Watson-Curtze Mansion

The Watson-Curtze Mansion is an ornate brownstone located in the historic rich residential district of downtown Erie. The building was constructed between 1891 and 1892 by the Buffalo-based architectural firm Green & Wicks. The firm used the Richardsonian Romanesque style when creating the twenty-four room house, which can be seen in the tower and deep-set windows of the building. The house was built by Harrison F. Watson, owner of a large paper company for $50,000. Today it is owned by the Erie County Historical Society, and is open for tours of the historic house.

When construction began in 1891, the Watson-Curtze Mansion stood as a shining token of the wealth and fancy of the city of Erie. Built on West 6^th Street, the center of the rich and famous in the city, by esteemed Buffalo-based firm Green & Wicks. The house was built for the owner and founder of the Watson Paper Company, Harrison F. Watson, and his family. It cost Watson around $50,000 dollars, or over $10 million today. The 24-room, 3-1/2 story brownstone mansion that came of his spending is now a standout building of downtown Erie.

Green & Wicks designed the building in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. This distinctly American style was innovated by architect Henry Hobson Richardson in the 1870s. Standout features of the style include thick, inset arches and windows, a rounded tower, an exterior of thick walls and heavily sculpted shapes, and the windows placed in deliberate, commanding bands around the building. The design of the mansion clearly reflects this style with its outstanding tower, thick brownstone construction, and deeply inset banded windows. The final product, completed in 1892, was a unique and stylistic example of late 19^th-century architecture, and the buildings of such an esteemed architectural firm.

The building would not be complete, of course, without its splendid interior. Twelve unique marble fireplaces, stained glass windows, Louis C. Tiffany mosaics, and even an elevator. Each of the 24 rooms had its own unique finishes and plasterwork decoration, to create a warm, comfortable home for the Watson family. Across the three and a half floors the building there is a ballroom, billiards room, and solarium. There was also a carriage house and greenhouse constructed on the property, but the greenhouse was demolished in the 1950s. The carriage house still stands.

The house belonged to the Watson family until Harrison’s death in 1923. Afterwards, his daughter sold the property to another wealthy Erie businessman, Frederick F. Curtze. Curtze owned and maintained the house until his death in 1941. Curtze’s family donated the building then, and since 1942 the Erie Historical Museum has owned and operated the building to this day. In addition to its use as a museum, the mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Currently the building holds exhibits on the history of the house and the Erie area, and remains a stunning example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style it was constructed in.

West, Catherine Callan, Watson-Curtze Mansion (Erie Historical Museum), 1983, National Register of Historic Places nomination document, National Park Service, Washington, D.C.

Unknown. Watson-Curtze Mansion, Living Places. Accessed March 14th 2022. https://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Erie_County/Erie_City/Watson-Curtze_Mansion.html.

Massing, Dana. Erie's Watson-Curtze Mansion offers look at millionaire life of luxury from bygone era, GoErie. November 23rd 2021. Accessed March 14th 2022. https://www.goerie.com/story/entertainment/house-home/2021/11/23/erie-watson-curtze-mansion-offers-look-millionaire-life-bygone-era-victorian-holidays-hagen-history/6252711001/.