Entrepreneur, Samuel H. Creighton hired architect Charles Edgar Bates in 1916 to design a beautiful Tudor-Revival structure for the northwest corner of Downey and Julian Avenues. Built as four separate townhouses under one roof, the apartment building was sheathed in brick for the lower story and stucco for the upper. Beautiful terra cotta tiles graced the steep gables of the building. Mr. Creighton along with his wife, Nora, and their son, Samuel Taylor, Jr., moved into the western townhouse at 60 South Downey Avenue and rented out the remaining three along Julian Avenue. Various renters over the years could look out their windows and see the Butler mansion (demolished) and the original brick Downey Avenue Christian Church.
Time has not been kind to the elegant dwellings. Subsequent owners and landlords have removed much of the charm of the place, however, on a snowy day in 1947, the Creighton Apartments still looked lovely. The historic photo was snapped by the Palmer family who happened to be going for a walk with their toddler, Janet, just after the snow ended. To learn more about the these apartments check out Paul Diebold's research in
Greater Irvington (1997).
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| The Creighton Apartments at the northwest corner of Downey and Julian Avenues in 1947 |
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| The Creighton Apartments in 2016 |
The historic photo is courtesy of Janet Chapman and Dick Palmer.
I would so love to see these restored.
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