George Thompson House, Rochester New York
George Thompson (1823-1884) was a successful contractor who built the Monroe County Poor House, the Female Division of the Western House of Refuge, the Kimball Tobacco Factory, and the Rochester Trainhouse for the New York Central Railroad. He also received numerous contracts for the laying of railroad track throughout western New York as well as other railroad and municipal buildings. Thompson began this house for his bride within a year of their wedding. He and his wife adopted two children. The daughter married a Canadian businessman. The son, George M., became a prominent local physician.
Overall dimensions: Forty-two feet by ninety feet; asymmetrical three bay facade; three-and-one-half stories; rectangular block with tower and other asymmetrical projections.
Floor plan: The south entrance provides access to a north-south hall which enlarges to the east at the tower. The parlor and dining room are to the west, the library to the east and the kitchen to the north. The second floor rooms are similarly arranged.
The main staircase of two flights with one landing is finished with molded handrail and turned balusters and newel post. There is a single flight rear stairway in the center of the north wall, extending from the kitchen to the second floor.
