304 N. McBride
Street, Syracuse, NY
Located in the Hawley Avenue/
Green Street Historic District
 This
Queen Anne style home is constructed of wood exhibiting
Eastlake detailing. The comprehensive detail style encompasses
the porch with elborate pedimental friezes, one in the
porch and two in the roof arches. A semi-circular window
under one arch shows a fine comple tracery.
Edward
Townsend is first listed
in the city directories at
this address in 1882, as
a real estate agent. He lived
here for a short period;
in 1884 his widow Catherine,
was the sole resident at
304 N. McBride. The home
was the residence of a physician
for many years. The building
was at one time a boarding
house. Walter Manderfield
owned the property for at
least 20 years, restoring
the exterior very sympathetically
in 1974 highlighting the
outstanding Eastlake detailing.
The building was purchased
in 1982 by Seigred Tuttle,
who restored the home to
its present day splendor.
With a restored carriage
house in the rear of the
property, it is perhaps the
most outstanding Eastlake
residence in the district.
The
first floor houses The
Lavender Inkwell Bookshoppe,
with its own entrance from
the front porch. There
are dark wood panel doors
which open into the buildings
foyer used by The Lavender
Inkwell for special events
and book clubs. The first
floor also contains the
office and apartment of
a chiropactor, and the
office of the building
owner situated off the
foyer. Entrance to this
area is gained through
a dramatic entry foyer
with four large carved
wood ceiling panels and
sidewalls of smaller panels.
The entrance floor is oak
and cherry parquet in dimond
pattern. From the foyer
a stairtower leads to the
second floors’ two
spacious apartments. At
the landing of the stairtower
a stained glass window
lights the foyer.
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Proprietors
of The Lavender Inkwell Bookshoppe
When
Scott and I moved into our house on Hawley
Avenue, The Hawley-Green Historic District
was, and still is, going through a Renaissance.
When neighbors would get together to discuss
plans for the district, the discussion would
always lead to what we need here. My Sisters’ Words
bookstore had just closed, and many times that
loss came up in the conversation. Scott was
working very hard in retail for Penn Traffic,
and I had always had a desire to have my own
business.
Our
favorite place to vacation
is Provincetown and as
we visited there every
year we would spend many
hours of every day strolling
through the bookstores,
shops and art galleries.
About 14 months ago,
just after returning
from P-town, we discussed
how great it would be
if we had some shops
in our neighborhood like
there are there. One
of us, I think it was
I, said “I think
we should open a bookstore.” At
first it just seemed
like a passing thought,
or bit of conversation,
then it became more serious.
Our conversations with
neighbors went from, “should
we open a bookstore?”,
to “we’re
thinking of opening a
bookstore”, to “we’re
going to open a bookstore”.
Instead of waiting for
someone else to do it,
we took on the challenge.
So after several months
of learning the rudiments
of bookselling, and planning,
we opened.
In
planning the store we
thought very carefully
as to why we were doing
this, for who we were
doing this, and what
we want to accomplish.
We decided we wanted
to make our store a focal
place for the GLBT community.
Knowing that our community
is diverse we wanted
to have something for
everyone. So, our book
categories include Gay
/ Lesbian / Bisexual
and Transgender titles.
We are growing a nice
selection of youth and
queer family books. We
have general topics that
would be of interest
to everyone, including
Art, Cooking, Decorating,
Health, and Pets. Of
course we carry Pride
items, and unique gifts
that will be appreciated
by the community. We
will also have art exhibits,
featuring new artist
every 6-8 weeks.
Most
importantly Scott and I
want to offer the community
a place that is their own,
with the books that they
want. We want it to be
a place for people to meet
old friends and make new
friends, where they feel
comfortable. To help this
happen we plan on different
book discussion groups,
such as men’s and
women’s reading groups,
writer’s group, and
GLBT family book clubs.
Scott
and I invite the community
to visit, have coffee,
check things out and
let us know what you
want in your GLBT bookstore.
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