice the stucco outbuilding at the rear of the property that was originally a horse stable. Today it is a two car garage with a basement and a second-floor apartment. The current talented owners are enjoying a new life in Rochester, having purchased the home in 2011 after retiring from their respective jobs and life in New York City. You might smell some wonderful cooking from Mr. Caruso, who was recently the head chef and director of Operations at A Meal and More, the oldest soup kitchen in Rochester. He has written two cookbooks, the latest being Oy Italia, a Jewish Italian cookbook (available at amazon.com). Although Dr. Gehl will not be singing, he is a member of several Rochester choral groups, including Madrigalia, The Rochester Oratorio Society/Resonanz, The Eastman Rochester Chorus and First Inversion. You may also see some of his Lionel trains around the Christmas tree; the main collection is in the Carriage House basement.
The main floor is open on the tour, along with the master bedroom and bathroom on the second floor. You may also enjoy the extensive collection of Al Hirschfeld caricatures throughout the house. If you can identify all 14, you will receive – an extra Christmas cookie!
