LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION congratulating Elizabeth and Paul Koenig, owners
of the historic Dulles House in Auburn, New York, upon the occasion of
its designation as an Historical Landmark

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to commend the preser-
vation of historical landmarks that served to enhance the growth of this
great State, ensuring that the complete history of our State and Nation
is shared with present generations of citizens; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to congratu-
late Elizabeth and Paul Koenig, owners of the historic Dulles House in
Auburn, New York, upon the occasion of its designation as an Historical
Landmark; and
WHEREAS, The three-story, 8,800 square foot mansion, located at 67
South Street, is among Auburn, New York's finest buildings located in
this nationally recognized historic section; it was first built in 1833
by Amasa Curtis, however, it was reconfigured in the 1880s, by local
merchant E. Delevan Woodruff and his wife, Dorcas Anna Gould; the
Woodruff family was connected with several age-old Auburn manufacturers
such as Auburn Button Works; and
WHEREAS, The Woodruffs added the house's most distinctive element, the
third-story ballroom; the house is also comprised of seven fireplaces
constructed of Italian marble or tile, chestnut and cherry woodworking
throughout, and a carved elephant head mantel in the dining room, as
well as a detached carriage house at the back of the one-acre lot; and
WHEREAS, In 1904, the Woodruffs sold the house to Dr. Allen Macy
Dulles, a Professor at Auburn Theological Seminary and Pastor at Second
Presbyterian Church; he used the large third-floor space to quiz
students on their theology, and people gathered to sing and eat in the
downstairs reception room; and
WHEREAS, The Dulles' five children lived on South Street, two of whom
became prominent in national politics; John Foster Dulles served as
Secretary of State for President Dwight Eisenhower, and his son, Avery
Robert Dulles, became a Catholic Cardinal; in addition, Allen Welsh
Dulles served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1953-
1961, and Nataline (Dulles) Seymour served as a nurse; and
WHEREAS, Recently, a historic marker was installed in front of the
house noting that it was the childhood home of John Foster Dulles
(1888-1959), Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower;
and
WHEREAS, A grandson of former Secretary of State, John Watson Foster
and the nephew of Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State, Robert Lansing,
John Foster Dulles was born in Washington, D.C. on February 25, 1888;
and
WHEREAS, During his adolescence, John Foster Dulles spent a year in
Paris before attending Princeton University; he attended the Paris Peace
Conference of 1919 as part of Bernard Baruch's Reparations Commission
and Economic Council; and
WHEREAS, John Foster Dulles married the former Janet Pomeroy, the
granddaughter of Theodore M. Pomeroy, an Auburn Mayor, United States
Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, As a lawyer, John Foster Dulles served on the War Trade Board
during World War II; after the war, he entered into private practice,
and in 1949, he was appointed to the New York State Senate by Governor
Thomas E. Dewey; and
WHEREAS, On January 21, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed
John Foster Dulles as his Secretary of State; the two men forged a

strong friendship which granted the Secretary of State direct and
unprecedented access to the President; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his tenure, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles
helped maintain a level of peace through the containment of communism
which allowed the Eisenhower administration to secure international
mutual security agreements while at the same time reducing the number of
troops in the United States Military and the production of conventional
weapons; and
WHEREAS, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles also enjoyed the close
cooperation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was run by
his brother, Allen Dulles; and
WHEREAS, John Foster Dulles was the first Secretary of State to be
directly accessible to the media and to hold the first Department press
conferences; and
WHEREAS, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles confronted many foreign
policy challenges during his tenure, including the integration of
Europe, escalation of the crisis in Indochina, United States response to
the Hungarian Revolution, and the Suez Canal crisis of 1956; and
WHEREAS, Despite being diagnosed with advanced stage cancer, Secretary
of State John Foster Dulles formulated the EISENHOWER DOCTRINE in
response to the Suez Canal; unfortunately, poor health forced him to
resign from his position in April of 1959, only weeks before his death
on May 24, 1959; and
WHEREAS, To honor this dedicated public servant, the Washington Dulles
International Airport was named after him; and
WHEREAS, Born on April 7, 1893, Allen Dulles was the first civilian
director of the CIA, a position he held from 1953-1961; he was also a
member of the Warren Commission; and
WHEREAS, In 1916, Allen Dulles graduated from Princeton University and
then entered diplomatic service; he earned his law degree from George
Washington University while serving in the diplomatic corps; after grad-
uating in 1926, he took a job at a New York law firm where his brother,
John Foster Dulles was a partner; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, Allen Dulles was given the role of
station chief of the newly formed Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in
Berne, Switzerland; in 1947, the United States Congress, working closely
with Allen, created the CIA as part of the National Security Act; and
WHEREAS, In 1951, Allen Dulles was named Deputy Director of the CIA,
and two years later, he was promoted to Director under President Dwight
D. Eisenhower; throughout his tenure, the CIA grew in size, shape and
.SO DOC A R1492 RESO TEXT 2015
scope, and played an important role in the United States' Cold War poli-
cy; and
WHEREAS, Born on August 24, 1918, Avery Robert Dulles entered Harvard
College in the 1930s; after graduating, he proudly served his country as
a member of the United States Navy during World War II; and
WHEREAS, After his discharge, Avery Robert Dulles attended Harvard Law
School for a few semesters before entering the Society of Jesus in 1946;
in 1956, he was ordained a Jesuit Priest; four years later, he earned
his Doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University; and
WHEREAS, Appointed to the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II in
2001, Avery Dulles was the first academic to be named to the Catholic
Church's highest advisory council; and
WHEREAS, A prolific author, Cardinal Avery Dulles wrote more than 20
books and 800 articles articulating a conservative if tolerant case for
Catholicism and the church's positions on various controversial
subjects; he served as a bridge between the Vatican and the more liberal
American Catholic dissidents after the Second Vatican Council of the
1970s; and

WHEREAS, Cardinal Avery Dulles was a professor at Catholic University
for many years before he joined the faculty at Fordham University, where
he taught until his 2007; and
WHEREAS, Dedicated to his church, Cardinal Avery Dulles held the title
of President of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the
American Theological Society and was a vital member of the International
Theological Commission, the United States Lutheran-Roman Catholic
Dialogue, and a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops' Committee on Doctrine; and
WHEREAS, Born on January 22, 1898, Nataline Dulles married James Sayre
Seymour; for many years, she served as a nurse in Auburn; and
WHEREAS, The Seymour Public Library District traces its history back
to 1876, when the Seymour Library Association was established with a
bequest from the estate of James S. Seymour, former President of the
National Bank of Auburn; and
WHEREAS, In 1931, the Dulles family sold the house to the State of New
York, for use as the residence for the Auburn Correctional Facility
Warden; for 70 years the grand home was often used to entertain visiting
state officials and committees, host Christmas parties, Boy Scouts meet-
ings and family gatherings; and
WHEREAS, In 2013, the magnificent mansion was purchased by Elizabeth
and Paul Koenig, who have undertaken an extensive renovation of the
building and property; and
WHEREAS, Having lived in New Zealand for many years, Elizabeth and
Paul Koenig returned to the United States to be closer to family; in
2010, they moved to a home in Owasco, New York, where Elizabeth quickly
immersed herself in volunteering for many local organizations; and
WHEREAS, On her daily walk, Elizabeth Koenig would pass by the
gorgeous, but aging 67 South Street home; through the years, the house
had been terribly neglected; the kitchen had not been updated since
1950, and none of the eight bathrooms had been modernized, some of which
still had their original Victorian-era fixtures; and
WHEREAS, After taking a tour of the house, the couple were pleased to
find that the empty structure revealed many intact details, as well as
the structure's great architectural bones; Elizabeth Koenig envisioned a
bed and breakfast and a unique event venue which played off of the
home's history and the setting of Auburn's Historic South Street; and
WHEREAS, After buying the house, Elizabeth and Paul Koenig began reno-
vating the dilapidated mansion, hoping to bring it back to its glory
days; and
WHEREAS, The Koenigs enlisted Auburn native, architect Jonathan Carnes
of Crawford and Stearns Architects and Preservation Planners in Syra-
cuse, to fix the leaking roof and repair the crumbling plaster walls and
ceilings; and
WHEREAS, Today, the house exhibits an eclectic mixture of federal,
Gothic, medieval and craftsman architectural styles, after being modi-
fied and enlarged in 1854, and again in 1899; and
WHEREAS, Standing on the front porch, one has the sense of being
transported back to an Auburn of a bygone era; the large, deep porch
provides a sweeping view of the grand mansions of South Street from both
directions, and the elaborate, colorful, mosaic-tiled entryway hints at
the level of detail inside the rest of the house; and
WHEREAS, Upon opening the front doors, a visitor enters into a spec-
tacular, large, formal, wood-paneled great hall furnished with antiques
and displays of historical photos and documents relating to the house
and its notable past occupants; recent updates to the lighting and the
addition of new wallpaper and huge gold mirror in the great hall are
breathtaking; and

WHEREAS, The extensive woodwork in the large double parlor was painted
decades ago, lending a lightness to the huge room, and original wooden
shutters, windows and pocket doors in the home have all been repaired to
working order by Auburnian Bill Clark, master carpenter on the project;
and
WHEREAS, Two matching onyx fireplaces with Greek revival and Victorian
detailing, including ionic pillars, flank one wall, and a baby grand
piano sits ready in the center of the room; Elizabeth Koenig's playful
decorating style includes an enormous, framed 1967 silkscreen print of
the Beatles on one wall, and a huge framed 1859 Cayuga County map on
another; and
WHEREAS, Above each of the two fireplaces hangs a large painting
depicting area scenes by local artist Sandy Shutter; Elizabeth Koenig
has been working with Nino Vitale of Arhaus to provide design consulta-
tion and furnishings throughout the home; and
WHEREAS, The library, located across from the main hall, possesses
many original details such as the leaded-glass bookcases, and the Greek
revival fireplace mantel and mirror; most of the woodwork on the entire
first floor was in excellent condition and only required a good clean-
ing; the newly installed wallpaper perfectly complements the rich brown
tones of the cherry woodwork, and there is an interesting collection of
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local interest books for guests to enjoy; and
WHEREAS, It is evident that very skilled craftsmen created the detail-
ing in the square dining room; the massive fireplace features elaborate
woodwork with carved elephant heads supporting the mantel, paneling that
extends to the adjacent walls, and a mirror; the fireplace is flanked by
two beautiful stained glass windows in warm tones of yellow and gold;
and
WHEREAS, The dining room also features a coffered wood ceiling; in
keeping with the room's nature theme, Elizabeth Koenig kept the blue
bird-patterned wallpaper originally selected by May Henderson, the
former prison warden's wife, who lived in the home for 19 years; and
WHEREAS, Elizabeth Koenig has added furniture in scale with the room's
size, including a large 1860s antique carved cupboard and a long side-
board; the dining set is the perfect size for a party or large dinner;
adjacent to the dining room is an attached enclosed screened porch,
wonderful for enjoying cocktails on a breezy summer's evening; and
WHEREAS, A brand-new service kitchen adjoins the dining room in what
was once the butlers' kitchen; it is fully equipped with new white
cupboards, granite counters, sink, refrigerator, ice machine, and double
oven, and is now used by caterers to warm food and stage for parties;
and
WHEREAS, Beyond the catering kitchen is the large original kitchen
which has been painted and updated with a new commercial stove and
refrigerator; adjoining the kitchen is the original, old-fashioned
pantry, with floor to ceiling wooden shelves and cupboards, perfect for
storing sundries and linens; and
WHEREAS, The elaborately carved center staircase features a landing
with an upholstered window seat below a large stained glass window and
renovation of the four guest rooms is now underway; two of the guest
rooms are very large and will feature working fireplaces and en suite
bathrooms with new lighting, fixtures, including cast iron tubs, tiles
and special European heaters and towel warmers; and
WHEREAS, Feeling strongly about hiring Auburn contractors, Elizabeth
Koenig had local workers modernize the plumbing, paint and wallpaper of
the newly-configured rooms which were partially gutted and restored; and
WHEREAS, Future projects to the exterior and systems include new
copper gutters and roof repairs, exterior painting, extensive porch

repairs, furnace and hot water heater repairs, new electrical service,
new plumbing, smoke alarm installation and partial rehabilitation of the
carriage barn; and
WHEREAS, Today, Elizabeth Koenig's dream of opening a bed and break-
fast and an event venue has come to fruition; the house at 67 South
Street is now known as the 1840 Dulles Inn and is open for guests to
marvel in the elegant design and renovations of this stately historic
mansion; and
WHEREAS, Auburn native, Dr. Peter S. Usowski, CIA Director of the
Center for the Study of Intelligence, will honor his Auburn roots and
his connection with the Dulles family by cutting the ceremonial ribbon
for the grand opening of the 1840 Dulles Inn; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is pleased to have this opportunity to
express its highest admiration for the historic Dulles House, and for
all of the individuals who have worked to bring proper attention to a
place and time which merits recognition in the grand panorama of the
history of our State and Nation; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
congratulate Elizabeth and Paul Koenig, owners of the historic Dulles
House in Auburn, New York, upon the occasion of its designation as an
Historical Landmark; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Elizabeth and Paul Koenig.