Erma Cicchetti (1903-1961)
Like other American suburbs, Cayuga Heights experienced a housing boom in the years following World War II. Builder Erma Cicchetti (1903-1961) designed and supervised the construction of an estimated 35 homes in the Cayuga Heights area between 1940 and 1960, in partnership with her husband Albert Cicchetti (c. 1897-1982), who worked as a machinist for the Morse Chain Factory. Albert emigrated to the United States in 1913. Erma’s father Salvatore emigrated from Terracina, Latina, Italy to the United States in 1905. He worked at the Ithaca Gun Company. Erma and her mother Amelia and several siblings arrived in the United States from Italy in 1907, when Erma was four years old.
Although she was not trained as an architect, Cicchetti had a natural eye for design. The Cicchetti-designed homes are elegant and solidly constructed, commonly faced with brick or stucco. No two are exactly alike. Cicchetti recruited and supervised experienced contractors for plumbing and other specialty work, including Italian American masons and framers who moonlighted after their day jobs at Cornell. Cicchetti was known as an exacting taskmaster but was also generous, reportedly feeding her crews homemade Italian dinners.
Although she was not trained as an architect, Cicchetti had a natural eye for design. The Cicchetti-designed homes are elegant and solidly constructed, commonly faced with brick or stucco. No two are exactly alike. Cicchetti recruited and supervised experienced contractors for plumbing and other specialty work, including Italian American masons and framers who moonlighted after their day jobs at Cornell. Cicchetti was known as an exacting taskmaster but was also generous, reportedly feeding her crews homemade Italian dinners.
Cicchetti-Designed Homes in Cayuga Heights
817 Triphammer Road |
819 Triphammer Road |
905 Triphammer Road |
903 Triphammer Road |
817 Triphammer Road;
Lois and John Reddout (1940)
300 E. Upland Road
300 E Upland Rd (formerly 901 Triphammer Road);
Leonard and Ruth Kassman (1946)
|
819 Triphammer Road;
John and Juanita Chandler (1941)
106 Sheldon Road
106 Sheldon Road;
Mary Ingalls (1948)
|
905 Triphammer Road;
Clarence and Harriet Head (1943)
100 W. Upland Road
100 W. Upland Road;
Joseph and Clara Daino (1948)
|
903 Triphammer Road;
Alexander and Louise Credle (1943)
108 Sheldon Road
108 Sheldon Road;
Chadduck and Harriet Head (1949)
|
904 Triphammer Road |
118 W. Upland Road |
902 Triphammer Road |
110 W. Upland Road |
904 Triphammer Road;
Allan and Eleanor Pearce (1949)
|
118 W. Upland Road;
David and Helen Perry (1949)
|
902 Triphammer Road;
Lou and Celia Cogan (1950)
|
110 W. Upland Road;
Robert and Martha Peach (1951)
|
425 Cayuga Heights Road |
423 Cayuga Heights Road |
610 The Parkway |
607 Hanshaw Road |
425 Cayuga Heights Road;
Mary Macdonald (1952)
|
423 Cayuga Heights Road;
Louis and Elizabeth Toth (1952)
|
610 The Parkway;
Edith Goldberg (1955)
|
607 Hanshaw Road;
Minnie Cramer (1955)
|
523 The Parkway |
701 The Parkway |
523 The Parkway;
Eli O. and Leanore G. Frand (1958)
|
701 The Parkway;
Howard and Almyra Heidt (1959)
|
Patricia Longoria,
Village of Cayuga Heights Deputy Historian
Village of Cayuga Heights Deputy Historian
Sources:
Joseph Daino, interview by Patricia Longoria and Randi Kepecs, Ithaca, New York, May 19, 2015.
"Mrs. Erma Cicchetti," The Post-Standard, November 14, 1961, 6.
"Albert Cicchetti," Ithaca Journal, August 22, 1982, 4.
Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line], (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Roll T625_1265, 7A.
Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line], (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002), Roll 1654, 7B.
Joseph Daino, interview by Patricia Longoria and Randi Kepecs, Ithaca, New York, May 19, 2015.
"Mrs. Erma Cicchetti," The Post-Standard, November 14, 1961, 6.
"Albert Cicchetti," Ithaca Journal, August 22, 1982, 4.
Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line], (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Roll T625_1265, 7A.
Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line], (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002), Roll 1654, 7B.
