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   Robert Jarecki Mansion

PROPERTY INFORMATION

Historic Name

Robert Jarecki Mansion

Address

558 W 6 Street

Municipality

City of Erie

Tax Parcel

17040017012200

Historic District

West 6th Street HD

Classification

Class 1 (Definitions of Classes)

State Key Number

0

Historic Function

Domestic - single dwelling

Style

Classical Revival

Built

1909

Architect

 

Builder

 

Barn Type on property

 

Last Entry Update

6/28/2016


HISTORY

The latter half of the 19th century was a period of great industrial expansion and manufacturing in Erie. Robert Jarecki and the Jarecki Manufacturing Company were instrumental in this economic and residential development of West Sixth Street at this time. Many other large businesses, such as Erie City Iron Works, Black & Germer Radiant Stove Company, and Continental Rubber Works, helped to settle the area, building homes for their own families along West Sixth Street. These manufacturers and industrial innovators made up the majority of Erie’s elite during this time, leading up through the 20th century. Many of these powerful Erie families were related by blood or marriage, and they used their local status to form family complexes that were beneficial to their continued economic success in the region. The legacy of these families continued throughout the industrial boom, and their legacy remains in the West Sixth Street Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and continues to uphold the industrial past of the city.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Alexander Jarecki was one of Erie’s leading industrialists. He was responsible for many residential areas and commercial works in Shaker Heights, but also had strong connections to the wealthy elite in Erie’s industrial districts. The Jarecki house in particular was built in 1909 by Alexander Jarecki’s brother, Robert. He was a graduate of Lehigh University and a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. The building was designed by architect Theodore Cuyler Visscher, his former roommate, and the mansion itself is modeled as an exact replica of the fraternity house.

As the Great Depression rolled through America in the 1930’s, no amount of industrial power or wealth could be completely immune to the devastating effects. The combining factors of the severe economic downturn and new suburban development throughout Erie lead to the eventual decline of the West Sixth Street elite. The great families that once monopolized economic manufacturing and industrialization in the Erie area were soon taken over and replaced with residential suburban homes. A number of the West Sixth Street mansions were eventually torn down to make room for new residents and rental units, which altered the feel and integrity of the once prominent community. Luckily, the Robert Jarecki Mansion still exists as an important piece of the West Sixth Street Historic District, offering modern citizens a sense of place reminiscent of the elite industrial innovators of Erie’s rich economic history.

Sources: Northwest Institute of Research, Historic Survey 1982


DESCRIPTION


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CURRENT ASSESSMENT PHOTO


Photo courtesy, Erie County Assessment Office


PHOTO FROM 2014 SURVEY

HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS

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