The S. Burt Saxton House, Troy, NY

The S. Burt Saxton House, Troy, NY. 1858

This house was built in 1858 for Charles W. Thompson, the wandering lumber merchant, but it is known as the Saxton house, named after its second occupant who owned a flour mill, because Thompson built several houses on the square and lived in each of the for a short time. This is one of the finest Anglo-Italianate examples on the square with a plain façade (indeed, while some liked showing wealth with zany ornament, it seems the wealthy urban classes always preferred restraint) and a normal row house plan without any elongated bays. This is a house dominated by arches; everything is arched including the fine paneled undulating cornice that curves around the windows. The whole sits on a rusticated base. The windows and door have simple molding surrounds, but little bits of rococo carving crown each one, relieving the facades simplicity. The brackets are paired somewhat irregularly to accommodate the undulating profile of the cornice.