Client: Historic Erie Restorations
Location: 620 West 6th St., Erie, Pennsylvania
Dates: Original building — 1927; Renovation — 2022
This Tudor Revival-style classic English country house and its carriage house were designed by noted Cleveland architect Frank B. Meade (1867–1947) of Meade & Hamilton and built by Constable Brothers in 1927.
This project involved masonry restoration and cleaning, roof repair, window restoration or replacement, painting and landscaping. Interior work included selective floor plan changes to return the building to the original floorplan — removing walls that were added to divide larger rooms. Additional work included painting, woodwork restoration and repair, updated flooring, improved accessibility, and all new electrical, HVAC, plumbing and finishes.
The home was commissioned by prominent Erie industrialist and president of Jarecki Manufacturing Co., Alexander H. Jarecki (1866–1941), and his wife, Lucie McBrier (1870–1946), as a wedding gift to their daughter, Frances Jarecki (1896–1987), and her husband, Adrian John Collins (1891–1963). Meade and Jarecki became friends in college, and Meade had also designed the Jarecki’s house at 305 West 6th St. in 1911.
Frances Jarecki Collins attended Bennett School for Girls (Bennett College) in Millbrook, New York, and studied piano at music schools in New York City. She was involved with several civic organizations in Erie, including the Junior League. Adrian Collins was born in Sydney, Australia, attended the University of Sydney, and came to Erie in 1913. During WWI, he served in the U.S. Army as a master sergeant in France. He was secretary and later vice president and general manager of Jarecki Manufacturing Co. until it closed in 1947. Among other civic activities, Collins served as chairman of Presque Isle State Park & Harbor Commission. The Collins family lived in the house for 54 years, from 1927 until 1981.
From 1981 until 2021, the house was owned by the family of Wasyl A. “Bill” Pysh (1933–2015) and his wife, Ann Marie Fontecchio (1940–2020). Pysh was a native of Carnegie, Pennsylvania, and graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology. This Navy veteran, professional engineer and inventor, was also president of Techno Corporation. Ann Marie was a Mercyhurst College graduate and Erie public school teacher. She also owned an estate sales business. Both were active in community organizations. The property was acquired by Historic Erie Restorations in 2021.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a significant building in the West Sixth Street Historic District in 1984.
