LOWENHAUS (14 Buckingham St.) was constructed by Max Lowenthal in 1904. Since Lowenthal’s ownership, LOWENHAUS has only had a handful of very good caretakers who have used it as their primary residence and place for entertaining the "who's who" of Rochester. As a result of the excellent ownership chain, the original fabric and clean floor plans remain intact. LOWENHAUS is a very special property with rich characteristics and history. Comprised of three separate residences, LOWENHAUS marries fine architectural details and craftsmanship of years past with state-of-the art features and conveniences.

TIMELINE:

Bates Farm – Pre 1900

Lowenthal

Max Lowenthal Development and Ownership 1905 – 1914

Harry M. Lowenthal (son) 1914 - 1935

Max Lowenthal (1843-1914) constructed the home located at 14 Buckingham Street from 1900 to 1904. At the time of his death in in 1914 Lowenthal was one of Rochester’s most well-known businessmen. Born in Prussia in 1843, Lowenthal was a man on the make after coming to Rochester with his father at an early age. Lowenthal and Henry (“Captain”) Lomb of, Bausch & Lomb conceived the Mechanics Institute in 1885, which later became better known as RIT. In 1976, The Lowenthal Building was opened in his honor, known as Lowenthal Hall, home of the E. Philip Saunders College of Business.

Max Lowenthal & Sons Inc was founded in 1868 as the Rochester Knitting Works. Lowenthal obtained control of a Rochester invention, the Lamb Machine, which made mass production of knit goods. By 1890, the Lowenthal factory was producing an annual 75,000 dozen of skirts, scarves, mittens, and leggings. By 1903, they employed over 300 workers, with an annual output of $500,000 ($12,974,750 in today’s dollars). The factory continued under the direction of his sons and then a grandson, Robert Lowenthal, until 1971. The works which housed Rochester Knitting Works remains intact at 422 Clinton Avenue South Rochester, NY. The Clinton building has retained its large and broad stature, built on grey bricks. Knitting machines lined the inside of the factories in long rows, the smell of fabric as heavy as the sound of thread through knitting machines.

Miner

Ranlet and Anne Lindsay Miner 1935 – 1945

Ranlet Miner (1902 - 1968) grew up one street over from Buckingham on Argyle. His father Edward Griffith Miner (1863-1955) was a prominent Rochester businessman and civic leader, president and chairman of the Board of Directors of The Pfaudler Company (now Pfaudler Permutit). The roots of The Pfaudler Company are traced to the brewery industry. In the late 19th century, a young machinist named Casper Pfaudler searched for a way to speed up the fermentation process by the application of vacuum. After much experimentation with materials such as wood, stone, and terra cotta, the solution was glass-lined steel container and in 1884 the Pfaudler Vacuum Fermentation Process Company was organized. The glass-lined steel equipment was used for handling, storing, and transportation of beer and became the basis for a new industry as we know it today. Ranlet Miner married Anne Lindsay, daughter of Alexander Lindsay, cofounder of Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company, known informally as Sibley's Department Store and called “Lindsay's” in Australia. The Rochester based chain owned stores all over the state of New York. Its flagship at 228 East Main Street in downtown Rochester housed its headquarters and featured an elegant executive dining room on the top floor.

Subsequent Ownership (1945 – 2015):

Philip H Gerner – 1945 – 1959 (Partner - NY Stock Exchange Firm George D.B. Bonbright and Co.

Dorothy Branbury 1959- 1965

Clarence and Patricia Tierney 1965 -1977

Philip F. Spahn Jr. 1977 – 2015. (Partner at Fix Spindleman, Historian and Antique Boat Collector)