Erma Cicchetti

Erma Cicchetti (1903-1961)
Village of Cayuga Heights History. 
By Patricia Longoria
Incorporates pictures of individual buildings.

"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."