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Title:
Ithaca
Author:
Snodderly, Daniel R.,
Call
LH-REF 974.771
number:
Publisher:
its Past
and
Ithaca, NY
of
:
:
and
Architecture
of
the Downtown
1946-
Society
of
Tompkins County, 1982.,
Ithaca
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Ithaca
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Note:
History
DeWitt Historical
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^
974.77 1
3?
Snodderly, Daniel R.
Ithaca
and
its
past
*
TOMPKINS COUNTY PUBLIC
LIBRARY
Ithaca. N.Y.
I Tompkins County
I Public Library
Given in
Memory
of
SEYMOUR NADELMAN
by
Mr.
& Mrs.
John
Wilcox, Jr.
Ithaca
and
Its Past
Ithaca
The
and
History
and
Its Past
Architecture
of the Downtown
Daniel R.
Snodderly
DeWitt Historical
of
Tompkins
Society
County
Ithaca, New York
1982
Copyright
All
rights reserved.
thereof,
must
not
by
DeWitt Historical
Except for brief
be
published
reproduced
1982
by
in
quotations
in any form
from
First
Society
the
a
of
Tompkins
review, this
without
County
book,
permission
or parts
in writing
publisher.
DeWitt Historical
Society
of
Tompkins
County
International Standard Book Number 0-942690-00-1
Library
of
Congress
Catalog
Card Number 82-70370
Printed in the United States
Unless
America
illustrations, including those in the Henry Head
Ralph Smith collections, come from the DeWitt Historical Society.
otherwise
and
of
indicated,
the
aV1'
83MW0NS COUNTY RJHJC
LIBRAQ
112 NORTH CAYUGA
STREET
ITHACA, NEW YORK 14830
Contents
Preface
7
Early History
9
Architects
and
Architectural Styles
19
Glossary
I. The Commons
and
Adjacent Areas
DeWitt Park
21
22
Map
II.
1.4
and
Adjacent Areas
Map
60
61
For More Information
95
Index
97
Preface
Few
today's
of
visitors
the early 1970s the
vacant
areas
and
began to
Out
a whole.
of
these
of
Historic District
fully
compete
town.
establishment
things), enabling Ithaca to
other
other
shopping
trusive
their
older
Its Past
buildings
buildings. As
removed, people
signs
the
of
areas
to
and
a model
for
buildings
will answer
the
of
storefronts
began
and
to
many
of
downtown
to
area and
many
private owners
repainted
the
and ob
charm and charac
them. Ithaca
about
questions
the
down
other small cities.
ask questions
those
of
success
the
revive
were
notice
as
DeWitt Park
the
of
public efforts at revitalization spurred
renovate
and
the
and
as
empty lots and
developed in outlying
vitally important to the city
the imaginative development
came
Indeed, Ithaca has become
These
ter
efforts
(among
with
recently
city's center was
Ithaca Commons
the
to
the
as
by
marred
being
were
that
declining. In reaction, city officials
in downtown development, realizing
were
a more active role
health
that the
believe
would
area was
centers
revenues
city
take
downtown
Shopping
stores.
to Ithaca
by focusing
people who
on
have built
the
and
inhabited them.
The book begins
brief
a
with
history
survey
of
the
major
section
of
the
book is divided into two
major areas
area,
and
Included
as
architects
downtown,
of
detailed information is
buildings
are
although
the
parts
given
constructed as
book
can
be
early Ithaca
architectural
the Commons
the 1980s. This information is
tours,
and
of
early
dealing
arranged
most
as
The
styles.
area and
for
and a
with
brief
main
the two
the DeWitt Park
of
the 1820s
in the form
buildings.
the
of
and as
late
two walking
read and enjoyed without
taking
the
tours.
The tours
only be
were
seen
on
pedestrians,
foot. The tours
der described because
Each tour takes
for
planned
about
the
two
are
best
information
hours but they
is
and
some
portions
appreciated
sometimes
can
in the
can
or
cumulative.
easily be divided into
8
Preface
Furthermore,
shorter sections.
be
certain peripheral sections can
From my own experience I
the Commons tour passes many places for
will warn you
omitted.
that,
easily
although
DeWitt
refreshment, the
Park tour does not; the only such place on the latter is the DeWitt
Mall at the beginning and end of the tour. Finally, remember that
the
of
many
buildings
owners should
A few
be
about
find
that I
both historical
privately owned,
the privacy
and
the
of
respected.
comments
buildings
are
the individual
either
entries.
important
most
and architectural reasons.
or
I've
the
selected
interesting for
most
I deal mostly
with
buildings
but occasionally with especially interesting
buildings that no longer exist. I have used, by and large, the date
construction was begun, rather than the date it was completed or the
that
still
are
standing,
date occupancy began.
Although I've tried very hard to verify
surprised
very
done
if
some mistakes
in local
research
information, I'd be
didn't remain. Anyone who has ever
knows how difficult it is to verify
history
all
the
information, especially dates. Local events, unlike events of national
importance, were rarely deemed worthy of careful documentation,
and what
few
original sources remain are often
fragmentary
or con
In addition, buildings were often moved, added to, or
completely rebuilt. To further complicate matters, the street
tradictory.
even
numbering
system
Please feel free to
has been
bring
changed
any
errors
three times in Ithaca's
to my attention,
history.
care
of
the
publisher.
Many
have helped
people
especially
Craig
Williams
and
in my efforts,
I thank them all,
Joanne Volpe Florino of the DeWitt
me
and
Historical Society, Jonathan Meigs of the city Department of Plan
ning and Development, Sarah Hector, and Carol Sisler of Historic
Ithaca. Two collections of information proved particularly useful: A
Tour of DeWitt Park,
Carol Sisler and published
Walking
a series of pamphlets written
by
by
lished historic
resources
survey,
Historic
compiled
Ithaca;
mostly
(director), Mary Donohue, Marjorie Hermanson,
bie in 1978-1979 for
the city planning
and
by
and
the
mostly
unpub
Sarah Hector
Margaret
department. I'd
also
Hob-
like
to
to David
my
Rash, John Harcourt, and Armand
Adams for sharing information, to Joseph Terrell for
preparing the
Carl
Koski
to
for
his
photographic work, and to Richard Romaps,
express
for providing design and production advice. Finally, I'd
thank my wife Carol Oldfield for her support.
senbaum
like
to
appreciation
Early History
According
by
to
an
Iroquois
legend,
the Great Spirit pressing its
theory
claims
that the actions
valleys of central
The Iroquois
themselves
Ice Age
of
of
towns
suppress
and crops of
area
in the twelfth
lake they
and some raided
Indians,
gave their name to.
American homes
the
Cayuga Lake.
the army
vice.
more.
of
by
Each
promising them
private
was
After the war,
to
and
Ulysses
the
land
grants of
also
area.
In 1789
exchange
return
a
around
ceded)
encouraged men
land in
for
to join
for their
ser
600 acres; officers would receive
of the former Iroquois lands lying east
a portion
million
divided into 28
by
the
receive
Seneca Lake (over 1.5
Tract
fled
(later
legislature had
state
and
General John
sent
to the state, in
and a reservation
money
the war, the
land
allied
His troops burned the
1779.
most of whom
their
ceded
small amount of
During
and
thir
or
the Iroquois tribes
of
most
the Indians in
the
the Cayugas officially
north end of
hills
of years ago.
towns. In retaliation, the American government
Sullivan to
more mundane
glaciers carved the
thousands
the
sides of
the British
with
A
earth.
formed
were
thought, probably from the south. The Cayuga
member of the Five Nations of the Iroquois,
Revolutionary War,
the
to the
to the New York
came
tribe, the youngest
occupied land along both
During
hand
New York tens
teenth century, it is
the Finger Lakes
acres)
townships.
commissioners,
what
later became Tompkins
town
east of
Tioga Street. In
was
designated
Township
number
included the
County and
1789 Albany
all
of
Military
22,
northern
the
resident
a
present
named
part
of
down
Abraham Blood
from the state a patent to 1400 acres here, including
all of the present downtown west of Tioga Street. Around 1795 Sim
eon DeWitt received 1000 acres of that land from Bloodgood, his
good obtained
father-in-law,
in
quired additional
most of
the
exchange
land
until
land between
for
he
the
services
rendered,
owned around
hills.
and
he later
2000 acres,
ac
including
10
Ithaca
Its Past
and
born in Ulster County in 1756, of Dutch
ancestry. His father was a doctor and his mother the daughter of a
mill owner. He attended Queen's College (now Rutgers) and later
Simeon DeWitt
joined the
was
Revolutionary Army
Upon the death
of
the geographer-in-chief in
he
ceeded
to that position;
become
surveyor general of
1784
until
his death in
buried
where
site of
DeWitt
As
surveyor
as an assistant geographer
he had
(surveyor).
1780, DeWitt
only 24. He resigned the job to
New York State, a position he held from
was
the Clinton House in 1834. DeWitt
hoped
long
suc
Place), but his body
general, DeWitt
build
to
was
a
home (near
was moved
to
the
Albany
involved in border
was
first
present
in 1844.
disputes
with
neighboring states^ in treaty negotiations with the Indians, and, of
course, in laying out the Military Tract. He later helped promote
and
build
the Erie Canal
and served as chancellor of
the
state uni
his time in Albany but kept in close
touch with Ithaca through his local agent and through frequent visits.
He surveyed the present downtown area into lots and sold them at
modest prices. Many years after he died, the town honored him
by
DeWitt
versity.
spent most of
changing the name of the Public Square to DeWitt Park.
Ithaca's first non-Indian settlers arrived in two groups in the late
1780s. One group, consisting
families,
in
originated
other, consisting
of
from Kingston, Pa.,
It is
Yaple, Hinepaw, and Dumond
Kingston, N.Y., on the Hudson River; the
of
the McDowell
on
the
not clear who came
usual
version,
and
Woodworth
families,
came
Susquehanna River (near Wilkes-Barre).
first. Most early histories agree that the
Yaple-Hinepaw-Dumond group
the
the
settled
several members of
here in 1789. According to
the group
came
to Ithaca
with
larger party in the spring of 1788 to explore the area. In the spring
of 1789, Jacob Yaple and his younger brother
John, Peter Hinepaw,
a
and
Isaac Dumond
the
flats.
the
site of
returned
to
plant corn
in the Indian
clearings on
They left John Yaple to mind the crops and returned to
Kingston for their families, which they brought to Ithaca in the fall of
1789. In that year, Hinepaw built a cabin on Cascadilla Creek east of
the present University Avenue (near the site of the Christian Science
church). Yaple and Dumond built cabins at the foot of East Hill
near
the
a grist mill on
Cowdry House,
408 E. State. In 1791 John Yaple built
Cascadilla Creek just east of Hinepaw's cabin; it was
Ithaca's first industry.
Some early histories
settled
here before
claim
that the McDowell- Wood worth
the other group
(in
1788-1789),
while
group
others
11
Early History
say later (in 1790-1791). In any event, the McDowell-Woodworth
group
have
to
seems
Chemung, N.Y.,
the
and
that grew naturally in the swampy
they brought in
point
cabin
A little
built
to
cattle
near
later,
the
junction
present
Jonathan Woodworth
the
a cabin near
present
Seneca
his
and
junction
Cayuga
and
family
Buffalo
of
moved
and
streets.
here
Cayuga
and
streets.
drawn in 1791, most of
these settlers became illegal residents and were forced to relocate.
Ironically, few of the Revolutionary War veterans settled on the land
they drew. Many of them sold it to speculators, some several times;
Unfortunately,
by
others were cheated
In 1790 Ithaca had
foot
was
on
about
East Hill. The
of
lost
their
land because they didn't
activity had
streets,
where
later
30 residents,
By
still
later
to State
to the intersection
moved
the
north
branch
to Aurora
and
of
1800s,
the early
the Tompkins House
moved
most of
center of commercial and
Cascadilla Creek.
mercial
center
agents or
were
pay the taxes.
or couldn't
the
the military
when
lots
some
hay already harvested.
his family here and built
moved
of
At
valley.
the
winter on
thereafter Robert McDowell
Shortly
a
hay
marsh
from Kingston, Pa., to the area around
to have come here in the summer to harvest
moved
and
the
of
site of
Tioga. Other industrial
Six Mile Creek (which
center
Aurora
Hotel,
road was completed
Jericho-Bath turnpike (a
along the foot
to Owego
Owego (now
War
of
1812
Geneva
and
cut off
the
1795, from Dryden
usual
for fertilizer), Ithaca became
were
the
State)
of
to Ithaca. The
of
turnpike)
When the
in 1811.
Nova Scotia
center
East
Street in 1808. Turn
completed
supply
of
on
filled in),
the Catskill
westward extension of
passed through town along
pikes
in
and
developed
on
The first
Seneca
commercial
its way to join Cascadilla Creek, and was later
Fall Creek (the most important one), and the Inlet.
Hill
of com
and
the Ithaca
centers
ran
at
industrial activity
located. The
was
State,
them grouped
the
gypsum
(used
in Cayuga
trade
gypsum.
In 1817, Tompkins
Cayuga
from
the
village
The
By 1821,
counties.
the Town
had
of
County
Ulysses
the
1820. The
when
and
formed from
the Town
the Village
a population of about
Cayuga Steamboat
launched
was
first
of
Ithaca
Ithaca
was
Seneca
was
and
split
off
incorporated,
1000.
Company
was
organized
in
1819
and
Cayuga Lake, the Enterprise, in
the Erie Canal in 1825 (and of a canal
steamboat
completion
of
of
parts of
connecting Cayuga Lake to
it)
on
opened
trade
routes
to
both Chicago
Ithaca
12
the
and
1834
Atlantic,
Because
of
faster
the town
becoming
1836; for
in
a pitch
route
Its Past
of
the Ithaca-Owego Railroad in
to the Susquehanna River
transportation
these
of
the opening
and
promised a
and
Ithacans had high hopes
links,
a major
shipping
example,
a parcel
and south.
Speculation
center.
of
reached
DeWitt estate,
the
pur
$5000 in December 1835, sold in July 1836 for over
$50,000. The Depression of 1837 scuttled most of those high hopes,
chased
for
under
however,
along
but
continued,
Ithaca's
of
at a
New York's
Erie)
considerably
and
or
completed
paper
many
terrain
unique
dreams,
portation
not
with
main
another obstacle
financial
The location
reverses.
lines (the New York Central
railroad
Ithaca in the 1830s
north and south of
to these trans
canal and railroad projects were either
serious
suffered
Ithaca
of
growth
slower pace.
provided
many
fortunes. The
1840s
and
also
and
the
impeded
growth.
In the 1850s,
provided a new
where
it
however,
boost:
loaded
was
further increased
the
aca
to
made
where
demand for
event
his fortune in
active
he
Cornell
in local
shipment
canal
occurred
boats
on
in the
the telegraph
of
Cayuga Lake.
1850s: Ezra
business,
Cornell,
returned
to Ith
"scientific"
farm
and pursue
agriculture.
affairs and was elected
professor of
Morrill Land Grant Act for
coal mines
Owego to Ithaca,
north. The Civil War
way
to the
young
history
White worked together to secure the
met a
and
boats for
on
establish a model
became
by
coal was shipped
Another important
having
the Pennsylvania
expansion of
named
state
He
legislature,
Andrew D. White.
proceeds
of
the
university "where any person can
find instruction in any
In addition, Cornell gave $500,000
and 200 acres of his East Hill farm. Cornell
University was chartered
in 1865 and opened its doors in 1868.
With the
the 1830s
other
the
post-Civil
revived.
industrial
a new
War
New
building
railroads
projects were
boom
were
initiated.
underway, the
chartered
Alas,
and
the Panic
dream
begun,
of
of
and
1873, like
these ventures. Ezra Cornell
one,
many
himself died virtually bankrupt in 1874.
Many other businesses, like the Ithaca Calendar Clock Company
(1866), survived the panic, however. And a new group of success
ful enterprises were founded in the 1880s and later,
the
earlier
wiped
out
of
including
Ithaca Gun
Another
in 1892
Company (1883)
the Morse Chain
Company (1898).
institution, Ithaca College, was founded
the Ithaca Conservatory of Music (for more information
major educational
as
and
Early History
13
Ezra Cornell.
see
page
60).
And Ithaca
even
period; the Wharton Studios
As early
as
1881,
reincorporating as a city. After
sition to the idea of the increased
passed,
tion
and
had
Ithaca became
risen
to
about
a
movie
had begun
role
short
here in the 1910s.
discussing
debate
a
the question
little oppo
of government, the law
finally
much
city in 1888.
11,000.
a
industry for
and others operated
village officials
of
had
By
and not a
this
time, the
popula
Architects
We don't know very
Ithaca's buildings; often
many
readers will
aware of
and
Architectural Styles
much about
the
people
who
have designed
don't even know their names. Although
have heard of William Henry Miller, few will be
the important
we
contributions made
by
A. B. Dale
Baldridge. I have therefore drawn together information
architects
in the
had designed
For those
at
section
least
below, but I've
two noteworthy
brief survey of the most
lowed by a short glossary.
a
common
J. Lakin
the
on
major
only included those
buildings
unfamiliar with architectural
or
by
who
1930.
terms, I have
also
included
nineteenth-century styles, fol
Architects
Ithaca's best-known
ticed
locally
ings.
Miller
from 1871
was
architect
is William
until about
1920
Henry Miller,
and
designed
who prac
over
70 build
born in 1848 in Trenton, now Barneveld, N.Y.
came to Cornell when it opened in 1868. He be
(near Utica), and
came the first student
1870. His downtown
of architecture at
structures
Cornell,
although
include the DeWitt
he left in
Building (1912),
215 N. Cayuga; the Sage Block (1884), 137-139 E. State; the Stowell
House (1880), 303 N. Aurora; the Dean House (1895), 306 N. Au
rora;
and
Unitarian
of
the
Baptist, Congregational (now Greek Orthodox),
churches.
He
also
designed
the Clinton House in 1872. At Cornell
House
and
the Second Empire alteration
he did
the A.
D. White
(1871),
(1887), Uris Library (1888), Stimson Hall
(1902), and Risley Hall (1911). He also designed many East Hill
residences, including both Sage mansions (1877), and his own home,
the Heller House (1876), 122 Eddy Street. He died in 1922. (For
Barnes Hall
information, see "A Guide to the Works of William Henry
Miller, Ithaca's
by Geoffrey Gyrisco.)
We know less about Alfred B. Dale, an Englishman who appar-
more
Architect,"
Architects
to Ithaca in 1845.
came
ently
Born in Portsmouth, he became
he followed for many
carpenter, a trade
15
Architectural Styles
and
his
years after
arrival
a
here.
After studying for a year with an architect in Albany, he returned to
Ithaca and opened his own office in 1870. He designed many hand
some buildings,
including the Boardman House (1866), 120 E. Buf
falo;
the Griffin Block
(1872), 224 E. State; the Bates Block (1872),
118-124 N. Aurora; the Gregg Block (c. 1872), 108-112 W. State;
the Titus Block (1876), 123-125 W. State, now greatly altered; the
Whiton House (1873), 212 S. Aurora; and the Lehigh Valley House
(c. 1880), 801 W. Buffalo, now called simply the Valley House. Un
fortunately, many of his buildings have been torn down, including
the Ithaca Hotel (1871), 219-225 E. State; the Sprague Block (c.
1871), 147-151 E. State; the Journal Block (1872), 106-110 S. Tioga;
and the Blood Building (1870), 109-113 N. Tioga (also called the
Masonic Block). He died in 1910.
A particularly
interesting
practiced
from 1923
1892 but
grew
Cornell
up in
turned to Cornell
became
the
to 1937.
and
J. Lakin
the jail
architecture
studied
which
he
received
In 1924 he
opened
early 1930s Baldridge designed
and
who
born in Cincinnati in
was
N.J. He
Baldridge,
at
Navy, he re
1922, and then
in 1915. After serving in the
for his M.A.,
Neo-Georgian buildings
house
of
Baldridge
an assistant professor.
late 1920s
is that
Jersey City,
graduated
and
case
downtown, including
the
in
his
own office.
several
In
handsome
county court
the Cayuga Apartments (1930), 100
(both 1932);
new
W. Buffalo; and the Seneca Building (1928), 121 E. Seneca. He also
did Thurston Court in Cornell Heights and several Cayuga Heights
including his
residences,
own,
which
Cayuga Heights Road. After the
ever, Baldridge
stock
in
1931;
did little
with
felt he
shouldn't
money
more.
He then built
time deep-sea
information
issue
of
The
signed
(1828),
comes
the
of
the
was
Hill,
completed,
a
large
Depression, he
at
511
how
amount of
apparently
away from those who needed the
home in Bermuda and "spent much of
a
He died in London in 1969. (Most
from Carol Sisler's
the Historic Ithaca
earliest
courthouse
Robin
commissions
fishing."
his
named
He had inherited
work.
the worsening
take
he
architect
article
of
this
in the Winter 1981
Newsletter.)
of note
first Clinton House
is Ira
Tillotson,
(1828-30)
102 E. Court. In this period,
and
the
architects
who
probably de
Humphrey
House
rarely had formal
training and they often served as builders as well. Tillotson seems to
have been no exception. Born in Farmington, Conn., in 1783, he
16
Ithaca
was
the
staff
during
Genoa
1809,
son
general who
of a
served
His
rise
George Washington
on
academy.
of
.
.
He
.
to Ithaca in
came
builder
architect and
surveyor,
in the hamlet
s
in the then far-famed
was educated
the avocations
and adopted
built
had
in the Aurora
with marked success.
and
Its Past
"He
the Revolution.
school and
and
He designed
was rapid.
Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, First Methodist and
churches [none of which remain], and many of the principal
other
the
buildings in
fices;
the
fact,
in
Tillotson held many local
and
in 1833 he
town supervisor,
where
village
served
as
concurrently
and assemblyman.
In 1836 he
village
moved
he died in 1858. (Quotes from Initial Ithacans,
to
by
of
president,
Michigan,
Thomas W.
Burns.)
born in Warwick, Orange County, in 1850,
farmer. After working as a carpenter for four years, he
Alvah B. Wood
the
son of a
studied
was
architecture
at
Cornell; he
graduated
1875
in
and
began
practicing that year. His downtown buildings include the Immacu
late Conception Church (1896), 117 N. Geneva, and the house at 126
E. Seneca
(1881), now the Town Hall. He also designed the first
parochial school (1883), on West Buffalo (since destroyed
by fire),
several other houses
one
for
J.
W.
Tibbetts on West State,
including
and several depots for the Lehigh
Valley Railroad, including those in
Ithaca (1898), Geneva (1892), and Wilkes-Barre, Pa. At the same
time
he
was
practicing architecture, Wood
served
as
an
insurance
agent.
Clinton L. Vivian
1861. His father
was a
worked
for William
Miller's
office
of
Vivian
Building
to
born in Boonville, N.Y. (north of Rome), in
blacksmith. Vivian came to Ithaca in 1882 and
was
Henry
form
Miller
as an
apprentice.
In 1892 he left
partnership with Arthur N. Gibb. The firm
Gibb designed the Tompkins County Trust
Company
(1895), 110 N. Tioga; the commercial
at 134-136
a
and
building
E. State
(1892); the Lyceum Block (1898), 10.5-111 S. Cayuga, since
demolished; and several houses, including the one at 407 N. Cayuga
(1895). In Renwick (now Stewart) Park,
they designed the old Cas
cadilla School boathouse
now
much altered, and the main
(1894),
pavilion complex (1895), of which the former
restaurant and conces
At Cornell they did
Sibley Dome (1901).
After the firm dissolved in 1900, Vivian designed the
Williams
House (1905), 306 N. Cayuga, his most impressive
the
sions pavilions remain.
work;
tion
of
the Clinton House after the
Building (1909), 208-210
E.
fire
State;
of
the
1901;
the
renova
Pritchard-Jackson
double house
at
403
N
Architects
Tioga/202 E. Court
and
(1902);
17
Architectural Styles
the Methodist
(1916), 208 E.
Court; the commercial buildings at 116 E. State (1901) and 121 W.
State (1901); the old South Hill School (1907), 110 Columbia; and a
number of other residences.
mation comes
Vivian died in 1930. (Most
from David Rash's
the Historic Ithaca
parsonage
article
of
this infor
in the Summer 1981 issue
of
Newsletter.)
Arthur N. Gibb
in Ithaca for nearly 60 years
mayor. Born in Quebec
City in
practiced
served as an alderman and
and also
1868, he
his early education in Canada and Switzerland. He grad
from Cornell in architecture in 1890. After working for Wil
received
uated
liam Henry Miller, he opened an office with Clinton L. Vivian in
1892 (see the Vivian entry above for buildings designed by the firm
of
Vivian
and
Gibb). When that firm dissolved in 1900, Gibb
ticed alone and
was
later
with
different
partners, the
best known
prac
of which
Oman H. Waltz (see below).
As
architect, Gibb
sole
designed
the Wanzer Block
(1905),
302 E.
326-328 E. State; the Leonardo
Hotel (1904), 105-107 N. Aurora; and the current Central School
(1930), 302 W. Buffalo, originally Boynton Junior High School. He
State;
the Eagles
practiced until
Building (1928),
his death in 1949.
Oman H. Waltz
to Ithaca
came
general superintendent of
Daily
William
Journal described him
at
from Elmira in 1901
Henry
that time
Miller's
as
"one
office.
of
to
serve as
The Ithaca
Elmira's
most
prominent
The firm
of
Gibb
and
Waltz designed the Citizens Savings Bank
Treman, King Building (1922),
101-107 E. State; the Crescent Theater (1916), 215-217 N. Aurora;
the Masonic Temple (1926), 115 N. Cayuga; the Elks Club (1916),
139 W. State; the old YMCA Building (1908), 202 E. Buffalo, de
stroyed by fire; the old Central School (1922), 322 N. Albany, now the
Greater Ithaca Activities Center; and Rand Hall (1911) at Cornell.
They also designed the conversion of the Wilgus Block, 153-159 E.
Building (1924),
State,
into the
molished
114-118 N.
old
Tioga;
Rothschild's
the
Building (1913-1914),
which was
de
in 1975.
Architectural Styles
At least
sixteen
clearly differentiated
styles can
be
seen
downtown,
describe here only the seven most common styles of the
nineteenth century. (No eighteenth-century buildings remain.) You
but I
will
Ithaca
18
notice
the
clearest
the
elements of
two
styles
several
combine
will
were
will
built
Some buildings
during a transition
or exhibit
Furthermore, many buildings
later time, often in a different style.
ments.
a
only
few
difficult
probably
(most notably Federal
consecutive styles
Revival), indicating they
much more
however,
mentioned.
characteristics
be
tend to
Even the best examples,
categorize.
exhibit all
buildings
provide
Commercial structures,
style.
of a particular
examples
rowhouses, and multifamily
to
Its Past
single-family houses usually
freestanding
that
will
and
will
show
Greek
and
Others
period.
obvious
not
style
ele
to
were altered or added
at a
flourished in the early decades after the Revolu
tion (1780-1820). Doors were frequently flanked by narrow sidelights
and topped by fanlights. Columns and moldings were usually deli
The Federal
style
and other exterior
cate,
plans
were
doors,
with
formal,
a
the gable
end
The Greek Revival
Its
in
most
impressive
a
examples,
front. The
was
full
gable
away from the
transoms
Federal buildings fre
street.
in the 1830s
style was most popular
examples
end
featured
frequently
and
above
Floor
a minimum.
the
low
classical
faced
symmetrical.
the street,
Other
doors, bold but
1840s.
temple
front,
for
and
elements
simple
and
In
pediment.
pediment or returns substituted
usually formal
lasters,
of
to
symmetrical arrangement of windows and
which massive columns supported a
est
kept
were
The facades
simple.
generally
quently featured
decorations
more mod
the temple
facade
the
included
frieze
and
moldings,
pi
windows.
The Gothic Revival
features
characteristic
and
were
in the 1840s
the pointed
1850s. Its
and
arch on windows and
most
doors,
but towers, battlements, and other castle-like
abounded, as did window tracery and (in frame build
the steep roof,
elements also
ings)
to
style peaked
trim. The term
wooden
describe
Gothic Revival
a
ate gingerbread
eaves
porch,
house
building
sometimes
made of wood
that
has
used
elabor
trim.
The Italianate
typical
Carpenter Gothic is
style
would
supported
by
and perhaps a
hoods
reached
have
its
peak
in the 1850s
low-pitched
decorative brackets,
a
bay window.
roof
topped
ornate
The floor
and
by
window
plan was
1860s. A
a
cupola,
hoods,
usually
a
square.
decorative brackets were also used on com
mercial buildings, the facades of which were often made of cast iron.
A similar style known as Italian Villa featured a tall tower
usually
attached to an L-shaped building.
The
window
and
Architects
and
The Second Empire style,
tured the mansard roof
the
lower
slope
being
(a
The Romanesque style,
round
squat
arches,
The Queen Anne
1880s
line
floor
and
a
plan,
rough
in the 1870s
prominent
porches,
Readers
seeking
and
textures,
ends,
bay
1880s, featured
and
forms.
and massive stone
It flourished in the
tower, decorative
corner
gable
sides,
hoods,
of window
variety
style was above all eclectic.
ornamented
stories,
slopes on all exposed
1890s. Characteristic features included
and
1870s, fea
and
porches and wings.
popular
columns,
two
a
steep),
including
projecting surfaces,
in the 1860s
popular
roof with
quite
19
Architectural Styles
irregular
an
on
shingles
stained
windows,
roof-
upper
and
glass,
often with spindlework.
information
more
should
Identifying
consult
American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles
Terms,
and
1600-
1945, Second Edition (American Association for State and Local His
tory, 1981), by John J.-G. Blumenson; American Architecture Since
1780: A Guide to the Styles (MIT Press, 1969), by Marcus Whiffen;
What Style Is It? (Preservation Press, c. 1977), by John Poppeliers
and others; and, especially for local applications, Historic Preserva
tion in Tompkins
County (Tompkins County
Department
Plan
of
ning, 1977).
Glossary
bracket
other
a
of a
roof;
under
element
projection); often more
cornice
top
dentils
dormer
support
a
building
a series of
the
(or
along
usually
the
or wall
block-like
roofed
an eyebrow
roof
functional
than
molding,
a
of
eaves
decorative
horizontal
projecting
the
projections
structure
dormer is
a
housing
low,
forming
a
a
molding
on
window
curved
dormer in
a
sloping
the general
shape of an eyebrow
fanlight
over a
frieze
frieze
door
the
or window or
area of
a
window
nice or
gable
the
the
in
window
usually
set
a pediment
facade just below the
small
eaves; also
fan-shaped
or
semicircular
a
horizontal
cornice or eaves
window
just below the
cor
called an eyebrow window
triangular
wall
segment
at
the
end
of
a
double-
pitch roof
hood molding
mansard
roof
see window
a
roof
that
hood
has
two
slopes
on
all
exposed
sides,
Ithaca
20
the
lower
slope
being
and
Its Past
steep; the
quite
of
Second
either
carved
feature
key
Empire buildings
a
continuous
molding
into
or applied
Palladian
window
a
surface; see also
three-part
a
central part and
arched,
triangular
a
pediment
in the
to
classical
style;
element used over a
partial
a
pilaster
to
attached
in
returns
horizontal
sides of
sidelight
gable
also,
door,
column
window
a
facade
the
similar
window,
(or
a
larger,
usually
rectangular side parts
above
any
hood
with
window
flanking
is
that
of
triangular
a
building
(or curved)
or niche
flat
representation
of
one)
a wall
Greek Revival houses
continuation of
the gable
a
usually
decorative band
the
without
a
temple
cornice a short
front,
distance
on
the
both
end
window
at
the
side
of a
door
or
another
window;
narrow
hood
large molding over a window or other open
ing, originally designed to direct water away from the opening;
also called a window head, a hood molding, and a drip
molding
window
a
I. The Commons
As early
1950s, Ithacans
the
Adjacent Areas
and
expressing concern about the
deterioration of the downtown area, and in 1963 the city established
the Urban Renewal Agency. Unfortunately, during the 1960s such
as
buildings
important
Hall,
tained
the Cornell
as
the Ithaca Hotel
and
by
action
however. In
were
and others saved
the Commons
of
ramps, and
spurred
buildings. Storefronts
their
and
restored,
old
facades
City
old
protest and sus
the Clinton
Agency aided
Commons, the new
Completion
details
the
addition, the Urban Renewal
ing of the Woolworth store, the
Building, the sorely needed parking
renovate
down. Public
torn
were
Historic Ithaca
(Public) Library,
House,
in the build
Rothschild's
Center Ithaca.
many individual
owners
to
were painted and architectural
and
signs
were
and
Tioga
by
replaced
new,
more compatible ones.
The Ithaca Commons (1974). State
tirely
local funds,
with
conceived
project
the Commons is
has
that
an
imaginative
Ithaca's
revitalized
streets.
Built
and
commercial
en
well-
center.
The award-winning design was done by Anton J. Egner and Asso
ciates, with Marvin Adelman as landscape architect. It provides for a
wide
a
of
variety
fountain,
varied
activities,
an
both
planned and
arrangements and
seating
children's
popular
especially
plantings,
and
unplanned,
play area,
covered
features
ample
pavilions,
and
and a
small amphitheater.
The idea
sions,
was
of a
but only
downtown
with
real progress
from
a
wide
Funding
York,
of
At
an
people,
suggested on several occa
Edward
early stage,
including
Conley
as mayor
planners
the
in 1971
solicited
business
input
community,
and private citizens. ~-~-.
the
required an
20-year
of
had been
election of
made.
range
public agencies,
the
mall
bonding,
Ithaca's lead. The
Commons,
the
amendment
and
cost
this
first
such pedestrian
to existing
action
has
state
enabled
mall
in New
legislation to
other cities
(over $1,000,000) has been
split
to
permit
follow
between
the
22
Ithaca
and
Its Past
Joseph Te,
The Commons
The Commons in 1975,
private
and
23
Adjacent Areas
looking west from Tioga Street. (Courtesy Anton J.
and
public
and
Egner
Associates, Architect.)
sectors,
with
the city paying 15 percent,
and
property owners, through the establishment of a special tax district,
paying 85 percent. To spread the cost fairly, this tax district was
divided into
for property on the
a lower one for property within 250 feet (that
the distance from the Commons increases).
two categories,
Commons itself, and
rate also decreases as
with a
higher
rate
The Commons is only the latest of many changes that have af
fected State Street, which has been the commercial center of Ithaca
since
1842 burned many of the
State Street between Aurora and Tioga. Then in 1871,
the 1820s.
buildings
on
Major fires in 1840
and
Ithaca's largest fire destroyed buildings in the
rora
Street
the north,
on
the
on
the east, Six Mile Creek
and
west.
the
middle
of
Eleven buildings
the
on
bounded
by
Au
the south, State Street
100 block
were
area
of
destroyed;
on
East State Street
the
loss
was
over
24
Ithaca
and
$200,000. The downtown began to
several
and
ever,
this period,
the
of
handsome brick buildings date from
Andrus Block, 143 E. State, and the Grif
fin Block, 224 E. State.
Center Ithaca (1980-1981). Tioga
plex
of
some of
to
last
the
cupies
it
as
develop
Stahl
and
be
that
can
and
shops.
material.
novative
by
finally
Rogers
succeeded.
opened
to
allow
The facade
financial
four-story
in late 1981.
opened
by
The
Cortland in
of
Boston. The
of
The city
State. This
for
the city
urban
combines
association
access
It
oc
renewal,
to
with
an
Selig-
Perry, Dean,
doors
glass
interior
Colorlith,
granite and
Stanley
and
Werner
architects were
building features large
for easy
com
developers have tried
several
but local businessmen Scot McRobb
Associates
and
mann
cleared
1967. Since then,
as
early
and
apartments
land
piece of
this site,
have
Goldberg
and
offices,
shops,
immediately, how
rebuild almost
most
the
including
Its Past
courtyard
a
synthetic.
developers in putting together an in
which included a partial loan guarantee
the
aided
package,
the Farmers Home Administration
and an
Urban Development
Action Grant.
Previous buildings
this site included the Sprague
Block, the
Wilgus Block (later converted into the old Rothschild's Building),
and the Journal Block. The Sprague Block (c.
1871) stood next door
to the Andrus Block (where Home Dairy is) and was designed
by
on
A. B. Dale.
Next door to the Sprague Block, on the southwest corner
and Tioga, stood the Wilgus Block (1868). Brothers John M.
an
and
architect,
Wilgus Block
Wilcox
Henry
the
on
Porter
of
State
Wilgus,
Wilgus, a real estate dealer, built the
of Dwight Tavern, an
early "publick
L.
house."
site
Buffalo designed the building. The Wilgus
Opera House, seating 1600 people, occupied the third and fourth
floors. Retail stores occupied the first floor, offices the second. The
house
opera
ceum
until
and
was
of
Ithaca's
main
entertainment center until the
Ly
built on South Cayuga Street in 1893. From 1894
1911 (except for occasional years), the Ithaca
of
Music
Theater
was
Conservatory
occupied
the second
and
third
floors
of
the Wilgus Block.
Behind the Wilgus Block on South Tioga Street was the Journal
Block (1872), also designed by A. B. Dale. The Ithaca Journal built it
and remained
schild's
later
there
until
remodeled
it
moved
building. All three buildings
1975.
to its present
the Journal Block
were
torn
site
in 1905. Roth
and occupied
down for
the
whole
urban renewal
in
The Commons
and
25
Adjacent Areas
r
The Wilgus Block, center, flanked
Andrus Block, and the Sage Block,
Block
on
the
right
around
1909.
on
Tioga Street is the Journal Block.
Only
by
the Sprague
Block,
Directly behind
the Andrus
and
the
the Wilgus
Sage blocks
remain.
Rothschild's Department Store (1975). 215 E. State. Jacob Roth
schild
began his business,
then
called
the Boston
Variety Store,
in
1882 in the Griffin Block, 224 E. State. Later his brothers Daniel
and Isaac joined him.
Jacob had come to America from Russian
Poland
at
the
age of
from Syracuse
Wilgus Block,
nal Block for
remodeled
company
architects
12. He began his
In 1889 Rothschild's
to Binghamton.
and
later the firm
more
space.
the Wilgus Block
remained
there
the
moved
purchased and remodeled
road
to the
the Jour
1913-1914 Rothschild's extensively
In
by
until
career as a peddler on
replacing the
the
Warner, Burns, Toan,
move
and
roof and
to this
site.
walls,
and
New York
Lunde designed the
the
City
present
building.
The
current store stands where
the Ithaca Hotel
once stood.
Built
three-story wood building burned
down in 1871. It was rebuilt as a four-story brick building in 1872,
however, and remained a favorite hostelry until torn down for urban
first in 1809
by
Luther
Gere,
the
O-MWNS COUNTY WJWC OMAIt
312 NORTH CAYUGA
STRUT
ITHACA. NEW YORK 14190
Ithaca
26
and
Its Past
The Ithaca Hotel in 1935 (since demolished). At the far right is the old Roth
schild's Building, an extensive renovation of the Wilgus Block. (From the Henry
Head Collection.)
in 1967. Designed
renewal
date 200
175
guests and
the
and
sample
by
A. B.
diners,
Dale,
the hotel
Griffin Block (1872). 224 E. State. This fine
architecture
William H.
Griffin,
his
office
front,
firm
bay,
terior
Saltonstall
of
houses
a
called
tionary
and soda
named
after
and an
early
occupied
operated
and
insurance
brickwork
Romanoff
floor. They
Simeon's,
shop that
to
its
retained
example of
A. B. Dale
by
councilman and
and elaborate
the ground
bar
city
designed
building has
here. The
copper
of
a
was
its "billiard
and also advertised
look like
operated
the
the
In 1974 the
exterior
first floor,
the Goodie
the 1920s.
and
from
the
in the basement for
Naughton-Brown
1930s
at
until
least 80
1973. A
in
now
which
Shop,
Simeon
space
by
had
agent who
and cornice.
here in
built
and
original cast-iron store
rehabilitated
restored
Italianate
a confec
(Simeon's is
DeWitt, surveyor general of New York
developer of Ithaca.) The Browning, King clothing
the
and
Dutch Kitchen.
popular
commercial
could accomo
State
store
barbershop
has
rebuilt after
fire
years.
Building (possibly before 1866,
in 1870s). 220-222 E.
State. The Naughton Brothers grocery was
here in the 1890s. Emil Kohm operated a tailoring business here from
at
least 1910 to 1946,
when
John Lewton
succeeded
him. Lewton's
The Commons
The Griffin
Block,
with
part
subsequently developed into
building
was
renovated
by
a
the third
in the first-floor
room of
around
the turn
of
the
famous
the
the
1880s, but
most
it
was
floor,
and a pressed-metal
222. The fourth floor
Chester Piatt's. Platt
wasn't until a
preacher.
the
left.
ceiling
was added
century.
he supposedly invented
overheated
on
and women's
216 E. State (1956). Several drugstores have
but
Building
clothing store.
Claire Lewton in the 1970s. It has
men's
by
27
Carl Koski, 1981.)
round-headed windows on
and walls
Adjacent Areas
Naughton-Brown
the
of
(Photograph
The
and
hot
the ice
Cornell
summer
cream
dish
students
occupied
opened
Sunday
called
his
store
in
in the 1890s that
the
reportedly
this site,
sundae
soon
for
spread
an
its
fame.
Pritchard- Jackson
Building (1909). 208-210 E. State. Designed by
Ithaca
28
Its Past
and
No. 46 STATE
ITHACA,
STREET,
NEW
-
YORK,
DEALER IN
House Furnishing & Builders Hardware
[0tt, Sftttl, Uil0,
Mechanics'
Tools, Carriage Trimmings,
Agricultural
GLASS,
WE ABE ALSO GENERAL AGENTS FOR
PAIEBANK8'
And for
SCALES,
several Fint-Clau
i COOKING STOVES.
PARLOR
manufacturers of Every Description
Tin,
of
Copper & Sheet Iron Ware.
Onr Stock
will at all
times be found complete, and
oar prices as
low
the
as
market
will afford.
Clinton L. Vivian, this Neo-Classical
Charles F. Blood, a merchant and real
grocery
stood at
century.
estate
210 from the. early 1880s
constructed
was
Rumsey
frieze
the turn
until after
building
since
it
was
built
Only
out
Pelton. It is
quantities of nails
War. John's
1962,
the
he became
and spikes
brother, Charles
him, became
until
occupied
said
a partner
after which
ond-story projecting
metal ceilings
over
the
the
over a
businesses have
century ago to house
two
Rumsey's hardware. Before that, McCormick's hardware
Pelton's hardware
of
windows covered with grills.
Block (c. 1873). 206 E. State.
this
by
developer. The Jackson
Note the five pilasters, the decorated keystones
windows, and the
occupied
building
spot.
a rich man when
just
J.
In 1858 John
prior
to the
he
then
and
Rumsey bought
purchased
outbreak of
large
the Civil
had been working for
in 1876. The company remained in business
Rumsey,
who
the Outdoor Store
bay,
the
corbeled
in. Note the
moved
frieze,
and
in the first- and second-floor rooms.
the
sec
pressed-
The fourth floor
The Commons
Adjacent Areas
and
29
The Cornell Library, with part of the Blood Building on the right, around 1960
(since demolished). A handsome cupola on the library had been removed. (From
the
may have been
the
rear
first
Collection.)
the initial
added after
the
wall,
Head
Henry
three
construction.
of which
stories
are
Also
notable
is
composed of cut
stone.
First Bank
in 1864
as
office at
of
Building (1932).
the First National Bank
136 E. State. Nine
of
202-204 E. State. Organized
Ithaca,
later it
years
this
bank
its
opened
first
the Merchants
merged with
Farmers Bank (organized in 1838). Richard Metzger designed
and
this Art Deco
polished
and
Ithaca
building,
granite,
and
which
has
is
ornate
covered
in Indiana limestone
entrances
decorated
with
and
marble
bronze.
dry
James Morrison's
1880s, later
came
goods
C. A. Whelan's
United Cigar Store. (In the
cigar
factories, but
1890s drove
(on Tioga
at
them
nineteenth
facility
Seneca),
a
out of
was
stood
cigar
the introduction
most of
The drive-in
store
built
here in
factory,
1870s
the
and
still
century, Ithaca
later
had
and
the
several
of ready-made cigarettes
in the
business.)
on
free county
the
site
library
of
the Cornell
begun in 1863
Library
with
funds
donated by Ezra Cornell. The auditorium, Library Hall, hosted
many lectures and meetings, including Cornell University's inau
gural ceremony and many Cornell commencements and lectures.
Famous lecturers included Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Louis Agassiz,
and James Russell Lowell. The building was torn down in 1960.
Ithaca
30
The Citizens Savings Bank
County
Trust
the Finch Block.
Also torn down
on the left hy the Tompkins
County Clerk's Office Building, and part
(Photograph by Carl Koski, 1982.)
the
the Blood
was
Its Past
Building, flanked
Company Building,
of
and
Building
next
door (sometimes
Built in 1870, it had been designed
early home of T. G. Miller's.
the Masonic Block).
Dale
and was an
Citizens Savings Bank
in 1868
office
as
the Ithaca Savings
in the
In 1878 it
(The first
rear of
moved
Woodcock
to its
present
House, previously
tore
Bank,
down
the
the
site,
the
this institution
bank,
which was
home
of
on
its first
opened
East State Street.
then occupied
Ezra Cornell's
son
to
build
a
by
the
Alonzo.
Ezra had died in this house in
house
A. B.
114-118 N. Tioga. Founded
Obadiah Curran's drugstore
president of
The bank
Building (1924).
by
called
1874.)
large three-story brick
The Commons
and
Adjacent Areas
building, designed by William Henry Miller,
burned,
structure
features
The bank has
Waltz
and
windows.
entrance
and
to
and
was
in 1935
in
and adopted
left has been
has Palladian
brackets
Clerk's
the
to
cornice,
the
door,
and
an
have
were
of
the
main
110 N. Tioga.
the Ithaca Trust Com
The
Company
doorway on the
The building also
original
window.
Corinthian pilasters,
and
spot
for
and elaborate
motifs
the
occupied
this
spot,
their
bookstore
here in
the 1870s
to this
and
century, starting
Company has
the
County
from
at
occupied
the
brackets under
first-floor windows
the
corbeled
the tall
over
circular grills above
106 N. Tioga. The
almost a
Trust
County
and
pilasters.
Many bookstores
it
and
Corner Book Store. In the 1860s
moved
left
arched
National Bank (founded
County
Finch Block (1868). 158 E. State.
shops
and
The Ithaca Trust
arched
least 1949. Note
sunburst
the
1891.
for
Building (1863).
least 1851. The Tompkins
at
structure
current name.
this
office occupied
from
columns
Gibb
by
roof.
Clerk's Office
building
designed
to the
area
After that
office.
in
windows, Ionic
the
an
the Tompkins
converted
under
County
with
was
Company Building (1895).
organized
merged
1836)
renovated
Gibb designed this
which
pany,
in 1887.
fluted Ionic
massive
Trust
County
built. It
one was
the 1868
resemble
Tompkins
Vivian
the present
31
Finch
1880s. Taylor
and
and
stationery
early home
Finch
Dudley
spot.
an
was
and
and
of
the
J. B. Taylor
Apgar booksellers
Carpenter
sold
books
stationery from at least 1899 to at least 1910. In 1911 the Corner
Book Store was incorporated here although it left in 1923. Later
and
Sharing Book Store. Note the elaborate cast-iron window
hoods (two kinds) and the rope moldings around the windows of this
came
Profit
Italianate building.
Krum
an
Building (1850s
unusual
a
of
decoration:
recessed
and
brickwork between
the
1851). In the 1930s
building. Note
glass-tile storefront was added to this
rated stone
lintels
above
150 E. State (1860s).
over a century.
gangs of
148,
has
third
152 E. State (between 1840
for
building
1860s). 154 E. State. This
floors; and above the third-floor windows,
horizontal design, and a diagonal brick pattern.
second and
arch,
variety
or
the
Dry
It is
also
faint
Art Deco
the
deco
windows.
goods or
said
clothing
stores
have been here
building was constructed by
The building is very similar to
that the
inmates from Auburn Prison.
especially the Italianate
an
a
window
hoods
and cornice.
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*^
The Commons
146 E. State (between 1840
were
shutters
1971. The
is
supported
142-144 E. State (c.
frieze
windows
and sills.
of
the
Adjacent Areas
and
1851). The
to this Italianate
added
cornice
and
small
by
and
around
16 brick brackets.
by
ornate
The Grand Union Tea
balconies
building
commercial
1850) This brick Greek
covered
33
grills
cast-iron
Company
Revival
was
and
here
building
stone
has
lintels
the turn
around
century.
134-136 E. State (c. 1892). Robert A. Heggie
his jewelry
business in the 1870s; later his brother Willis joined him. They
probably moved to this building when it opened. The business re
in the
mained
family
than its neighbors,
1960. This
until
with elaborate
fourth floor. It
was
ative
was
building
friezes
opened
is
rather more ornate
double
and
pilasters on
the
designed by Vivian and Gibb and built by the
West Brothers to house their shoe store.
130-132 E. State (1840s). The Quigg dry goods store operated
here from the 1850s until the 1890s. Bool's furniture store, a cooper
venture,
fourth
floor,
dormer
here from
added after
by
is topped
the
126-128 E.
at
least 1929. The
a mansard roof with
first floor here from
State.
operated
four
1883,
in the Ithaca
stores
and
it is topped
and slate shingles of
Brooks Block
was
two
used
by
and
at
C.
one
an
business
Whaley
time
The fourth floor
area.
It is
Pharmacy
the
until
a mansard roof with
shapes.
as
Brooks
1890
around
dissolved in 1978. The firm, founded by A.
and later known as Gauntlett and Brooks,
after
to
five
windows.
Brooks Block (1840s).
cupied
1883,
least 1901
at
said
alternate
that
stop
a
on
trench
the
was
in 1850
owned
was
dormer
oc
and
added
windows
behind
the
Underground
Railroad.
Hawkins Block (between 1840
goods store
has
occupied
this
Morrison, Hawkins, Finch,
and
spot since
and
1851).
120 E.
State. A
dry
1858. Owners have included
Todd (in
various combinations).
The
tenant, Irv Lewis Men's and Boy's Wear, was founded in
1905 by Jacob Lewis, a tailor from New York City, to sell work
present
clothes.
third
It
reached
generation of
location in 1946, and is being run by the
Lewis family. The corporation also owns Hol-
this
the
ley's (founded 1929), Parajay's, and the Clothes Horse. The building
has decorated lintels on the third and fourth stories and an elaborate^
cornice.
116 E. State (c. 1901). Clinton L. Vivian designed this building for
D. W. Burdick of White and Burdick's drugstore. The drugstore
Ithaca
34
and
Its Past
The 100 block of East State Street (north side), looking east from Cayuga,
around 1930. On the left is the Baldini Building; three buildings to the right
of it is the Grant Block. (From the Ralph Smith Collection.)
and stayed
spot
ing
probably from the Grant Block next door, around 1901
until it closed in 1932. The Alhambra Hotel occupied this
here,
moved
from
the 1860s
the
arches and
until at
arched windows above
Grant Block (also known
State. The first
in 1811
though
bined
on
the Floros
this
the
village
the
hall,
village
three-story
project
them.
Block) (1851).
108-114 E.
Grant's Coffee House, built
Jesse Grant and his son. Al
voting place,
and
the
site was
a
when
town
of
rebuilt
each
and council
Ithaca
were
time.
Grant's
chamber
com
incorporated in
every municipal officer for the years 1821-1832 was
there. About that time, Grant and Company stagecoach lines
1821. In
elected
building
as
tavern, and operated by
twice destroyed by fire, it was
as
as
served
least 1899. Note
fact,
The Commons
had its
ran
35
Adjacent Areas
there too. (The Catskill
office
1808,
in
and
down State Street
turnpike, which reached Ithaca
its way from the Hudson River to
on
Bath.)
From the 1910s to the 1930s Peter Floros
his
operated
candy-
confectionary store in this building. Another well-known
business was A. H. Platts and Company, a cigar manufacturer that
and
making
had its beginnings in 1863
in the 1880s. It
40
as
time,
and produced
Pluma,"
"La
Other businesses included White
(1870s-1890s), Chipman's furniture
Normandie Restaurant (1940s
and
Building (also known
E. State. Two families, the
Baldini
as
and
"Our Club
store
s
and
drugstore
(1890s-1920s),
and
the
1950s).
Block) (c.
the McWhorter
McWhorters
this Renaissance Revival
owned
of one section
Burdick'
Rooms."
102
four floors
cigar-makers at one
"Ultimatum,"
famous brands
such
and occupied all
building for
the
and
most
1860s).
Baldinis, have
of
its
existence.
McWhorter's grocery had its beginnings in the 1860s. Later came
Blackman Brothers grocery, Endicott Johnson Tannery Shoe Store,
and
the
occupant, Williams
current
William Baldini
cast-iron
its
since
window
founding
hoods (some in
Shoes,
owned and operated
in 1949. The
the
form
of
by
features
building
brackets
pediments),
hoods, and an ornate cornice.
Treman, King Building (also known as the Montgomery Ward
Building) (1922). 101-107 E. State. In the early 1840s, Leonard Tre
man (grandson of Abner Treman, founder of Trumansburg) worked
supporting the
at
sills and
here. With his brother Lafayette, he
in 1844. In 1849 they took in their brother Elias,
cousin Leander R. King, to form Treman, King and
Pelton's hardware
bought
and
the
store
in 1857 their
Company. The first
store
store was a
three-story
wood
structure,
but later
four-story brick building was erected. It burned in 1921 and was
Waltz.
replaced by the present one, which was designed by Gibb and
Note the Chicago-style windows (two small windows flanking a large
a
one).
The firm
Ward
moved
in
of
Treman, King dissolved in 1944. Montgomery
during
the 1940s
and stayed until
the 1970s.
Colonial Building (c. 1830). 109-113 E. State. Still a handsome
building despite its abbreviated columns, the Colonial began life as
the Bank
on
of
Ithaca
around
the Commons.
1830,
That bank
which makes
merged
with
it the
building
oldest
the Tompkins
County
Bank in 1849, however, and left the building. The Post Office oper
and bakery,
ated here from 1882 to 1910. Fred Atwater's grocery
founded in 1886
on
North Aurora,
occupied
the
premises
from
the
Ithaca
36
The Treman,
the Lyceum
King
Block,
Building. On the
the Lyceum
and
1910s
had
until
the
1952. The
the
original
wings
the
from
later. In 1934
across
the Colonial Building. On the right,
the Jamieson
the
McKinney Block,
temple-style Greek Revival
the
the
recessed
when
stairs
lower
on
sections of
building
either
the Post Office
stairs removed.
side
moved
Atwater
the Ionic
in,
added
columns
storefront extended.
Probably built for
glass panels on the
front.
Matching
J. C.
Penney's,
which
building features
black
ornamental panels
flank
the street, this Art Deco
sign area.
119-121 E. State (1940). Glazed tiles
horizontal window)
by
and
Hall Annex.
with
115-117 E. State (1936).
Carrara
City
was closed off and
were removed and
moved
left,
stairway
to basement stores. In 1882,
basement
the two
Its Past
Theater,
exterior
a central
leading
and
mark
Richard Metzger,
Building
and
and glass
this Art Moderne
who
also
designed
brick (in
building. It
a recessed
the First Bank
may have done the Art Moderne
designed
was
of
storefront at
Ithaca
132-134
W. State. Earlier buildings here have included the Osborn Block
(Robert C. Osborn
operated a
from 1891
and
to
1930)
candy and stationery shop
Deming Hall.
123-131 E. State (1940). The handsome tile
roof on
this
on
this
site
building
is
The Commons
When You
Adjacent Areas
and
Ready
are
37
Purchase
to
STOVES,
TINWARE
AND ALL KINDS OF
HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS,
And
want
to
secure
the BEST GOODS for the least
go
money,
to
TREMAN, KING & CO'S
Hardware Store.
reminiscent of
two- and
in brick
the Spanish Revival
three-window groups
(The first floor
color.
S. S. Kresge's built this
CVS bought the
from
the 1880s
and
a
the
Army
and
owners
the second
the alternation
floor,
and
of
the change
house
to
a
five
and
the 1920s.
Navy Store,
remodeled
installed the
also
originally divided into two stores.)
and
new
1940). The
moved
this
from
building
large one-story false front (which
Block),
Note
dime store, and
in 1969. Barr Brothers hardware was at 127
State (between 1930
135 E.
Harold's
was
structure
building
until
on
style.
storefront,
also
present
next
door (133 E. State)
in 1978.
extended
and added
occupant,
They
removed
across
the Sage
the shutters
on
the
second story.
The Tompkins
became
Panic
of
County
Bank
was
founded
on
this
spot
in
1836;
it
bank in 1866. The bank reportedly survived the
1857 when local businessman Josiah B. Williams rolled a
a national
wheelbarrow
depositors
full
of gold
that the
bank
and
was
silver
solid.
into the
building
In 1935 the bank
to
convince
merged with
Ithaca
38
The Colonial
the Ithaca Trust
pany
and moved
Company
to that
and
Building before
form
to
Its Past
bank's
1883.
the Tompkins
quarters on
County
Trust Com
North Tioga.
Sage Block (1884). 137-139 E. State. Ithaca's best-known
tect, William
Henry Miller, designed
this
building
in
archi
a variation of
distinguished by ornate terra
between windows. For much of his
the Renaissance Revival style; it is
cotta
decoration
career
chanics
on
the
Miller had his
office
and
in this
building,
Society. From the 1920s to the
count store occupied
ing
frieze
the
front,
cleaned
the
of
the city,
brick,
and
did
the Ithaca Me
1970s, J. J. Newberry's dis
first floor. McDonald's
in 1977. At the urging
story false
as
they
built
renovated
removed
a
the
build
large
a new storefront.
one-
The Commons
The 100 block
and
Adjacent Areas
East State Street (south side) in 1939,
of
39
looking
from
east
mid-block.
Andrus Block (1871). 143 E. State. A
printing business
underwent
a
occupied
newspaper,
a
he
paper
the
weekly
and a partner.
and
the
site
for
100 years, although it
changes. The firm had its
array of name
when Jonathan Ingersoll founded Ithaca's first
called
the Seneca Republican. In 1816
to Ebenezer
The
Mack,
a
name was changed
paper was sold
young
printer
in 1833.
out
the
firm had
Monitor, had
mill.
a paper
took in
as partner
necticut.
Ithaca's first
established
chased
The firm
1817
to the Ithaca Journal in 1823
after
published
or
from Owego,
it began publishing the paper, Mack's firm
into other areas that were to become its main business.
Soon
and
publishing
around
bewildering
beginnings in 1815,
sold
this
remarkable
a
print
shop
A bookstore
William
Andrus,
purchased
this
book,
a
site
By 1820,
Ephraim Reed's Musical
and
also was
branched
bindery,
opened.
and
had
pur
In 1824 Mack
traveling bookseller from Con
in 1831. Andrus
continued
the
40
Ithaca
business
William
son
1869, forming
a
the
structure,
with a print
present
milk and
the
the
in
and
and
bindery
after which
owner, Home
donut
after
came and
went),
his father's death in
William A. Church. When
with
1871, Andrus
shop
partners
Church built the
in the
Their
rear.
a
fire
current
partner
his printing busi
Sprague Block (since demolished).
1929,
until
door to
ness next
The
building
it
continued
partnership
destroyed
ship lasted
Its Past
Mack died in 1849 (various
after
Andrus's
and
and
shop; the
Dairy,
Church
was
moved
founded in 1929
cafeteria was added
original cast-iron storefront was altered
later. At
to the
butter
as a
some
point,
present wood and
front. Note especially the golden-oak signboard with gilt letter
ing, the decorated stone blocks that flank the front, the arched win
glass
dows,
the
and
stone globes at each end of
the
cornice.
An alley between the Andrus Block and Center Ithaca leads to
parking lot and Green Street. South Tioga Street begins again, for
brief
Hickey's Music Store (1959).
as
a
beyond Green.
stretch,
worked
a
a
clerk
and
a
music
201
S.
teacher
Tioga.
Joseph F.
before opening
Hickey
a
guitar,
banjo shop on State Street in 1892, the same year the
mandolin,
Ithaca Conservatory began. The store moved to the Lyceum Block
and
on
South Cayuga Street
ler's) before
and
has
the
corner
and
the
a
and
then to the Eagles
coming here in 1959. It
large
now specializes
in
Mil
sheet music
business. Joseph Esty's tannery occupied
(southwest corner) from the 1820s until 1871,
mail-order
opposite
village
Building (now
built
a
farmer's
market on one of
the
other corners
in
1824.
Woolworth Department Store (1967). 115 E. Green. This
was
the
opened
first
successful urban renewal project
its first Ithaca
branch
on
State Street
in the
city.
building
Woolworth
before 1910.
foundry begun in
sometime
Earlier, Reynolds and Lang, a machine shop and
the 1860s, occupied part of this site. The Forest
City
engine was its best-known product.
steam
traction
Hall (1939). 108 E. Green. The city bought this Art Deco
building from the New York State Electric and Gas Company in
1964. That company had begun in 1852 as the Ithaca Gas Light
City
Company,
later,
a private concern
Sage
formed
by Henry
Sage
and others.
One
group (with many of the same people)
formed the Ithaca Water Works Company. The two companies were
eventually combined, and in 1900 the gas and water company added
year
and another
The Commons
electric
an
1903,
over
the
in
water works
because
here
three presidents
houses
do
built
were
simple stone
City
in
store
shop that
stood
occupied
the
block
The
and
as a
entire
building
current
was
(The
east.
two
other
as mirror
son,
built
Greek Revival
images.)
house,
as
and sills.
bought
the Tremans
1844,
machine
Williams. The
fieldstone house
Hall Annex (1916). 123 S. Cayuga. Sometime
hardware
their
lintels
this
mark
President's Row
Timothy
houses
Ferrises, father
the
the gable ends
returns at
the
by
and
two
moved
as
Green
Ithaca had lived in homes
of
the row, this
later
who
south side of
known
once
the Village
of
member of
Horace Mack,
The
was
Benjamin Ferris, Horace Mack,
only remaining
by
Geneva
and
and
1904.)
Wilkinson House (1840). 115 W. Green. The
between Cayuga
41
Adjacent Areas
(After two typhoid epidemics, in 1894
company.
the city took
and
this
on
site.
In
fact,
for
the
they bought
after
foundry
the
and
Treman businesses
at one point.
was constructed
electric and gas com
lions'
pany but
the
now
houses county
to the
attached
chains
heads supporting
The fourth floor was added
Note the
offices.
marquee.
later.
Jamieson
has
building
of
a
McKinney
handsome
Designed
windows.
signs
and
Frederick E. Brown
by
style changes
buildings,
1873
until
it has
1962,
when
were
the
here from
business
of
plate-glass
it
Scranton,
it is larger than
a rough
from floor to floor. Jamieson
plumbing suppliers,
large
storefront with
cast-iron
the Second Renaissance Revival:
Renaissance Revival
and
Block (c. 1898). 115-121 S. Cayuga. This
finish,
McKinney,
and
the
the
and
by
earlier
window
plumbers
founding
company's
was purchased
shows
A. L. Hull
in
and
moved.
The
1830s,
current
occupant, the
although not at
D. D. Spencer
this
Corner Book Store, dates back to the
site.
established a
According
bookstore
to
more
a
local
history
than 50
Finch. Finch joined
158 E. State (corner
and
the Finch Block
of
with
State
was
and
J. B. Taylor
and moved
Tioga). After that
built in its
back in. Around 1873 Finch formed
place
a new
(1868),
sold
the
1883,
earlier.
years
Around 1860 George W. Apgar bought it but he later
Dudley
of
it to
store
to
building burned
the
partnership
store
with
moved
George
Apgar. In the early 1900s the store was known as Taylor and Carpen
ter, and in 1911 it was incorporated as the Corner Book Store. The
firm
moved
to 109 N. Tioga (in the Blood
Building)
in 1923
and
to
Ithaca
42
Manufacturers'
Its Past
and
Agents for
JAMIESON Si Mt
The Florida Steam Heater
PERFECTLY SAFE AND DURABLE.
J
Practical Plumbers.
4a* t*iim>
ityutt and
Wholesale
and
Retail Dealers in
Wrought and Cast Iron Pipe and
Fittings; Lead Pipe and Sheet
Lead; Brass & Iron Valves;
Steam and Water Gauges;
Marble Slabs and Bowls, Copper
Galvanized Iron Boilers,
and
Pumps, Sinks, Bath Tubs, Rub
ber Hose and Packing, Gas
Fixtures,
etc.,
CAYUGA ST.
9 SOUTH
ITHACA, N. Y.
SET WITHOUT BRICK-WORK.
For
its
etc.
Warming City or Country Residences, Hotels,
Stores, Schools, Churches and Public Build
ings, hy Low Temperature Steam.
All
orders will receive prompt attention.
in 1969. For many years the store was run by Earle
Mabel DeMotte; she sold it to the current owners, Charles and
present site
and
Ursula
Schlough,
in 1976.
113 S. Cayuga (1934). The Lyceum Theater
in 1893. An L-shaped
trance
here
its
and
Green Street. In
and
building,
auditorium on
other
words, it
123 S. Cayuga. The
Lyceum
remained
the Lyceum
in
use
the
behind
ran
about
30.
built
had its
the
the
on
lobby
present
buildings
Ithaca theater
grandest
for
site of
was
at
this
spot
and en
city hall
at
on
115-121
the time, the
years.
105-111 S. Cayuga (1940). On this site, Elias Treman built the
Lyceum Block in 1898. Vivian and Gibb designed the
building in a
style similar
since
been
Fury
building
to the Lyceum Theater
torn
door. Both buildings have
down.
Block (between 1883
originally housed
a
projecting frame bay
ornate cast-iron brackets.
usual
next
and
1893). 126-128 S. Cayuga. This
grocery
and
a
and
meat
wooden
shop.
marquee
114-118 S. Cayuga (c. 1898). John M. Wilgus
It has
an
supported
designed
this
un
by
simple
The Commons
The Lyceum Theater, the Jamieson
and
Adjacent Areas
and
McKinney Block,
Annex, from left
but stately brick building,
which
43
and
the
City
Hall
to right, in 1922.
has
arched windows and
projecting
stone sills.
106-112 S. Cayuga (c.
1870).
Founded
by
tailor Morris Lewis
Morris'
tion
the Lewis
of
facade
Men's Wear is
1905,
around
was added
family. Little
the Chanticleer
that
has
boasts
received
remains of
in the twentieth
101 West State (c. 1947).
a
Originally
status
here included
the Office Hotel
grocery (1880s
One of the
and
run
the
by
the third genera
original
buildings;
the
century.
handsome
landmark
being
a restaurant
but
now a
bar,
multi-colored neon rooster sign
from the
(1910s
and
city.
Earlier businesses
1920s)
and
the Crozier
1890s).
most
city's
famous
businesses,
the Ithaca Calendar
Clock Company, apparently had its beginnings on this site early in
1866. Then in April of that year the company moved several doors
south on
Cayuga,
and
old
moved
to State
and
Albany.
Finally,
large three-story brick building on the
county fairgrounds at Dey and Adams. Although that
1874 the firm built
the
in 1867
a
in
site of
build-
44
Ithaca
and
Its Past
An Ithaca Calendar Clock.
ing burned
in
The business
1876,
it
closed
in
largely because
ies that
immediately rebuilt and is still standing.
1920, however, soon after Prohibition began,
was
it lost its biggest customers, breweries
gave the clocks
103 W. State
(1885,
away
and
distiller
as premiums.
perhaps much earlier).
The first three floors
of
building may be the western half of a Federal commercial block
constructed by Henry Ackley in 1824. (We know that
Ackley built a
three-story, six-bay brick building on the southwest corner of State
[then called Owego] and Cayuga at that time.) In 1885 the building
this
was
substantially altered,
Many furniture
stores
Howard, Barton,
and
have
the
including
occupied
addition
this spot,
fourth floor.
of a
including
ones run
by
Shulman.
105 W. State (between 1910
and
1919). This is
a
typical early
twentieth-century Ithaca commercial building, with its storefront in
tact. The design is similar to that of the State Theater, which was
built later. John L. Whiton's bakery occupied this spot (and 107)
from the 1860s to
ceeded
the
1880s,
and
Melvin W. Quick's
bakery
suc
it.
State Theater (1928). 107-119 W. State. Soon
after
the Bank
of
The Commons
and
45
Adjacent Areas
Newburgh (from the city on the Hudson River) established a branch
in Ithaca around 1820, it built a handsome office on this site. In 1912
the
building
was
moved
to 106 E.
Court,
it
where
(see
still stands
the DeWitt Park tour).
When the State Theater opened, it
billed
was
Ithaca's first
as
"semi-atmospheric"
Designed
theater.
seated
1818
people and
and other stage
ville
from
tures
the
lights
to
placed
to the
stage
is
had 32 different background drops for
a
ornate
painted
ceiling
to
the stars,
represent
a reminder
it
although
shows,
beginning. The
interior includes
Victor A. Rigaumont, it
by
vaude
also presented motion pic
Moorish/Gothic/Renaissance
resemble
and
with
constellations,
"cloud
a
Next
board with slots
Other features include
of vaudeville:
a notice
for sliding in the names of upcoming acts.
heraldic cloth hangings, elaborate metal light fixtures, and plaques of
Cornell fraternities and societies. In the lobby is a Renaissance-style
fireplace
and
converted
outside
to two
is
smaller
an
theaters in 1976
State (1901). Cornell
121 W.
thony installed Ithaca's first
liest in the
nation.
Ithaca's first
phone
ticket
ornate
physics
booth. The
was
enclosing the balcony.
professor William A. An
by
line in 1878,
telephone
theater
one of
the
ear
Soon after, he and William O. Wyckoff formed
company. It was purchased in 1883 by the New
Pennsylvania Telephone
York
and
built
this Colonial Revival
and
structure
Telegraph
as
a
Company,
telephone
which
That
exchange.
company was taken over by (or became) New York Telephone in
1909. From the 1930s to the 1960s, the building housed the Salva
tion
Army
features
triple
Citadel. Clinton L. Vivian designed the
a small portico with
window with
columns,
Ionic columns,
and
roll-up
building,
stained-glass
which
windows, a
window guards on
the
west
side.
Ithaca Journal
sive
Building (known
as
the Titus Block
renovation) (1876). 123-125 W. State. Ithaca has
before
produced
exten
many
The
daily
only
oldest business in the city, the Ithaca Journal was founded in 1815 by
Jonathan Ingersoll as a weekly called the Seneca Republican. In 1816
newspapers
or
in its
history, but
1817 Ebenezer Mack
changed
the
name
and
paper
one
a
partner
purchased
to the American Journal. The
to the Ithaca Journal in 1823.
The
name
has
remains.
the
paper
and
name was changed
gone
through many
then, and the paper has acquired many of its
competitors. It became a daily in 1870, and in 1872 built its own
on South Tioga behind the Wilgus Block.
minor changes
building
since
Ithaca
46
The Titus Block
around
The Journal
1905, before
moved
Second Empire
to its
his
stories and
building,
the Titus
reconstructed
which at
Block,
the
developer,
designed
in 1905.
and
by
Eventually
removing the
adding
a
reporter,
took the
became
Cornell.
was
A. B. Dale. In 1876 William O. Wyckoff founded
and
schools
he
realized
he began
name
in the country here. As
the
a school
need
for
to teach
stenographers
both
Practical Business Institute
a part of
a state
skills.
and
The
still
of
one of
supreme
and
"type
school
later,
in
later
1945,
Ithaca College.
Elks Club (1916). 139 W. State. The Benevolent
Order
was a
originally built by C. M. Titus, a real estate
J. C. and C. D. Stowell, wholesale grocers. It was
first business
court
the time
building,
career as a campus correspondent while at
The Titus Block
the
present
the Ithaca Journal.
by
brick facade. Frank Gannett bought the
in 1912, his first acquisition outside of Elmira. He had begun
two
paper
Its Past
extensive renovation
structure called
the company completely
top
and
Elks built this Colonial Revival
building
and
to
Protective
house
their
The Commons
rubber-stamp
the
was
large
manufacturer.
dentils,
Gibb
by
and
the
Note the
a
47
boatbuilder and
leaded-glass windows,
small
a
to the gable
unusual caps
The design
ends.
Waltz.
and
Crozier Block (between 1882
Crozier,
Adjacent Areas
Earlier businesses here included
offices and club.
a
and
owned
grocer,
Around 1940 the
and
1888). 138-140 W. State. R. A.
brick-veneer
this
present storefront was
building
its Carrara
with
added,
in the 1890s.
glass
panels.
Torrent Hose
by
owned
facade
the
No. 5 (1882). 136 W. State. Although
firehouse
the city, this
The
pany.
Company
was
was added
fire
with
storefront,
was added
and
second-
fire
a volunteer
com
design was done by A. B. Wood, but the present
later. Note the pressed-metal walls and ceiling and
pole.
132-134 W. State (between 1919
second
by
original
original
wall,
built
now
and
its
bricks,
glass
and
glazed
1929). The Art Moderne
tiles,
and
curved
in the 1940s. At that time, Moose Hall
third
floors. The
third-floor
building
original
has
entrance
occupied
arches
over
windows and small windows covered
by
the
the
wood
screens.
128-130 W. State (c.
has
building
a
brick
1860). Like the Crozier Block, this frame
veneer.
Note the
rough stone
Exchange Hotel (c. 1840). 124 W. State. This
last frame
structures
downtown,
lintels
building,
built to house
was
and sills.
one of
the
the Exchange
Hotel. It may be the second oldest hotel building in Ithaca, after the
Clinton House. Sometime before 1904, the building was doubled in
size.
Gregg
Block (c. 1872). 108-112 W. State. A. B. Dale designed this
Italianate
window
building,
hoods. A
Hibbard Block
which
has handsome brickwork
new storefront was added
(102-104, 1847; 106,
c.
and
two types
of
in 1981.
1860). 102-106 W. State.
F. Hibbard, one of three partners who had built the Clinton
Block and Clinton House, constructed this Greek Revival building to
Henry
house his
of
the
general store.
Around
1900,
the
building became
the
home
Club. A large meeting room with an ornate tin ceiling
the entire third floor. Many years earlier, in 1816, Luther
City
occupied
Gere built the Columbian Inn
on
this
site.
A
murder
there in 1831
"prejudiced the
however, and the inn failed. (This may have
been the first murder in the village of Ithaca, when shoemaker Guy
C. Clark killed his wife. Clark was publicly hanged, before thousands
of spectators, for his offense.) Part of the building was later moved
Ithaca
48
The
across
original
the
Clinton House
street
(to
the
and
around
Its Past
1866. On the
left,
corner) to
southwest
the Clinton Block.
become
the Carson
tavern.
Clinton Block (between 1837
damaged
though
building
fronts,
still
retains
stepped
dows. An iron
removed.
ton Hall
by
gables,
balcony
(later
called
dancing
of
this
Greek Revival
its charm,
including
decorative iron grills
the second floor and a
and
on
The third floor is,
entertainment center.
mances,
fire in 1976,
much
1846). 106-114 N. Cayuga. Al
and
or
was,
on open
on
commercial
cast-iron
the
store
frieze
win
have been
known as Clin
parapet
space
Manhattan Hall), a public meeting hall and
It was used for exhibitions, traveling perfor
classes,
vaudeville
shows, and movies,
as
well
as