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HomeMy WebLinkAboutContinuation Sheet - 55 E. Main, Trumansburg.pdfN.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet Address: 55 East Main Street Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg Narrative Description of Property Unit 55 (E. Main Street) is part of a larger block that is one of three major brick blocks in the commercial Italianate style along Main Street constructed ca. 1864. It is situated on the north side of Main Street, and is divided into five commercial units with individual storefronts. Particularly noteworthy, the block's entire southern facade along Main Street has a cast iron storefront manufactured by "Cheney, Rochester" (NY). The two-story block has round -arch windows with corbelled brick hood molds with key stones and stone sills on the second floor of the south and eastern facades. (This is the same style that appears on 9-19 E. Main Street.) The fully -occupied first floor is used for commercial purposes, while the second floor contains apartments. The rear (north) fagade is a hodgepodge of a variety of building materials, reflecting a less public (and therefore chaotic) use, functioning in utility and access points for the commercial and residential units. The eastern -most unit of the block, #55 is the corner lot adjacent to a driveway that accesses the rear (north) entrances. The storefront retains its original cast iron and configuration, but the transoms have been covered above the display windows, main centered entrance and the entrance to an internal staircase that is identical (paired, curved glass, transom) to those of the neighboring units to the west in the block. On the second floor, the four original windows have been replaced by rectangular vinyl sash and the curved portion of the opening has been in -filled. The decorative corbelled cornice is intact, and it continues part of the way down the east service fagade. The east fagade also has matching four windows on the second floor, identical to those on the street (south) fagade in historic detailing and contemporary alterations. This fagade is also disrupted by service doors and small rear windows at the first floor level. Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 N.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet Address: 55 East Main Street Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg Narrative Description of Property (continued) In the 1977 historical survey, the researchers found that "According to retire[d] Village Historian Lydia Sears, the height of this section of Main Street was raised several times by infill so that former cellar windows of the block are obscured and inoperative." Narrative Description of Significance Trumansburg has an unfortunate history of massive fires, and buildings that stretched the length of the north side of Main Street from Union Street to the Presbyterian Church were consumed in a monstrous conflagration on February 22, 1864. In The History of Trumansburg (1890), local historians record the fire in the following way: There was no fire apparatus of any description in the town ... it became apparent that the town must go not with out standing the almost superhuman efforts of the people to check the conflagration. Lines of men, women, and even children were formed, buckets of water were passed, and the advancing flames persistently fought at every step until delicate women would fall to the ground from sheer exhaustion....Main Street from the bridge to the Presbyterian Church and Elm Street to the corner of Whig were filled with the house hold goods and merchandise of all descriptions ... Thee scene at daylight beggards description. One half the town in ruins, scores of homeless people searching the saved property for their belongings. (As quoted by L. Sears, 53). The Trumansburg New York Incorporation Centennial (1972) notes that many of the buildings devoured in the fire were of wood and the majority of owners chose not to rebuild, instead selling the lots. The new owners overwhelmingly constructed their new buildings out of brick, historically an urban guard against fire, and adopted more uniform designs and greater set -backs. The block at 47-55 East Main Street reflects this new building style. The larger block (#47-55) is a good local example of the commercial Italianate style and is most notable for its complete cast iron front. Cheney iron fronts are found in many central New York communities including Seneca Falls, Lyons, Clyde, Rochester, and others. The 1887 Sanborn Insurance Map indicates that Unit 55 was a dry goods store. The 1893 Sanborn shows that Unit 55 was vacant at the time of the survey; a general store occupied it by the 1898 Sanborn survey. By the 1905 assessment, the space is utilized as a hardware store. Five years later (1910), the unit is now listed as a purveyor of hardware and paints, with a tin shop located on the second floor. In the final survey of September 1929, the space is identified as "Harow and Paints." For about five and a half decades, #55 has been occupied by a liquor store under various owners. The Teeters (Harold, then Michael) owned the store and the building for Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 2 N.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet Address: 55 East Main Street Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg Narrative Description of Significance (continued) at least four decades, selling to the current owners in 2011. Before that, various owners ran it. Partial History of Ownership of Building Date Acquired Book Page Harold Teeter (owner as of 1977 survey) ? Michael Teeter ? (current owner) January 3, 2011 56957 9001 Figure 1: Main (south) facade Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 3 N.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet Address: 55 East Main Street Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg Sources Goldstein, Carol and Tania Werbizky. "47-55 E. Main Street," NY Building Structure Inventory Form, Division for Historic Preservation. Albany, NY, Spring 1977. Martin, Carolyn A. Trumansburg, New York Incorporation Centennial." Trumansburg, NY: The Trumansburg Centennial Association Incorporated, 1972. Sears, Lydia. A History of Trumansburg, New York, 1792-1967. Location unknown: I -T Publishing Corp, 1978. Tompkins County. "Property Description Report For: 55 Main St E, Municipality of V. Trumansburg." Image Mate Online. Accessed July 29, 2014. Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 4