Blossom Street is a street in Downtown Buffalo that runs between East Huron Street and Broadway. It is cut in half by Hersee Alley. It functions mainly as an alley for buildings along Ellicott and Oak Streets these days, but it is still designated as a street by the City of Buffalo. Buildings along the street have windows and doorway entrances that once looked out onto Blossom Street, but are now bricked over.
Street sign that has seen better days
It is not named for flowers, but for Ira Allen Blossom. Mr. Blossom served as right hand man to Joseph Ellicott. Mr. Blossom’s family were pioneers in Monmouth, Maine, where Ira was born in 1789. In his 20s, Ira moved to Meadville Pennsylvania for work. When he was 26, he came to Buffalo as Joseph Ellicott’s assistant.
Mr. Blossom started as Joseph Ellicott’saide in 1821 and was later a Subagent for the Holland Land Company following Joseph’s resignation. Mr. Blossom was connected to the Holland Land Company until the company was sold to the Farmer’s Loan & Trust Company in the 1840s. He was then appointed receiver of the Buffalo branch of the United States Bank. He was also made receiver of the Commercial Bank. While working for the Holland Land Company and the banks, he was known for being lenient with giving credit to promising young men to start their businesses. A number of businessmen in Buffalo attributed much of their success to Mr. Blossom’s confidence in them and expressing his confidence through credit.
Mr. Blossom partnered with Mr.Lewis Allen to lease what is now the site of the Ellicott Square Building. In May, 1829, they secured a 63 year lease for the property bounded by Main, North Division, Washington and Swan Streets. They were able to get the lease at a bargain. This land had been set aside for Joseph Ellicott by the Holland Land Company in 1816 to build his home, but the Village Trustees interfered and straightened the path of Main Street. Joseph was disgusted and gave the land to Joseph Ellicott the younger, his nephew. For the first 21 years, they paid only $700 ($16,000 in today’s dollars) per year, for the second 21 years $850 ($19,000) a year, and for the third 21 years, they paid $1,000 ($23,000) a year.
It was written of Mr. Blossom and Mr. Allen at the time, “the magnitude of their enterprise frightened every conservative in town.” They saw the potential of the site and built a block of fourteen 2-story buildings on the site. The first legitimate theater in Buffalo was built on the site in 1835. This theater, William Duffy’s Theater, was on South Division Street between the alley at Washington Street. It burned down in the 1840s. The Young Men’s Association (which became the Buffalo Public Library) leased and occupied the upper part of the Theater building. Reverend Cicero Stevens Hawkins worshiped in the theater in the late 1830s with a group of Episcopalians. These worshipers later formed Trinity Church, on Delaware Avenue. Other buildings on the site were filled with businesses as well.
Buildings located at what is now the Ellicott Square Building
Mr. Blossom and Mr. Allen’s lease on the Ellicott Square ran out in 1892, after both men had died. On March 1, 1893, the properties were all purchased by the Ellicott Square Company for a fee of $1,080,000 (about $33,583,730 today). By 1895, when they were planning to construct the Ellicott Square Building, the buildings on this property were described as “the sorriest exhibit of business buildings in the city.” The planned Ellicott Square Building was expected to cost 2 Million to construct.
Mr. Blossom married Eunice Hubbard. They lived at the triangle at Franklin, Swan and Erie Streets, across from St. Joseph’s Cathedral. The famous naturalist Audubon was a guest at their home. Mr. Audubon was thought to have painted portraits of the Blossoms in 1825, which the family treasured. The house stood in a garden and was framed by majestic trees of the primeval forest. The Blossoms had one daughter, Anna.
In 1831, Mr. Blossom, along with John Beals, Samuel Callendar, Elizah Einer, James McKay and Noah Sprague met to organize a parish of the Unitarian church. The congregation grew and constructed its first building in 1833, at the corner of Franklin and Eagle Street. The building is still standing today, having been remodeled into a commercial building by the Austin Family.
In 1832, Mr. Blossom was elected to Buffalo’s first Board of Alderman. For two terms, he represented the old Third Ward on the board. He was offered other public offices, but he declined them. He helped to incorporate the University of Buffalo and was on the university’s first council.
He also was known for giving generously to public projects he believed would benefit Buffalo. He was known for his hospitality. He was also known for taking care of the poor, at a time when the indigent were not considered a general public responsibility; his gifts and kindness helped many families.
He died in 1856. Mr. Blossom’s tombstone read “a man who never turned his back on his honor, a loyal citizen, a generous friend.” He is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
After Mr. Blossom died, living across from the Cathedral and hearing it’s carillon inspired Mrs. Blossom to become a Catholic. She gave the house to the church. On the site of the house, St. Stephen’s Hall was built. Mrs. Blossom and Anna moved to New England. When Mrs. Blossom died in 1875, she was buried along with her husband in Forest Lawn.
Portraits of Mr. Blossom can be found in the collection of the Albright Knox Art Gallery and the Buffalo History Museum, both portraits are the same painting. The portrait in the Albright Knox Collection was attributed to John James Audubon and was believed to have been painted in 1825. The Albright’s portrait was donated, along with a portrait of Mrs. Blossom, in 1943 by the grandson of the Blossoms, Ira A.B. Smith. The second portrait, was donated to the Buffalo Historical Society at a later date by the estate of one of Mr. Blossom’s associates in the Holland Land Company office. This second portrait was accompanied by Mr. Blossom’s journals. The 1835 journal reveals that an associate (Mr. Johnson) commissioned the painting, along with a copy, for his colleague in 1835. The paintings are both believed to have been done by Samuel Bell Waugh and not by Audubon as had been originally thought. Both museums attribute the painting to Waugh now. The picture of Mr. Blossom in this article is a newspaper copy clipping of the painting.
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Sources:
- Winner, Julia Hull. “The Puzzle of Buffalo’s Two Ira Blossom Portraits that Look Just Alike”. Buffalo Evening News Magazine. December 1, 1962, p 1.
- “Centennial Planned for Unitarian Church”. Buffalo Evening News. November 21, 1931. p 4.
- Buffalo Changes: The Old Buildings Now on Good Business Sites, and the New Structures which are to Replace Them. Buffalo Express. Feb 3, 1895.
- Audubon Works Are Acquired by Art Gallery. Courier Express , Nov 19, 1939, sec 5 p3.
- Goldberg, Arthur. The Buffalo Public Library: Commemorating its first century of service to the citizens of Buffalo – 1836-1936. Privately Printed, Buffalo New York, MCMXXXVII (1937).
- Smith, Katherine. Named for Ira Blossom. Courier Express Nov 19, 1939, sec. 5, p3.
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