Looking for tea cups, festive decorations, furnishings, art or maybe just a good board game? The deals are plentiful at the Lockport Presbyterian Home estate sale, which began Thursday and continues through Saturday.
Opening day of the sale brought all kinds of buyers. One, Lynn Garver, said he was simply “curious” about what could be inside a 168-year old mansion on High Street.
“I’ve never been inside … before,” Garver said.
Phil Kratz, an antique dealer, came for the deals. He said he started shopping estate sales after he retired from carpentry.
The history of the now-closed assisted living facility is multifaceted. The stately house at 327 High St. was purchased by the Presbytery of Western New York in the 1950s and was designated a “home for aged” in 1959. In 1968 the Presbytery procured 305 High St. and a temporary structure was built to connect the two houses. That structure was replaced by “Garden Way” hall in 1991. The facility grew again in 2005 with construction of additional buildings. The original homes were renovated the following year and placed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places in 2008.
Beechwood Continuing Care acquired Lockport Presbyterian Home in February 2021 and found it was unable to bring in enough revenue, despite the policy of accepting private insurance only. With only 27 residents, Beechwood announced its decision to close the facility permanently this past May.
Estate sale shopper Carol Porter came to pick up a mirror that had been left behind when her father, a resident, died in 2008. The mirror was a wedding gift and Porter said she had seen a picture of it on the estate sale website (ednalouise.com/sales).
Porter said her father really enjoyed living at Lockport Presbyterian Home. The cost of his care was $3,800 a month and, “for him it was like living in a high-end hotel,” she said. “He’d get up for breakfast each day and when he came back to his room, it was cleaned and made-up for him.”
The facility is listed for sale by Beechwood, whose representatives declined to comment on any offers made or possible future uses of the sprawling complex. It’s sited in an R-1 zone, for single-family homes, and without a variance its future uses are limited to single-family residence, public school or public park, according to the city building department.
The estate sale hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Saturday.