The Birthplace Of The American Arts & Craft Movement - Roycroft Campus

Established in 1897, the Roycroft Campus is the birthplace of the Arts & Crafts Movement in America. It remains the best preserved and most complete complex of buildings that evolved of the arts and craftman’s guilds in the United States at the turn of the 19th to 20th century. The Roycroft Campus was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 and contains nine of the original 14 structures including the Inn, Chapel, Print Shop, Furniture Shop, and Copper Shop. Author, lecturer, and entrepreneur, Elbert Hubbard, started the Campus by establishing the Roycroft Press, and would later evolve to include additional shops focused on the decorative arts. He had traveled to England to gain inspiration for his writings and he met up with William Morris. Morris was considered to be the father of the Arts & Crafts Movement which originated in England as a reaction against the Industrial Revolution and Victorian styles. The movement focused the creation of high-quality, hand-crafted objects, and finding beauty and inspiration in the simplicity of nature and Elbert brought this movement back to East Aurora, New York.

This is what caught my eye; I hope you enjoy!

One of the stone and half-timbered Arts & Crafts building style on the campus.

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Inside the Roycroft Inn restaurant

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Click here to explore the shop.

Roycroft Furniture And Collectibles

By Koon, Larry

The Complete Works of Elbert Hubbard

By Elbert Hubbard

Roycroft Campus (Postcard History)

By Rust, Robert Charles

Inside the Roycroft Inn

Famous guests of the Hubbard's and the Roycroft Campus included: Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Buster Brown, George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison, Robert Faulkner, Harvey Firestone, Henry Ford, Harry Houdini, John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington and Frank Lloyd Wright.

The original book binary and furniture shop

A monument dedicated to Elbert and Alice Hubbard who perished on the S.S. Lusitania when it sank off the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915 after being torpedoed by a German U-boat. The leadership of the community then fell to Elbert's son, Bert, who took the Roycrofters to wider sales distribution, but changing tastes in American led to declining sales figures and in 1938 the Roycrofters closed shop.

The half-timbered print shop

Public art display

The Powerhouse

This is the exterior of the Roycroft Inn which was originally built as the Hubbard home.

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One of the entrances to the campus

The original Copper Shop

When this Chapel was being built, Elbert Hubbard advertised in the village newspaper for unwanted boulders.

The campus was not a scheduled stop for me, just happened on it. Most of the buildings were closed, be sure to check website before you decide to visit.

A few images of the nearby commercial district.

What you should know:

• Check the website for days and hours of the museum and shops.

• On the street parking is available; check posted parking regulations signs.

• You could spend couple of hours here exploring when the museum and shops are open.

• There is a restaurant in the Roycroft Inn.

• Walking is great way of getting around.

Location: 31 South Grove Street, East Aurora, NY 14052

For more information: Roycroft Campus