L. Frank Baum Meets His Future Wife
678 West Onandaga Street, Syracuse, New York | Unmarked Location
In this house, the twenty-five-year-old L. Frank Baum met his future wife, Maud Gage, daughter of freethinker and suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage, at a Christmas party in 1881.
The house was then owned by William Neal and his wife, Harriet Baum Neal, Frank’s sister. The introduction was made by Frank’s aunt Josephine Baum, whose daughter Josie was a roommate of Maud Gage’s at Cornell University. Family legend says it was love at first sight—or something very close to it—for Frank and Maud.
Matilda Joslyn Gage frequently visited the Neals at this house. In 1912, Frank, Maud, and their four boys stayed here while visiting Syracuse, Frank being by then world-famous for his children’s books.
The house, in serious disrepair, is currently owned by the city of Syracuse. Efforts are reportedly underway to restore the structure.
678 West Onandaga Overall
Overall view of the Neal house, looking north. To its left stands an apartment building; to its right stands another old mansion in slightly better repair.
678 W Onandaga opposite view
The Neal house, looking west.
678 W Onandaga cupola
This view of the cupola and upper roofline shows clearly how the structure is decaying.
678 W Onandaga steps
Front steps of the Neal House. Each step is a solid stone slab, one of which has fractured. Yes, that's someone's wayward garbage bag at lower left.
Signs of Progress?
On a 2019 site revisit, signage was visible showing that the property had been entered in the Syracuse Land Bank and that the International L. Frank Baum and All Things Oz Historical Foundation, which operates an Oz-themed museum in Chittenango, New York, is conducting restoration of the site. Aside from boarding up a shattered window in the cupola, little progress is visible compared to other photos on this page, taken in 2013.
