Clyde's Smith Ely Mansion 
was built in 1858, open for tours

The Erie Mansion - The Smith Ely Mansion - is a 40-room, three-story, 12,000 square foot Greek revival mansion in Clyde. The original home was constructed in 1858 as an Italiante style home for Dr. and Mrs. Smith.

Their daughter Eugenia married Charles Ely, owner of the Clyde Glass Works, one of the largest glass companies in the world during the Erie Canal era. They transformed the home into the stately mansion you see today. Construction was completed in 1910, and the Ely family lived there for two generations. The home has had a colorful and notorious history as a private residence for various families, a veterans home, and multi family low income housing, until it condemnation in 2006.

The Mansion stood vacant for two years, until local real estate investor Mark Wright spotted the house for sale. Realizing the historic significance and potential of the home (it is listed in the Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Places).

Wright purchased it in April 2008 for his private residence; surprisingly through all its transformations the house has retained much of its original craftsmanship. Marble fireplaces, massive mahogany and teak mantles, parquet floors, gold leaf wall coverings, ornately carved beams and pillars, stained and leaded glass.

Wright and his staff set to renovating and restoring the home to its former. Then came the daily visits by the locals recalling their favorite ghost stories of the mansion, the works on the renovation project and visitors hearing and seeing strange unexplainable events. One worker refused to work inside the house alone. With such an overwhelming amount of stories and occurrences, Wright decided to share his home with the public, and 'The Erie Mansion B&B' was created.

'Syracuse Paranormal,' a member of the TAPS family (Ghost Hunters), is currently investigating the mansion. Having documented several unexplained sightings and recorded voices during their last visit. Their investigation is ongoing.

The Erie Mansion features eight bedrooms, eight full baths, 12 fireplaces, 21 chandeliers, billiards room, drawing room, formal dining room, two music rooms, solarium, veranda, patio, sauna, Jacuzzi tub, steam shower and wine cellar. We have created four luxury suites all with private full baths, kitchenettes and living rooms. Each suite has its own theme from the whimsical to the macabre.

The Honeymoon Suite is a bright and airy two-bedroom, which features three fireplaces, a 100-year-old ornately carved oriental wedding bed. The second bedroom features a double king size canopy bed.

The Erie Suite is the darkest suite. It has hundreds of genuine alligator skins adorning the living room walls with a real Python skin border. There is also an extensive skull an creature collection on display, two fireplaces and one bedroom. The large bedroom features a massive king-size poster bed.

The Red Suite is decorated predominately in red as the name suggests and features a collection of tasteful erotic artwork. It has one bedroom with a king-size mirrored canopy bed.

The Mansion Suite is the entire main floor of the mansion. It features a large king-size poster bed in one of the music rooms, numerous collections and all the amenities of the mansion. This suite is usually reserved in conjunction with the other three suites for private parties, weddings and special occasions.

The mansion will be open for tours October 30th, 31st and November 1st from 4 p.m. till 9 p.m. and by special appointment.

The price is $10 per person for the tour. For more information regarding the mansion, tours or reservations contact Mark 315.406.1999, Chuck 585.506.7777, email

 eriemansion@yahoo.com

 or regular mail Erie Mansion, 39 West Genesee St., Clyde, NY 14433.

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