Oct 4, 2011

Just In! Hotel Lafayette Buffalo, NY

Hotel Lafayette in Buffalo, NY
We are pleased to have just completed a full reclamation of the bathrooms and interior doors of the once grand Hotel Lafayette in Downtown Buffalo, NY.  Built in 1905, The Hotel Lafayette was outfitted with the finest plumbing fixtures extant at that time, all by the celebrated maker, J.L. Mott of New York City.  The Mott foundry was renowned for supplying plumbing and bathroom accessories to the finest buildings in the world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Expensive when new and still highly sought after, J.L. Mott plumbing is rare and very desirable.

This collection predominantly consists of earthenware bathtubs, sinks, wall tile, and doors.  Earthenware is a dense, naturally occurring clay that is kiln fired, then coated with a translucent glaze, and then re-fired. Due to this labor intensive process known as "twice firing"; earthenware fixtures hold heat much better than cast iron tubs and sinks.  This method of manufacture was also the most costly of its day, and by the late 'teens, earthenware fixtures were discontinued because of their expensive manufacture and due to competition from cheaper, mass-produced cast-iron fixtures and for sinks, from the introduction of vitreous porcelain.   

The Hotel Lafayette's bathrooms were largely intact from the 1905 period with the exception of a small number of rooms remodeled in the 1940's.  This is a exciting and rare opportunity for home owners or hoteliers renovating, restoring or building anew!



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