This Second Empire house, now a funeral home, has suffered a bit from the usual culprits: artificial siding, new windows, fake shutters. But the outlines of the house, and especially its distinctive mansard roof, are still obvious. It was built in about 1886 for Alexander McDowell, a banker who would later become a member of Congress.
A splendid Italianate house built for the furniture maker James N. Willson in 1875. According to the Sharon Historical Society, the architect was A. Kanengeiser.
The grand staircase is always the central feature of a millionaire’s mansion, and the one in the Buhl mansion is not a disappointment.
The huge stained-glass window on the landing is not the original; it is a replacement added when the house was rescued and renovated in 1996.
A somewhat less grand staircase continues up to the third floor.
An ostentatious Queen Anne house built in 1901; the architects were Miller & Ford of Youngstown with C. R. Dennison as associate architect. It has been restored with bits and pieces from another less fortunate mansion nearby.
The grandest house in Sharon, the Buhl mansion was built for Frank H. Buhl, owner of the Sharon Iron Works and de facto lord of Sharon. Buhl had his favorite architect, Charles H. Owsley, design the house. We’ll see much more of it, but here are a few moody pictures at twilight on a snowy evening.
