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Planning & Development
PROPOSAL FOR THE CORNELL-TREMAN
FAMILIES
HISTORIC DISTRICT
APRIL 18, 2003
Prepared by
Janet Shure, Preservation Director
Historic Ithaca, Inc.
For
The City of Ithaca
With funding assistance from
The Llenroc Foundation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i '
I. PART I
Map of Proposed Historic District Boundary
Narrative Description....................................................... pp 1 — 12
Map of area in 1872 taken from"The Map of the Corporation of
Ithaca, Tompkins County,New York." Philadelphia,PA: T. C. Van
Hartsdale Co., 1872
II. PART II
Annotated Building List.......................................................pp 1 —69
III. PART III
Bibliography.... -4
CORNELL-TREMAN HISTORIC DISTRICT SURVEY AREA
City of Ithaca NY 2003
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Map Prepared by Dept of Planning&Development,City of Ithaca NY April 2003
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 1
Description
The Cornell-Treman Families Historic District is the northern portion of an area of the
City of Ithaca on East Hill locally referred to as University Hill. It is differentiated from
the surrounding community by its association with two of Ithaca's most prominent
families, the Cornells and the Tremans. The District encompasses 41 individual
properties: 38 are currently in residential use; 2 are authored landscapes; and one is the
site of a previously demolished residence. The two landscapes and all.structures
contribute to the Historic District with the exception of the empty lot at 302 University
Avenue. The District also includes two freestanding garages, accessory buildings to
residences on Stewart Avenue and Llenroc Court. In addition,the Historic District
contains a previously excavated archeological site recommended as eligible for inclusion
in the National Register of Historic Places. The site was titled"E. Cornell site"by the
archeological team that conducted the Phase 2 examination.
The district is sited on a westward sloping hill just below the crest of East Hill and the
original structures built to house Cornell University. It possesses a sweeping view of the
City of Ithaca, the Cayuga Inlet and Cayuga Lake valley. The Cornell-Treman Families
District consists of properties contained in a portion of Blocks 167 and 168 on the Map of
the Village of Ithaca prepared in 1835 by Commissioners Richard Varick DeWitt,
William A. Woodward and Ansel St. John. It is bounded on the south by Cornell and
-- University Avenues, on the east by Stewart Avenue, on the north by University Avenue
and on the west by the rear lot lines of Block 168 (a line approximately 150' east and
parallel to Linn Street). It excludes the City Cemetery and the property associated with
the former Williams Mill immediately south of this nomination, an area now known as
Cascadilla Park Road and Cascadilla Gorge. Immediately east of the District lies the
balance of Block 167 east of Stewart Street, an area associated with the Ezra Cornell's
- original East Hill farm,Forest Hill. The bulk of this-property was gifted in 1864 to found
Cornell University. The westernmost land, sold to Cornell University in 1902 by Ezra
Cornell's son,Franklin, is the site of Cornell's West Campus Housing Initiative. Land
north of the district boundary comprises former Cornell farmland located between
University Avenue and Fall Creek gorge developed after the turn of the century primarily
for campus housing and fraternities.
The Cornell and Treman Families Historic District is located on land settled in 1600 A.D.
by the Cayuga Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Cayuga were an agricultural
- people who built five known villages in the area now known as Ithaca. There was a
known Indian village south of Cascadilla Creek. The Iroquois aligned themselves with
the British during the Revolutionary War, creating raids on the colonial frontiers
i throughout Central New York State. In retaliation, the Continental Congress ordered
General John Sullivan to push the Indians from the frontier and destroy their settlements.
Sullivan completely eliminated all native settlements in the Finger Lakes Regions during
his campaign of 1779.
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 2
In 1781,most of the land appropriated from the Cayuga nation was set aside as a Military
Tract and offered in lots to soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. It was eight .
years later, on February 25, 1789, that the Cayugas formally ceded their traditional lands
around Cayuga Lake, opening the area for white settlement. The drawing for Military
Tracts took lace in 1791 but prior to the awarding of lots in April 1789 Ithaca's first
p � p g � p
permanent white settlers arrived. Jacob Yaple, John Yaple,Peter Hinnepaw and Isaac
Dumond, all from Kingston,New York, settled near the Cascadilla Creek within and
adjacent to this historic district. Peter Hinnepaw built the first residence in this area, a,
cabin along the north bank of the Cascadilla Creek at its intersection with University
Avenue. John Yaple built the first mill in Ithaca on Cascadilla Creek just above
Hinnepaw's cabin. With the advent of Military Lot apportionments, these early settlers
lost their land due to non-payment of taxes and were forced to relocate.
Simeon DeWitt(1756-1834),New York State Surveyor General from 1784 to 1834 and a
first cousin of Clinton DeWitt (Governor of New York from 1817-23), first visited
Cayuga Lake in 1795. He named the village at the southern end of Cayuga Lake, in the
center of the township of Ulysses, for the Greek City of Ithaca, at the center of the
character Ulysses' wanderings. DeWitt and his brother-in-law, Abraham Bloodgood,
acquired the title to the land that would become the Village of Ithaca, later the City of
Ithaca, including the land that constitutes this historic district,which was purchased by
DeWitt in 1800. DeWitt effectively controlled development in the area from 1800 until
his death in 1834. Throughout this period,DeWitt leased most of his land on a one-year
basis and slowly sold specific parcels, thus controlling lot sizes and the location of
residential and commercial development based on his official map, dated 1802 and
published in 1805, and his village plan created in 1831.
Crucial to the future growth of Ithaca was the development of a transportation network.
: DeWitt and his eldest son,Richard Varick DeWitt,were major investors in the Ithaca&
Owego Railroad, chartered in 1828 to bring commercial traffic to Ithaca. Both pledged
their individual credit in order to assure work continued on the rail line,which would
facilitate the transportation of Pennsylvania timber and coal to the canal systems. When
branches intended to connect the line with central Pennsylvania were canceled, the line
was left mortgaged to the State of New York leaving the DeWitt estate in financial ruin
following his death in 1834. Portions of DeWitt's Ithaca landholdings were put on the
market and sold to pay his debts. Two years later, canal construction was fueling an
Ithaca real estate boom. A piece of DeWitt's estate that sold in January 1836 for$4,676
was resold in July for$59,929.
In 1835 and 1836, Richard Varick DeWitt, along with Ancel St. John and William
Woodward, created two more plans based on DeWitt's original plan of 1831 for the
purpose of establishing the pattern of growth into village areas developing as a result of
the release of the substantial DeWitt holdings. The 1835 plan was adopted by the Village
Trustees in 1837 and served as the basis for all Ithaca development until 1888. Among
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 3
the areas delineated on the 1835 plan,but with limited growth over the next three
decades,was a tract of land chosen by Simeon DeWitt for his own homestead. The land
consisted of a gently sloping plateau overlooking the village of Ithaca and commanding a
panoramic view of the Cayuga Valley. As early as 1795, DeWitt camped on this East Hill
site while producing the official 1802 map of the area. In 1810,he chose this as the site to
make his future Ithaca home. It was left to his youngest son,William Linn DeWitt,to
construct a farmhouse on the site following his father's death.
This district is significant for its relationship with two important Ithaca families, the
Comells and Tremans. Both came to this area in the first third of the nineteenth century
with no significant financial resources,but through hard work, accumulated substantial
wealth and property. Both families later offered their resources to the community, serving
as benefactors or directors of the town's major financial, civic and educational
institutions,thus garnering considerable public esteem. Both families were significantly
invested in Ithaca real estate. This district was the location of their family homes and
center of their civic largesse.
The period of significance for the Cornell-Treman Families Historic District is 1867-
1927. Ezra Cornell's own home, Llenroc (100 Cornell Avenue),began construction in
1867. When construction was begun on Llenroc in 1867, there was only one residential
structure on University Avenue, then referred to as Dryden Road. That building, the
Dauncey homestead located at 302 University Avenue, is no longer extant. Thus the
Cornell house is the earliest extant structure in the district based on its start of
construction. The last structure built in this area was the Allan H. Treman House(115
Llenroc Court), completed in 1927.
The district includes property associated with Ezra Cornell's East Hill Farm,Forest Park
(located on the northeast corner of Stewart and Campus Avenues at 601 Stewart Avenue
- prior to its 1965 demolition), and his East Hill villa, Llenroc (100 Cornell Avenue),
known during Cornell's lifetime as Villa Cornell. Ezra Cornell(1807-1874),the founder
of Cornell University,was born in Westchester Landing,New York on January 11, 1807..
The eldest of eleven children born to Eunice and Elijah Cornell, Ezra assisted in his
father's pottery business from the age of ten. In 1819, Cornell's family moved to
DeRuyter,NY where Ezra and his younger brother, Elijah B., gained carpentry skills
building the family home and pottery. Ezra left home at nineteen, and following two
years in Syracuse, arrived in Ithaca in 1828. A year later, he was hired by Colonel
Jeremiah S. Beebe to manage the Beebe Flour Mill located at the base of Ithaca Falls.
During his tenure at the mill,Ezra dammed Fall Creek to create Beebe Lake and created a
millrace adjacent to the falls to bring water to the mill. Five years later,he courted and
married Mary Ann Wood, the daughter of Benjamin Wood of Dryden, an old family
friend and former student of his father's. Cornell built a small home and farm north of
Fall Creek, called"The Nook,"for his new bride. The Cornell's nine children were born
in this house.
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 4
Cornell participated in Ithaca's speculative real estate boom, which was fanned by the
completion of the Ithaca and Owego Railroad and proposed canal connections to Great
Lakes. In 1836,he began purchasing real estate on the south side of the Ithaca Falls.
Cornell's employer, Beebe was financially hurt by the depression of 1837 and to cut his
debts he accepted an offer to sell his Fall Creek milling operations. Cornell took
advantage of his sudden unemployment by venturing out on his own to begin an active
farming operation. He had gained requisite experience supervising Beebe's 100-acre farm
north of Fall Creek for ten years. In 1839,he obtained a five-year lease on the Beebe
farm and two adjacent tracts near his home on the north side of Fall Creek,hired on three
additional farmhands in order to support himself through farming and the occasional
carpentry job.By 1842,he was traveling outside the area seeking employment. His
travels-brought him in contact with those working to establish the telegraph business in
America. For the next twelve years, Cornell was an infrequent visitor to Ithaca as he
_ traveled working to build his fortune by selling and installing extensively lines
throughout the west and Canada.
In 1852,Mary Ann Cornell,who had been alone for long periods of time managing the
Cornell farm with the assistance of her sons and Ezra's brother Elijah B.,moved the
family out of their modest Fall Creek home to a rented house in the village, leaving the
"Nook"to her recently married eldest son,Alonzo, a future Governor of New York State
(1879— 1883). It was Cornell's intention,having made his fortune in the telegraph
business, to retire to Ithaca and enjoy the leisurely life of a gentleman farmer. He was
'displeased with his wife's move and began to make inquiries about a parcel of land
nestled below the crown of East Hill between the Cascadilla and Fall Creek gorges. The
75-acre East Hill property was formerly owned by Simeon DeWitt, New York State
Surveyor General from 1800-1834. The land consisted of a gently sloping plateau
overlooking the village of Ithaca and commanding a panoramic view of the Cayuga
Valley occupied by a farmhouse built by DeWitt's son, Linn,who had inherited the
property following his father's death in 1834. A larger plateau at the crest of East Hill
extended eastward for about one mile,providing level crop and grazing land. Ezra
purchased the property in 1848 with the intention of renting the farmhouse until he was
able to retire to the property. Due to financial pressures, Cornell was forced to relinquish
his interest in the property to his brother-in-law Orrin Wood in 1851. In 1857, Orrin
offered it back to Cornell,who repurchased the land, informing his wife Mary Ann, "The
- farm that I have now purchased is the only place that I have seen between the Hudson
and the Mississippi that seemed in the least to possess the attractions requisite to
compensate for the old homestead. Here I can transplant my affections and cultivate a
Garden of Eden."
With the two parcels previously acquired, Ezra now owned a 300-acre farm bordered by
Fall Creek Gorge on the North and Cascadilla Gorge on the South. He asked his brother
Elijah,who had come to Ithaca in 1837 at Ezra's behest to work as a mason at the Beebe
Mills and remained doing the occasional construction job, to supervise a crew of
workmen hired to make repairs and modifications to the DeWitt farmhouse. Ezra, Mary
I- —
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 5
Ann and their two young daughters,Mary and Emma,moved to the renamed "Forest
Park" on the last day of April 1857 and.began farming. Forest Park soon became a model
farm, specializing in purebred Shorthorn cattle. Ezra also experimented with potatoes,
wheat grass and fruit.
During this period, Cornell also became increasingly active in local politics. He was
elected president of the Tompkins County Fair and began to take a strong interest in
agricultural education,becoming president of the New York State Agricultural Society
and chairman of the New York State Assembly's Committee of Agriculture, following
his 1861 election to the state legislature. In 1863, Cornell was elected to the State Senate
and from this platform worked to establish an agricultural college in Ithaca under the
Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862. This was the same year Cornell began his charitable
contributions with his plans to endow a great public library for Ithaca and Tompkins
County. The Cornell Library, located on the corner of Tioga and Seneca Streets,was
dedicated in 1866 and hosted educational programs before serving as the University's
first lecture hall. The building was constructed by Ezra's brother,Elijah B. Cornell,who
went on to serve as construction foreman on many of the University's early buildings,
commencing with the first campus structure,Morrill Hall,begun in 1866.
In order to secure Ithaca as the location of New York State Agricultural College, Cornell
offered the college trustees a personal endowment of$300,000, later raised to $500,000,
and a gift of 200 acres of his East Hill farm property. Cornell University was dedicated in
1865 and the land gift formalized by four deeds dated August 10, 1866,totaling 171.5
acres. Ezra retained a small area west of the proposed campus,including his family
home,Forest Park,now occupied by his son Franklin C. Cornell,who had been managing
the farm during his father's extended absence. Meanwhile, Ezra made plans to construct a
stone Gothic Revival style mansion below the campus buildings, slightly west and north
of Forest Park. Work was begun in 1867 under the direction of brother Elijah. Perhaps
realizing the affect the growing University would have on surrounding real estate and
desiring to protect his viewshed, Ezra purchased the land south and west of his home on
the west side of what was then referred to as the Dryden Road between April of 1868 and
June of 1869. During Ezra Cornell's lifetime, only a single property was sold from this
parcel, the northernmost lot, and this to his wife's recently widowed mother, Mary B.
Wood,who in 1873 moved into a double house located on"University, opposite Cornell
- U." The family of Alonzo Chase,Ezra Cornell's first cousin and a temporary instructor
at the University, shared and eventually bought this home. All other properties in the area
were retained,presumably to control the view from the Cornell villa of the City of Ithaca
and Cayuga Lake (Photo 1).
By the time construction on Llenroc was finished in 1875, four additional residences had
been completed on University Avenue.Members of Cornell's immediate family
constructed.three of these homes;these are the home of Ezra's brother,.Elijah B. Cornell
(212 University Avenue), an investment property developed by Elijah(214 University
Avenue), and the home of Ezra Cornell's mother-in-law,Mary Wood(502 University
Cornell&Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 6
Avenue). The fourth home was built by a mason who had been employed on Cornell
construction projects, O. Daniel Edwards (216 University Avenue),who two decades
after the construction of his own home constructed two rental properties to the immediate
north(218-20 and 222 University Avenue),
Ezra Cornell died on December 9, 1874, leaving the house uncompleted. A month prior
to his death Ezra had transferred ownership of the house to his wife,Mary Ann. In the
spring of 1876, Ezra's widow,Mary Ann,moved into the villa with her eldest daughter,
Mary Emily, and Emma Cornell Blair, her youngest child, and family. In August of 1875,
Mary Ann increased the grounds with the purchase of the adjoining lot to the north from
Mathilde Vorwerck, thus allowing the subsequent construction of the Cornell Carriage
House(630 Stewart Avenue),built in 1880. With this purchase, the Cornell's owned all
the land located between University Avenue and Stewart Avenue north of the City
Cemetery.
- When Mary Ann died on September 2, 1891,her will provided that"[her] residence
property known as Villa Cornell on East Hill in the City of Ithaca,NY with all of the land
used and embraced in the grounds about said residence, including the portion owned by
one Vorwerck"be given jointly and absolutely to her daughters,Mary Emily Cornell and
Emma Cornell Blair. Over the next fifteen years, the two daughters split their time
between Villa Cornell and Emma Cornell Blair's home in New York City. In 1907, the
daughters subdivided the property into twenty-two lots and Llenroc, as Villa Cornell was
now known, with nine acres. The first lots in the Llenroc subdivision were sold in 1908 to
the Treman family,who had previously purchased property north of Mary Ann Cornell's
land from Alonzo Cornell for construction of their three family residences. The property
fronting on Stewart Avenue was sold between 1908 and 1910, a period in which Cornell
University's student population nearly doubled. Perhaps motivated by the unexpected
death of Emma's husband, Charles Blair, Llenroc was sold to Delta Phi Fraternity in
1911. Lots on Llenroc Court began selling in 1921, with the last Llenroc lot sold in 1926.
Real estate development in the area slowed following the recession of 1874-80. The
University had also suffered during this period and enrollment leveled off. Ezra Cornell's
land located on the west side of University Avenue land,valued at$6,000 in his estate,
was dormant and was disposed of by Cornell's male descendants in 1890 just prior to the
estate's final accounting. By 1890,the financial situation had changed and Ezra Comell's
male descendants began selling the remaining land on the west side of University Avenue
for residential development. The land immediately south of the Mary Wood House (402—
412 University Avenue)was sold to five individual owners beginning with the sale of
402 University Avenue to Cornell family friend,Marion Millspaugh in April of 1890. In
1903, the Cornell family concluded their sales on the west side of University Avenue
with the sale of 358' of street frontage immediately south of the previous sales,with an
additional 1.10-acre lot located behind 402-502 University Avenue to the Treman family
for construction of three carriage houses (308—320 University Avenue). These were
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 7
accessory buildings to three family homes constructed between 1901 and 1902, on nine
acres of land north of Villa Cornell between University and Stewart Avenues purchased
from Ezra's oldest son,Alonzo Cornell, in 1900. At this time Alonzo also sold a comer
lot, part of the same original parcel,to Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.
In 1900, a trolley loop was completed up Fall Creek and along Stewart Avenue to provide
access to Cornell Heights, a new residential development on the north side of the Fall
Creek Gorge begun in 1897. In order to provide access to the land,the developers built
two bridges across the Fall Creek Gorge: the Triphammer(or Thurston Avenue)bridge
' and the Stewart Avenue bridge, completed in 1898 and 1899 respectively. The
developers also purchased a controlling interest in the Ithaca Street Railway Company
and, at the railway's expense,paved much of Stewart Avenue in.order to build the
"Loop"to connect the University to Cornell Heights. The"Loop"was finished in May
1900, spurring development along the length of Stewart Avenue on land owned by the
Cornell family. As previously mentioned,Alonzo Cornell sold a parcel of land at the
corner of Stewart and University Avenues to Alpha Tau Fraternity and to the Treman
family in 1900. Franklin Cornell sold the remainder of his Stewart Avenue lots bounded
by Cascadilla Falls Gorge on the south and the City Cemetery on the west between 1902-
3. In November of 1902,Franklin sold a 14-acre parcel on the east side of Stewart
Avenue, immediately north of Forest Park and east of this historic district, to Cornell
University for west campus residential development.Franklin Cornell's home,Forest
Park, was sold to the University in 1926 and demolished in June 1965. The District
currently contains three extant Cornell family homes: Llenroc (100 Cornell Avenue), the
Elijah B. Cornell House(212 University Avenue) and the Mary B. Wood House (502
University Avenue).
By the first decade of the twentieth century,the Treman family had become the dominant
landowners on University Hill,having purchased large portions of the Cornell family
holdings. The Tremans, one of Ithaca and Tompkins County's most prominent families
during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,were descended from Abner Treman,
who served with distinction in the Revolutionary War and in recompense received a 600-
acre military lot in the Town of Ulysses,which at that time encompassed all land at the
southern end of Cayuga Lake. In 1792, Treman established his homestead on what is now
Main Street in the Town of Trumansburg. Abner's two brothers and brother-in-law soon
joined him. Abner's grandsons, Leonard,Lafayette and Elias Treman, sons of Abner's
fifth child,brought the family into prominence in Ithaca through the establishment of a
hardware business Treman Kin and Co. and the development and
prosperous g � P
management of the Tompkins County Bank, Ithaca Trust Co., Ithaca Water Works and
Ithaca Gas Light Company. The civic work of the Treman family was continued in the
next generation by Elias Treman's three children: Robert H., Elizabeth Treman Van
- Cleef, and Charles E. Treman.
Cornell&Treman Historic District
Narrative Description, page 8
Robert H. Treman(1858 - 1937), the first in his family to graduate from Cornell
University, served as President of the Tompkins County National Bank, Director of the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York, officer of Treman,King& Co., a member of Cornell
University's Board of Trustees and a founding member of Ithaca's_Town and Gown
Club. Among Roberts enduring legacies are the establishment of the Finger Lakes Park
System,through the donation of Enfield Glen and Buttermilk Falls, and Ithaca's
collection of city parks, among them Cascadilla Ravine, given to Cornell University in
1922, and the Treman Triangle at-the foot of University Avenue and Six Mile Creek
ravine, given to the City of Ithaca in 1910. Sister Elizabeth was married to Mynderse Van
Cleef, an 1874 graduate of Cornell University who attended Columbia University prior to
setting up a prestigious law firm in Ithaca whose clients included Cornell University.
Charles (1868-1930), the youngest of Elias Treman's three children and an 1889 graduate
of Cornell University, served as Superintendent of Public Works for the State of New
p
York,trustee of Cornell University, officer of Treman,King and Co. and President of the
Ithaca Trust Co. Robert's son Allan also participated in the civic and academic life of the
town. Allan Treman(1899-1975)was a member of the Cornell University Class of 1921
and received a law degree from Cornell in 1924.He practiced law in the firm established
by his uncle Mynderse Van Cleef and succeeded him as Cornell University counsel,
serving on Cornell's Board of Trustees from 1955-60. Like his father,he served on the
Board of the Tompkins County Trust Co. and the Finger Lakes Park Commission. The
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park was dedicated in his memory following his death in
1975.
In 1900, the Treman siblings purchased nine acres of property between Stewart and
University Avenue, north of the Cornell Villa, Llenroc, from Ezra Cornell's eldest son,
Alonzo. The property,perched just below the Cornell campus on East Hill,possessed
panoramic views of the Town of Ithaca, Inlet Valley and Cayuga Lake. Ezra Cornell
owned the land,purchased from George Beers in 1862, for seven years. Ezra had given
the property to Alonzo in 1869 in exchange for a parcel to the south,the site of Llenroc.
The Tremans hired Boston-based landscape architect Warren Manning, who was working
on a master plan for the university,to locate their three residences on the site and
landscape the grounds. Brothers Robert H. and Charles E. Treman completed their
Tudor-style homes at 640 Stewart and 625 University Avenues in 1901. A year later,
elder sister Elizabeth and her husband Mynderse Van Cleef had an Italian Renaissance-
style villa constructed between her brother's two residences at 660 Stewart Avenue.
In 1903, the Treman siblings obtained from Ezra Cornell's heirs land located on the west
side of University Avenue, directly below their residences, on which they constructed
two family carriage houses (308 and 314 University Avenue). A third carriage house and
squash court was built immediately north at 320 University Avenue for Charles Treman's
brother-in-law, Wilder D. Bancroft, a Cornell University Professor of Chemistry. The
Bancroft's residence was located further east on the University campus at 7 East Avenue,
a street once lined with faculty"cottages." In 1908, the Treman siblings bought four lots
from the former Llenroc estate; these were eventually deeded to Robert Treman's son,
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 9
Allan H. Treman, for construction of his residence at 115 Llenroc Court. The Allan H.
Treman House,built in 1927, is the last house constructed in this Historic District.
Charles and Robert's children sold the family stable to a cooperative housing corporation
in 1939. The Charles Treman House burned in 1944. The two remaining Treman homes
were sold to Cornell University: the Robert H. Treman Home in 1944 and the Van Cleef
Home in 1951. The families retained the carriage houses for their income potential. The
last sale of Treman land was the sale of 510 University Avenue by Robert Treman's
daughters in 1975.
Robert H. Treman individually owned three properties on the west side of University
Avenue. In 1911,he purchased the residence directly south of the carriage house land,
which was the oldest residence on University Avenue(302 University Avenue), a
residence constructed by George Dauncey in 1863 and demolished by Robert H. Treman
_ in 1925. The land was sold in 1944. Robert Treman bought the residence directly north of
the family's carriage house property(402 University Avenue) in 1916,renting the
property to a series of young professionals prior to moving their butler and his family
there from 1925-46. The Treman family retained this rental property until 1975. In 1919,
Robert purchased land at 510 University Avenue and built a single residential building
for rental use, selling the property and fixtures four years later.
There are four streets within the historic district: University Avenue, Cornell Avenue,
Stewart Avenue, and Llenroc Street.University Avenue, formerly Dryden Road, is one of
the earliest transportation routes in the area, originally the primary route from Ithaca to
Dryden along the Fall Creek. University ascends steeply from the flats of the City of
Ithaca and climbs steadily in a northeasterly direction to the Cornell campus. In the
1860s,water and sewer improvements were made to University Avenue and residential
growth in the area commenced. Stewart Avenue intersects University Avenue at the first
plateau above the plain. Within the study area, Stewart Avenue is a level street running
north/south and separating a predominantly residential district containing the former
Cornell estate property from Cornell University itself, immediately east. Stewart Avenue
was constructed between 1888 and 1900 as a direct result of the construction of the Ithaca
Street Railway,which completed an extension down Stewart Avenue in May of 1900.
Cornell Street, a old road which connected to the Dryden Road and ascended east to
Forest Park,provides a gently winding ascent from University Avenue to Stewart Avenue
and the only access to the former Cornell estate, Llenroc. Llenroc Court, a short dead end
street located parallel and west of Stewart Avenue, commences east of Llenroc on
Cornell Street and terminates at the former Treman properties. This road was created by
the Cornell family through a subdivision map prepared in 1907.
All of the buildings in this historic district were constructed as detached residential
structures,with the notable exception of the Baldwin Memorial Stairs built in 1925 on the
east side of University Avenue,-on former Villa Cornell. The district currently supports a
combination of owner-occupied, transient rental and institutional residential uses.
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 10
The buildings in the historic district display the range of American domestic revival and
vernacular architectural styles popular during the late nineteenth century and early
twentieth century. Ezra Cornell's own home, Llenroc, a stone villa designed in the
Gothic Revival Style,is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under National
Register Criterion C, as Ithaca's finest and best-preserved masonry Gothic Revival Style
residence. It has also been designated a local landmark under the City of Ithaca's
Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
The original residential structures on the west side.of University Avenue consist
primarily of two-and-one-half-story frame dwellings designed in the Italianate, Second
Empire, Stick,Folk Victorian and Queen Anne Styles. The Italianate Style dominated
American house construction between 1850 and 1880. The Truman Green House (130
University Avenue),built in 1873 by cabinetmaker Green, is the only pure Italianate-
Style residence in the district. The Mary B. Wood House,built in 1873 and located at 502
University Avenue,is the District's only and an excellent example of the Second Empire
Style. The two houses built between 1875-8 on property owned by Elijah B. Cornell
_ (212 and 214 University Avenue) are excellent examples of the transition and blending of
the prevailing American domestic architecture styles of the second half of the twentieth
century. Predominantly Italianate, the houses display elements of Gothic and Second
Empire details and massing in elegant compositions. Both are architecturally exemplary.
The highly decorative Stick Style,named for its use of horizontal,vertical and diagonal
timber members applied to wooden wall cladding,was popular on the East Coast prior to
the turn-of-the-twentieth-century. University Avenue contains four examples of Stick-
Style residences: 222, 402,410 and 504 University Avenue. Of these, the most
ornamental is the Evaline Powelson House built between 1879 and 1880 at 502
University Avenue. The Powelson House received much favorable attention in the local
newspaper at the time of its construction and undoubtedly influenced the construction of
the four other Stick Style houses a decade later. The Stick Style was a transitional style
linking the Gothic Revival with the Queen Anne Style,the later becoming dominant in
the late 1880s and 1890s.
Between 1890 and 1895, six Queen Anne Style residences were built on University
Avenue, all of which display a high level of integrity. The first,built at 210 University
Avenue, is a simple,but excellent example of the style. The George Moler House, at 408
University Avenue, displays many details characteristic of the Queen Anne Style, as does
the house located at 512 University,the most elaborate and best preserved of the
District's Queen Anne houses. The house located at 508 University represents a merging
of the Queen Anne and later Shingle Style with elegant Free Classic detailing.
The Queen Anne Style inspired more elaborate detailing on simple folk forms, imitating
the Victorian detailing of wealthier neighbors. Examples include the Folk Victorian-
Style homes at 216 University Avenue,built by builder/contractor O. Daniel Edwards in
1871, and 218-20 University Avenue, again built by Edwards twenty years later as an
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 11
income property. The house at 202-4 University Avenue displays strong elements of the
Queen Anne Style. The neighboring house to the north, 206 University Avenue, has
received a number of unsympathetic alterations, and as a result is no longer
architecturally significant.
University Avenue contains a contiguous row of three exemplary carriage houses. In
Ithaca,the contiguous siting of the three extant carriage houses is an unusual and notable
occurrence. The two southernmost carriage houses, 308 and 312 University Avenue,
were constructed for the Treman family in 1905. Built in the Shingle Style and designed
by prominent architect Clinton Vivian,these carriage houses are excellent examples of
their style and unique building type. The Wilder D. Bancroft Carriage House and Squash
Court,built two years later at 320 University Avenue, is a well-preserved Tudor Style
building with unique Italian Renaissance Style massing. The last two residences
constructed on the block were built in a simplified Tudor Style; a modest home at 132
University Avenue and an excellent example of the Craftsman Style of American
domestic architecture at 510 University Avenue,built by Robert Treman as an investment
property built in 1920.
The Tudor Revival Style is represented within the historic district by an exemplary
structure,the Robert H. Treman House(640 Stewart Avenue),built in 1901. The Charles
E. Treman House,built the same year to compliment the Robert H. Treman House,was
torn down following a 1944 fire and replaced with Tudor Revival Style Von Cramm
Cooperative(623 University Avenue),which is not architecturally significant. The Italian
Renaissance Style is represented in the Mynderse Van Cleef house at 660 Stewart
Avenue, also designed by William Henry Miller.
This area witnessed significant development of Cornell University-related residential
structures in the late 1890s with the growth of the fraternity system. There are three
residential structures in the historic district built for fraternities,the first, constructed in
1901 for Alpha Tau Omega(625 University Avenue), is located at the within the
northeast boundary of the historic district at the corner of University and Stewart
- Avenues.Built in the Italian Renaissance Style,ATO is a significant example of Italian
Renaissance styling, with Colonial Revival-Style elements dating from a 1908
remodeling. In 1910, the Kelly family built two income properties for fraternity use, 612-
- 4 Stewart Avenue and 636 Stewart Avenue. The residence at 612-4 Stewart Avenue was
built in the Italian Renaissance Style,but displays Mission Style influences. The
fraternity at 636 Stewart Avenue, designed in the Swiss Chalet Style, is unique within the
historic district. Kelly's own home (626-8 Stewart Avenue),built in the same year, is a
Tudor Revival Style home clearly influenced by the Treman houses to the north. The
other two homes in the 600 block of Stewart Avenue, built just prior to the Kelly
properties, are good examples of the Queen Anne Style with blended influences. Italian
Renaissance and Craftsmen detailing were employed in the primarily Queen Anne Style
residence at 618-20 Stewart Avenue, and the predominantly Queen Anne Style home at
638 University Avenue has Tudor Revival Style half-timbering in the gable-ends.
i
Cornell &Treman Historic District
Narrative Description,page 12
i
The latest architectural period in the Cornell-Treman Families Historic District is found
on Llenroc Court, developed during the 1920s and employing the styles of domestic
architecture popular during the first quarter of the twentieth century. The uniquely
American Craftsman Style,popularized by furniture maker Gustav Stickley in the pages
of Craftsman Magazine (1901-16),was commonly employed in the small bungalow. This
style was used on 101 Llenroc Court(1922), the first home built on Llenroc Court. This
home possesses strong integrity of form and is the only intact representative of the
Craftsman Bungalow, a prevalent style of the period, in the district. The Prairie style,
another architect-influenced departure from the historic European references of the
nineteenth-century, flourished between 1900 and 1920. Popularized by architect Frank
Lloyd Wright, the Prairie Style is one of the few indigenous American architectural
styles. Referred to in its simplified form as Prairie Box or American Foursquare, this
style is represented by 109 Llenroc Court, a modest single-family home that remains
largely unaltered since its original 1923 construction.
The 1927 Allan H. Treman House,the last property developed in the area, is the only
Colonial Revival Style building in the historic district. The Colonial Revival style
enjoyed the longest popularity of any of the Revival styles and was.dominant between
i_ 1880 and 1955. This gambrel roof, freestanding residence is a sub-type of the Colonial
Revival Style known as Dutch Colonial.
` An annotated list of properties within the Historic District follows.
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Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 1
Buildings List
100 Cornell Avenue 1867-75 Photo 1, 2, 3
Llenroc, The Villa Cornell (Delta Phi Lodge)
Description:
This two-and-one-half-story stone Gothic Revival-style villa sits on a grassy knoll commanding
panoramic views of the Town of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake below. The grounds originally
consisted of nine acres of mature specimen trees. Although only 2.34 acres of the original
grounds are still owned by the current owners, Delta Phi Fraternity,who bought the property
from the Cornell family in 1911,the fraternities ongoing commitment to maintain the original
grounds has resulted in a landscape retaining the initial intent of a gently sloping lawn stretching
to the perimeters of the property emphasizing the dominant view.
Llenroc's exterior fagade is faced with Llenroc stone(Ithaca Limestone) quarried at Library
Slope, directly above and east of the site. It is laid in a random ashlar pattern. Elaborately carved
exterior decorative ornamentation is grey limestone. The building's steeply pitched gable roof is
clad with octagonal grey slate and contains a built-in gutter system. The roof is punctuated by
limestone j erkin-head dormers with lancet windows. Massive buttressed chimneys dominate the
west end of the north and south fagade and the east gable end.
The house consists of two rectangular volumes. The two-and-one-half-story cross-plan main
block, oriented towards a circular drive and Cornell Avenue'to the south, contains the original ,
public and private family spaces. The main(south) fagade contains the steeply gabled projecting
entrance,with a great Gothic-arched doorway surmounted by-a beribboned tablet bearing Ezra
Cornell's motto, "True and Firm." One-story arcaded porches composed of Gothic pier arches
with hipped metal roofs are at either side of the west-facing gable. A one-and-one-half-story
mansard roof addition to the east housed the services and original servant's quarters.
For further description of the building and its significance,refer to National Register of Historic
Places Building #80002781.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places (added 1980, Building
#80002781), Llenroc is significant under National Register Criterion B as the last extant building
in Tompkins County associated with the personal life of Ezra Cornell, inventor, industrialist,
philanthropist and co-founder of Cornell University.
Designed jointly by the Albany-based architecture firms of Nichols &Brown and Thomas Fuller,
the house is significant under National Register Criterion C as Ithaca's finest and best-preserved
masonry Gothic Revival style residence. Both the exterior of Llenroc and the significant features
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 2
of its principal rooms remain virtually unchanged since the house was substantially completed in
1875. Ezra Cornell and his brother Elijah B. Cornell supervised construction. The building
displays a high level of craftsmanship and attention to detail.
Ezra Cornell was born on January 11, 1807 in Westchester Landing,New York, near the Bronx
River. In 1819,he moved west to De Ruyter,New York with his family. He settled in Ithaca in
1828 and found employment with Colonel Jeremiah S. Beebe, a local mill owner, for whom he
constructed mill buildings and eventually supervised Beebe's Fall Creek mill and farm. In 1833,
Cornell built a small home north of Fall Creek for his new bride,Mary Ann Wood of Dryden.
The Cornell's nine children were born in that house. Cornell participated in the Ithaca land boom
of the mid-183Os,purchasing land on the south side of Ithaca Falls. Following the depression of
1837, Cornell began farming and became increasingly active in local politics. In 1842,he began
traveling in his efforts to establish the telegraph business and build his future fortune. It was
Cornell's intention to retire to Ithaca once he made his fortune and take up the life of a
gentleman farmer on East Hill.
In 1848, Ezra Cornell bought a 75-acre East Hill property formerly owned by Simeon DeWitt,
New York State Surveyor General (1800-34). The land consisted of a gently sloping plateau
overlooking the village, on which was situated the DeWitt homestead. A larger plateau at the
crest of East Hill extended eastward-for about one mile. This property was a portion of the
Ithaca Valley land purchased by Simeon DeWitt in 1793. As early as 1795,DeWitt camped on
this East Hill site while producing the official maps of the area. DeWitt's son, Linn, who
inherited this property in 1834 following Simeon's death, built a simple farmhouse on the site. It
was Ezra's intention to rent the farmhouse until he was able to retire to the property. Due to
financial pressures, Cornell was forced to relinquish his interest in the property to his brother-in-
law Orrin Wood in 1851. In 1857, Mary Ann Cornell repurchased the land from her brother.
Cornell renamed the DeWitt farmhouse"Forest Hill" and began farming. In 1861,he was elected
to th
e State Legislature and in 1863 to the State Senate where he began to work for the
establishment of an agricultural college in Ithaca under the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862. To
sweeten the deal, Cornell offered a gift of$500,000 and 200-acres of his East Hill farm as a
campus site, retaining a small area west of the campus, including Forest Park, for his own home.
With four deeds dated October 10, 1866 Ezra Cornell gifted 171.50 acres of his East Hill farm to
Cornell University. The same year he gave his home, Forest Park, to son Franklin who had been
managing the property during his father's frequent absences from Ithaca. In 1867, Ezra began
construction of his Gothic Revival-style villa, designed in 1865 by architects Nichols &Brown
on a large site below the Cornell campus. The ownership of the land was formalized in 1969 in a
series of deeds between Ezra Cornell and his eldest son, Alonzo. Alonzo Cornell owned the
Villa Cornell site (Block 168, Lot 6) since his 1854 from George Beers. In exchange for this
property,Alonzo received a lot to the north(Block 168, Lot 4)purchased from Beers by Ezra in
1862. Alonzo already owned the neighboring land to the north(Block 168, Lot 3),purchased in
1860 from Colonel Jeremiah S. Beebe, Ezra's former employer. With this trade, Alonzo
consolidated his holdings in the area.
I �
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 3
When Ezra Cornell died on December 9, 1874,the house was still uncompleted. In the spring of
1876, Ezra's widow,Mary Ann, moved into the completed villa with her eldest daughter, Mary
- Emily; and Emma Cornell Blair, her youngest child, and family. In August of 1875,Mary Ann
increased the grounds with the purchase of the adjoining lot to the north(Block 168,Lot 5) from
Mathilde Vorwerck, this allowing the subsequent construction of the Cornell Carriage House
(630 Stewart Avenue),built in 1880. With this purchase, the Cornell's owned all the land located
between University Avenue and Stewart Avenue north of the City Cemetery.
Ezra had transferred ownership of the house to his wife, Mary Ann; a month prior to his death.
Upon Mary Ann's death on September 2, 1891, her will provided that"[her] residence property
known as Villa Cornell on East Hill in the City of Ithaca,NY with all of the land used and
embraced in the grounds about said residence, including the portion owned by one Vorwerck"be
given jointly and absolutely to her daughters, Mary Emily Cornell and Emma Cornell Blair. In
1907, the daughters subdivided the property into twenty-two lots and Llenroc, as Villa Cornell
was now known, with nine acres. The first lots in the Llenroc subdivision were sold in 1908 to
the Treman family,who had previously purchased property north of Mary Ann Cornell's land
from Alonzo Cornell for construction of their three family residences. The property fronting on
Stewart Avenue was sold between 1908 and 1910. Perhaps motivated by the unexpected death of
Charles Blair, Emma's husband, in 1910, Llenroc was sold to Delta Phi Fraternity the following
year. Lots on Llenroc Court began selling in 1921 and the last Llenroc Lot was sold in 1926. The
Baldwin Stairs, a memorial for a Delta Phi member who perished in World War I,was
constructed on Llenroc property west of the house in 1925. In 1974,Delta Phi sold both the
Baldwin Stairs and a 2.5-acre parcel north of the original estate to Cornell University. The estate
now sits on 2.34 acres of the original property,but the fraternity continues to maintain the lot to
the north. As a result, the grounds retain their original composition dating from the Cornell
family's tenure.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 4
101 Lle oc nr Court 1922 Photo 4, 5
Description:
This two-and-one-half-story, Craftsman-style house, located on the northeast corner of Cornell
Street and Llenroc Court facing Cornell streets, has a front-facing gable roof with exposed rafter
tails and projecting beams. The first story is covered with stucco. Large curving brackets
support a gable roof-entrance canopy near the east corner of the south fagade. A square bay
window with a shed roof is located beside the entrance canopy. The second story is covered in
wood shingle siding. The front gable,which is covered in stucco, features a double multi-pane
window and decorative half timbering. The east elevation features another short, square bay
window covered by a shed roof. An enclosed first-story porch sits above an attached one-car
garage located downhill and west of the residence.
A freestanding one-car garage is located uphill and east of the home, facing Cornell Avenue. It is
an intact structure, contemporary with the original house with a high horizontal triple sash
window with six-lites per sash on the east elevation and a single door with a four-lite single sash
window to the north aligned at the header on the west elevation. The original door is paneled.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant.
This modest Craftsman-style home contributes architecturally to the district. The Craftsman style
was popularized by furniture maker Gustav Stickley in the pages of Craftsman Magazine,
published from 1901-16. This uniquely American style was commonly employed in the small
bungalow. This home possesses strong integrity of form and is an intact representative of the
Craftsman Bungalow. Craftsman style features include the entry porch with typical Craftsman
style brackets and squared oriel windows protected by a shed roof. Minor alterations, in the form
of one-story shed additions at the rear of the property to the east and above the attached garage
on the west, detract slightly from the overall integrity of the property.
This house is one of a group of Craftsman-style homes built in the second decade of the
twentieth century on land subdivided and sold from the original Ezra Cornell estate. Mary
Cornell and Emma C. Blair inherited the Villa Cornell"with all the land used and embraced in
the grounds about said residence"upon the death of their mother,Mary Ann Cornell, in.1889.
101 Llenroc Court was the first of the Llenroc Court lots sold, and was bought by Cornell
University instructor George Coleman in 1921. Coleman rented the free standing, single-family
residence immediately following its construction to Francis M. Molleson, an accountant with
Thomas-Morris Aircraft Corporation. In 1928, Molleson purchased the house, remaining in the
residence for an additional nine years. The property was sold to the Cornell Newman Foundation
in 1956. Thirteen years later,the building and surrounding vacant land were transferred to the
Diocese of Rochester, which used the structure as a parish house for Cornell University priests.
The vacant lots to the north and east(Llenroc Lots #1, 2, 20, and 21)had been purchased by
Vladimir Karapetoff in 1923 and sold to the Cornell Newman Foundation in 1947.
i
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 5
i 107 Llenroc Court 1926 Photo 6
Description:
This one-and-one-half-story, U-shapes plan, a Craftsmen-style house with symmetrical front-
facing gables has a connecting cross-gable with a broad shed-roof dormer. Late twentieth-
century remodeling obscures most of the building's original detailing. Changes to the fagade
include vinyl siding,boxed soffits clad with aluminum coil stock, vinyl replacement windows,
pressure-treated wood entry deck and a large shed-roof dormer.
Significance:
Contributing.
This house and the others bordering this street(101 Llenroc Court and 109 Llenroc Court) were
built in the second decade of the twentieth century as part of a modest subdivision of land
previously part of the original Ezra Cornell estate. Mrs. Elsie Morrison, a widow whose
husband's family owned the Ideal Diner in Ithaca,bought this property from Mary Cornell and
Emma C. Blair,who had inherited the Villa Cornell "with all the land used and embraced in the
grounds about said residence"from their mother,Mary Ann Cornell,in 1889. Mrs. Morrison
built this,the third house constructed on Llenroc Court, in 1926 and remained in the house for
twenty-two years. The property was in single-family occupant use until its recent purchase by
Cornell University.
The architectural integrity of this house has been compromised by late twentieth-century
alterations,rendering this property contributing,but not architecturally significant.
Comell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 6
109 Llenroc Court 1923 Photo 7
Description:
This two-story, symmetrical, wood shingle-clad Prairie-style house has a gently pitched hip roof
with projecting eaves. Paired six-over-one sash windows are aligned at the corners of the first
and second stories. Another small sash window is center in the second story. A central, flat-roof
single-bay entry porch, supported by battered square posts has been enclosed with aluminum
storm windows.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant.
This modest Prairie-style home is largely unaltered,thus providing a good example of a domestic
architectural style popular during the first two decades of the twentieth century. This style, also
referred to as the Prairie Box or American Foursquare,was first popularized by architect Frank
Lloyd Wright and flourished between 1900 and 1920. The Prairie style is one of the few
indigenous American architectural styles. This is the only Prairie-style building in the district and
retains a high level of architectural integrity.
This house and the others bordering this street(101 and 107, and 115 Llenroc Court)were built
in the second decade of the twentieth century on land subdivided and sold from the original Ezra
Cornell estate. Albert Sharpe, commissioner of the Council of Boy Scouts and director of the
Ithaca School of Physical Education,bought this property directly south of the Cornell carriage
house(630 Stewart Avenue) in 1923 from Mary Cornell and Emma C. Blair,who had inherited
the Villa Cornell "with all the land used and embraced in the grounds about said residence"in
1889 from their mother, Mary Ann Cornell. The property is currently owned by Cornell
University.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 7
115 Llenroc Court 1927 Photo 8
Allan H. Treman House
Description:
The Allan H. Treman House at 115 Llenroc Court is located at the northern end of Llenroc Court
west of Stewart Avenue. The Treman House was built with the front fagade facing north and the
home of Robert H. Treman, Allan's father. A white picket fence encloses the former front yard
and follows the westward slope of the hill. The picket fence also separates the front yard from
the driveway for the Robert H. Treman House at 640 Stewart Avenue. The house is currently
accessed by a private driveway, continued from the end of Llenroc Court, ending at a garage.
door on the basement level to the rear of the house.
The Allan H. Treman House is a one-and-one-half-story, clapboard sided, largely symmetrical,
Dutch Colonial Revival-style residence with a rectangular plan. It has a single-story wing
addition on the west elevation and a single-story porch on the east elevation. A three-bay, shed-
roof dormer is centered in the gambrel-roof on both the front fagade and rear elevation. The
front fagade has a double six-over-six sash window centered in the dormer of the second story
flanked by evenly spaced six-over-six sash windows. A small, single-story, gable-roof porch
supported by two smooth columns and featuring cornice returns covers the central entrance door.
Large black strap hinges decorate the simple, solid wood door. The door is flanked by two six-
over-six sash windows on either side. Black louvered shutters accentuate every window on the
main block of the front fagade. The single-story, flat-roof western wing is set back from the
fagade. A triple casement window without shutters is located toward the east corner of the front
fagade of the wing. Two engaged columns are west of the window with one at the corner.
A central brick chimney dominates the west elevation. The chimney is flanked by two small,
four-light casement windows topped by quarter round lunettes in the attic story. Two shuttered,
six-over-six sash windows flank the chimney on the second story. A Chicago-style window is
- - centered in the west elevation of the west wing flanked by engaged columns to either side and at
the corners. Six-over-six sash windows are located to the north and south of the wing on the first
story of the main block. Black louvered shutters accentuate every window on the main block of
the front fagade.
A small, flat-roof porch is flush with the east corner of the front fagade. The porch is supported
by matching columns and features decorative lattice. The porch covers an entrance door on the
north corner. Between the porch and a three-sided bay window at the south corner is another
double window on the first story. A double window with a half-round window above is located
in the attic story of the east elevation. Two larger windows flank a smaller window on the
second story.
Comell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 8
The rear, or south elevation features two small sash windows and two larger six-over-six sash
windows evenly spaced in the dormer on the second story. Five six-over-six sash windows and
another smaller window are located on the first story of the main block. Louvered shutters flank
all of the windows. Engaged columns at both corners and another engaged column toward the
west corner accentuate the west wing rear elevation. The basement story is partially exposed,
with a single-car garage door under the wing with a window to the east. The foundation is
cement.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Allan H. Treman House is architecturally significant as the only Dutch Colonial Revival-
style building in the district. The Colonial Revival style enjoyed the longest popularity of any of
the Revival styles, employed between 1880 and 1955. Typical Dutch Colonial style elements
exhibited in this building are the gambrel roof, symmetrical fagade with accentuated front door,
prominent front and rear dormers and entry porch. This structure retains a high level of
architectural integrity.
The Allan H. Treman House is significant for its relationship to the Treman family. The house
was built in 1927 for Allan H. Treman following his marriage to Ellen Frances Barton by his
father,Robert H. Treman as a wedding present.This house is sited adjacent to Robert's own
home (640 Stewart Avenue) and is a later addition to a trio of homes constructed in 1901-2 by
the Treman family on land purchased from Ezra Cornell's son Alonzo in 1900. Robert Treman
and his siblings purchased this land, Llenroc Lots 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the Villa Cornell estate,
from Mary Cornell and Emma C. Blair in 1908. The property, immediately south of the three
Treman family homes,was originally accessed by a drive off located on Stewart Avenue
between the Robert H. Treman and Van Cleef House. The drive continued south,passing to the
north of the Allan H. Treman House,between that of Allan and his father. The property, now
owned by Cornell University, is accessed by a drive at the end of Llenroc Court.
Allan Treman was a member of the Cornell University Class of 1921 and received a law degree
from Cornell in 1924. He practiced law in the firm established by his uncle Mynderse Van Cleef
and succeeded him as Cornell University counsel, serving on Comell's Board of Trustees from
1955-60. Like his father,he served on the Board of the Tompkins County Trust Co. and the
Finger Lakes Park Commission. The Allan H. Treman State Marine Park was dedicated in his
memory following his death in 1975. The Allan H. Treman House contributes to the architectural
and historic significance of the Treman complex.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 9
612-4 Stewart Avenue 1910 Photo 19
Thomas Kelly property
e rental p rtY
Description:
This three-and-one-half story, central entrance, stucco-covered residence, constructed as a
fraternity, is primarily a blend of Italian Renaissance style with Mission-style influence evident
in the massing and detail. It possesses a simple hipped-roof and broad projecting eaves with open
rafters. Pedimented wall dormers are located at the center of the front facade and south elevation.
A recessed full-width porch,three bays wide and one bay deep, features ogee arches supported
by stucco piers. The building has a regular fenestration pattern of one-over-one double-hung
windows.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The building is architecturally significant for its simple,yet atypical interpretation of the Italian
Renaissance style of domestic architecture popular during the first quarter of the twentieth
century. This utilitarian composition was most likely influenced by the recently completed
Robert H. Treman House(640 Stewart Avenue) as witnessed in the use of repeated ogee-arches
on the porch. This structure retains a high level of architectural integrity.
This building is historically significant as a representative example of the numerous fraternity
buildings constructed at the west border of the Cornell campus within the first decades of the
twentieth century to fulfill Cornell's increasing residential needs. This building is sited
immediately west of the Cornell campus on land once associated with Ezra Cornell's estate,
Llenroc.Following the death of Cornell's widow, the property was deeded to Mary Cornell and
Emma C. Blair who had inherited the Villa Cornell "with all the land used and embraced in the
grounds about said residence" from their mother,Mary Ann Cornell. In 1907, the Ezra Cornell
estate was subdivided. This property(Llenroc Lots 3 and 4), located on Stewart Avenue directly
east of the Cornell home,was sold May 5, 1910 to Thomas Kelly who simultaneously purchased
Llenroc Lot 7 (626-8 Stewart Avenue) and whose brother purchased Lots 9 and 10 (636 Stewart
Avenue). Thomas built this property as an investment,renting to the Spanish American Club in
1911 and Iswza Fraternity in 1913. Iswza Fraternity purchased the property from Kelly's heirs in
1920. From 1938 to 1946, the building housed the Algonquin Lodge, a housing cooperative
begun as an offshoot of the Llenroc Lodge,now called the Cayuga Student Lodge Association,
established in 1933 in the former Cornell Carriage House (630 Stewart Avenue). The adjoining
lot to the south was retained by the family. Both the building and lot were deeded to the Diocese
of Rochester in 1946 under the terms of Agnes Kelly's will. It continues to serve as student
housing. -
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 10
618-20 Stewart Avenue 1908 Photo 20
Edgar Tifft House
Description:
This two-and-one-half story, symmetrical Queen Anne-style structure, built for single-family,
owner-occupied use, displays elements of Craftsman styling.A slate-clad hipped roof,with
projecting eaves and exposed rafter tails, is broken on the street fagade by two projecting gable-
roof attic dormers directly above semi-hexagonal second-story bays. The dormers have carved
verge boards and are supported by decorative brackets and projecting beams. A triple,
decorative-light window is centered between the two bay windows on the second story. A full-
width, shed-roof porch supported by grouped square posts features a projecting gable-roof center
entry. Stringcourse trim separates the rough texture stucco of the foundation and first floor from
the narrow clapboard siding above. Shed-roof dormers are located on the south and north
elevations. A bay window and a two-story grouping of various size windows is located on the
north elevation.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant.
This residential structure is an excellent example of Queen Anne style American domestic
architecture first popularized in the late nineteenth century and persisting through 1910. Typical
of the Queen Anne-style house in its use of bay windows and numerous dormers,the.pedimented
entry porch and decorative triple sash window centered on the front fagade. Craftsman details
include the open eaves and projecting beams at the roofline. The home is unaltered from its
original form,possessing a high level of architectural integrity.
This was the first lot purchased following the dissolution of Llenroc, Ezra Cornell's-estate.
Following the death of Comell's widow,the property was deeded to Mary Cornell and Emma C.
Blair,who had inherited the Villa Cornell "with all the land used and embraced in the grounds
about said residence" from their mother,Mary Ann Cornell. They subdivided the property in
1907 and in August 1908 sold these lots, Llenroc Lots 5 and 6 located on Stewart Avenue
directly east of the Cornell home, to Edgar Tifft for the construction of his residence. Three years
before, Tifft had purchased land from Franklin C. Cornell and built a residence at 526 Stewart
Avenue. In 1920, the Tiffts sold the building to Theta Alpha Fraternity,holding the mortgage.
The mortgage was foreclosed in 1936. During World War H,the building functioned as transient
army housing. It remains in use as student housing currently under the ownership of Cornell
University.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 11
626-8 Stewart Avenue 1910 Photo 21
Thomas A. Kelly House
Description:
This property consists of a two-and-one-half story front-facing gable roof simplified Tudor
-- Revival-style house. A full-width shed-roof porch, supported on battered stucco piers, is
punctuated by a central gable.entry on the symmetrical front(east) fagade. The building's rough-
textured stucco exterior is decorated with Tudor-style half-timbering. The roof, clad in terra cotta
barrel tile, has a wide unenclosed cave overhang supported by gable-end knee braces below a
wide bargeboard. Two gable-roof dormers and one shed-roof dormer punctuate the south fagade.
A projecting cross-gable bay and'exposed brick chimney dominate the north fagade. Projecting
beams support the overhanging gable with a triple fifteen-over-one sash window centered in the
attic story. The house has a regular fenestration of fifteen-over-one double-hung windows.
Alterations include a four-story exit stair/deck at the rear of the house and enclosure of the south
- bay of the front porch.
Significance:
Contributing.
The architectural integrity of this house has been compromised by late twentieth-century
alterations,rendering this property contributing,but not architecturally significant.
Designed in the Tudor Revival-style, the building displays direct influence of the grander
Treman family Tudor Revival-style homes to the north in its terra cotta tile roof.
The building is sited immediately west of the Cornell campus on land once associated with Ezra
Cornell's estate, Llenroc. Following the death of Cornell's widow, the property was deeded to
Mary Cornell and Emma C. Blair, who had inherited the Villa Cornell"with all the land used
and embraced in the grounds about said residence"from their mother,Mary Ann Cornell. In
1907, the Ezra Cornell estate was subdivided. On May 5, 1910,the Kelly family purchased
Llenroc Lots 3,4, 7, 9, and 10. Thomas Kelly, owner of a sporting goods store at 404 Stewart
Avenue,built this home on Lot 7 as-his family residence.He developed Llenroc Lots 3 and 4
(612-4 Stewart Avenue) and his brother developed Llenroc,Lots 9 and 10 (636 Stewart Avenue)
as residential rentals.Kelly's neighboring investment property supported construction of this
more elaborately detailed, owner-occupied, single-family Tudor Revival style structure. This
home remained in the Kelly family until it was converted to student housing in 1962. Cornell
University is the currently owner.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 12
630 Stewart Avenue (l l 1 Llenroc Court) 1880 Photo 22,23
Cayuga Lodge (previously known as the Cornell Carriage House and Llenroc Lodge)
Description:
The Cornell Carriage House at 630 Stewart Avenue is located on the west side of Stewart
Avenue north and west of the Cornell's villa,Llenroc. The Carriage House is set back
significantly from the road in comparison to the surrounding houses on Stewart Avenue.
Currently, Llenroc Court, a street that runs parallel to Stewart Avenue from Cornell Avenue,
runs along the west side of the Carriage House giving the appearance that is part of the
development of homes built on Llenroc Court. The Carriage House is approached by a long
driveway that descends from Stewart Avenue between 626-8 and 636 Stewart Avenue. A
parking area is located on the south side of the driveway. The drive curves around the north -
elevation of the Carriage House and connects to Llenroc Court at the rear of the Carriage House.
For the purposes of this description the front fagade faces Stewart Avenue to the east.
The Cornell Carriage House is a two-story,brick,Queen Anne-style building with Tudor-style
detailing. The plan of the Carriage House is roughly a T-shape,with a projecting gable on the
front fagade. A north-south, gable-roofed main block and a perpendicular, slightly shorter, gable-
roof wing to the west form the `T'. The walls are brick with decorative, dark red courses of brick
aligned with the sills of the second-story windows and the headers of the first-story windows.
The majority of the windows feature stone lintels and sills that match the stone water table. The
foundation is stone.
The front(east) fagade is dominated by the centered,projecting cross gable. The roof of the
cross gable continues with a slight change in pitch to the south and ends at the top of the first
story. The gable is covered in diamond slate shingles. A small multi-paned triangular window
sits at the apex of the gable in the attic story with a crest beneath. Centered in the second story is
a double one-over-one sash window flanked by evenly spaced sash windows. Decorative half-
_ _ timbering is located beneath the windows. Decorative brackets support the projecting second-
story. North of the cross gable, on the main block of the house, are two sash windows on the
second story and two sash windows on the first story. South of the cross gable is a single sash
window on the south corner of the second story.
A flat-roof porch begins at the north corner of the cross gable. Piers sit upon a short stonewall,
capped by concrete,which support the roof.Decorative brackets are located directly beneath the
roof. Two sets of porch stairs lead to two entrance doors. The southernmost set of stairs
provides access to.the main entrance. The main entrance door is a half-light wood door with a
sidelight to the north. South of the entrance door is a window that matches the door lite in size,
and another sidelight. A single large wood lintel,which originally supported the sliding barn
door, spans the sidelights, window and door. The set of stairs to the north leads to a small and
higher entrance door that provides access to the second and third stories. South of the porch on
the first story is a sash window. A third, small entrance door accessed by another set of stairs
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 13
supported by matching stone walls is located to the south with two additional sash windows at
differing elevations south of this entrance door.
The Carriage House's south elevation gable is similar in composition to that of the east fagade,
with a matching triangular window in the apex of the projecting gable and diamond slate
shingles beneath.Decorative brackets support the gable. A triple sash window is located in the
attic story with decorative half-timbering to the sides and below. An emergency exit door is
located to the east of the windows. A double sash window is centered in the second story. A
small flat-roof porch, supported by piers sitting on a stone wall capped with stone matching the
water table, is centered on the first story sheltering an oversized, multi-pane entrance door. A
multi-pane, elliptical transom is located above the door. The door is flanked by double sash
windows,with quarter lunette transoms above and topped by an arched concrete header. West of
the cross gable, on the west wing, the second story is covered in decorative half-timbering. A
double sash window is roughly centered on the first story. A brick buttress capped by stone is
located in the east corner of the elevation.
The north elevation gable is identical to the south elevation gable. A double sash window,
Ranked by single sash windows is centered beneath the gable. Another window opening has
been filled in with brick. An entrance door with a transom above is located on the first story.
There are two sash windows located to the west of the entrance door and one sash window to the
east. West of the gable, on the west wing, is a large, patterned brick eave wall chimney. The
second story is covered with decorative half-timbering.
The gable and second story of the rear(west) elevation of the west wing matches the front(east)
fagade cross gable. A double sash window is aligned beneath the double window on the first
story and is flanked by sash windows. A large,rusticated stone arch is centered on the exposed
basement level. The area beneath the arch that at one time served as a horse stable has been in-
filled by plywood and an entrance door. Two sash basement windows flank the arch. West of the
cross gable, on the main block, are two sash windows in the second story and three sash .
windows with transoms above on the first story. South of the wing are two sash windows on the
' second story. The first story features an arched double sash window that matches the two
located on the south elevation. Sash windows with transoms above flank the arched window.
The Carriage House was modified to serve as student housing for nearby Cornell University. As
a result, the large doors on the rear elevation were removed and replaced with an entrance door.
Entrance doors in the attic of the north and south elevations replaced windows. Fire escapes
were added to provide access to these entrance doors. A sliding door on the front fagade was
replaced with windows, sidelights, and an entrance door. The door and transom on the south
elevation replaced a window, and the flanking windows were installed at the same time. Both
the front fagade and south elevation porches were added before 1923 when the Carriage House
was first renovated for residential use.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 14
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant
The former Cornell Carriage House,now known as Cayuga Lodge, is architecturally significant
due to its sophisticated Queen Anne style with half-timbered detailing, a precursor to the Tudor
style thought to have begun a decade after the construction of this home. Although altered to
accommodate student housing, the building retains exterior integrity of materials and design. A
Cornell University Master's Thesis on the Cornell Carriage House, completed in 1998,posited
that the most likely original architect of the Cornell Carriage House was William Henry Miller
(1848-1922), Ithaca's most renowned architect of the period. Miller was known to be the
architect of several similarly styled buildings constructed on or about 1880. The Cornell Carriage
House bears a striking resemblance to the Stowell/Osbome House (303 N. Aurora Street) and
Professor Bella McCoon Cottage (demolished), also built in 1880. The Cornell Carriage House
shares the use of one of Miller's signature multi-paned triangular gable window with the Burdick
House(403 E. Buffalo Street),built in 1884. A carriage house designed for Henry Williams
Sage, constructed between 1878-1880) on Sage Place and Jennie McGraw Carriage House (ca.
1880) are strikingly similar to this carriage house completed the same year. In addition, Miller
had strong connections to the Cornell family. The first architectural student at Cornell
University,Miller was responsible for the 1881 remodeling of Franklin C. Cornell's home,
Forest Park. William Henry Miller Franklin was also commissioned to design the Cornell family
mausoleum at Lake View Cemetery, completed in 1907, and located his own tomb opposite that
of the Cornells. Ledgers kept by Franklin Cornell,who administered this construction project for
his mother, show no payments to Miller,but do list a payment on April 3, 1880 to A.B. Wood for
"staking out barn." Wood, a principal in Gray&Wood insurance,real estate, architecture and
surveying firm in Ithaca,was architect at the time for the Powelson House (504 University
Avenue). Alvah Bugbee Wood(1850-1909), an 1875 graduate of Cornell University College of
Architecture, designed numerous school buildings, among them the Fall Creek School House.
His industrial buildings included numerous railroad stations in the Finger Lakes region,
including Ithaca's Lehigh Valley Railroad Station,built in 1898 and listed on the National
Register of Historic Places. The contractors for the job were Campbell,Richardson & Co.
Robert Richardson was an English stonemason who had come to Ithaca to work on the Cornell
Villa, Llenroc, and remained to work on numerous early campus buildings. The building was
completed by December 1880.
In 1923,prominent Ithaca architect Clinton L. Vivian, who began his architectural career in
William Henry Miller's office, was hired to complete a comprehensive rehabilitation of the
carriage house remodeling the interior spaces for residential use. The only significant exterior
modification, entry porches on the east and south fagades,were added as part of a this
rehabilitation plan. This building displays a high level of architectural integrity.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 15
Cayuga Lodge is historically significant due to its association with the Llenroc estate and Cornell
family. Mary Ann Cornell, Ezra Cornell's widow,purchased the carriage house land from the
Vorwerck family in 1875, the year following Ezra's death. Plans for a carriage house were not
included with the plans for Villa Cornell. When the Vorwerck land, which sat directly north of
Villa Cornell between Mary Ann's property and that.owned by her eldest son, Alonzo, became
available Mary Ann purchased it and had her son Franklin supervise construction of the elaborate
carriage house, stable and residential quarters for the Cornell's coachman and his family.
Following Mary Ann Cornell's death in September 1891,her daughters Mary Cornell and Emma
Cornell Blair, inherited Villa Cornell"with all the land used and embraced in the grounds about
said residence, including the portion thereof once owned by-Vorwerck." This included the
carriage house, carriages,harnesses, stable furniture and fixtures including all the contents of the
stable."Mary Emily Cornell lived in Villa Cornell intermittently after her mother's death,
traveling frequently to stay with her sister Emma Cornell Blair and her family on Long Island.
The Blairs returned to Ithaca in 1900 and Villa Cornell once again became.an active family
home. In 1907,Mary Cornell and Emma Cornell Blair subdivided the Llenroc property and
began to sell lots fronting on Stewart Avenue. They sold the estate to Delta Phi Fraternity in
1911. In 1923, the Cornell Carriage House was sold to Edward Amhurst Ott, a prominent
lecturer on the national Lyceum and Chautauqua circuit, forums integrating oration,music and
theater; The recently hired dean of the Ott School of Chautauqua&Lyceum Arts, a part of Ithaca
Conservatory, now Ithaca College. Ott hired architect Clinton L. Vivian to adapt the Cornell
Carriage House to a single-family residence.
Ott purchased the Carriage House at the height of the Chautauqua movement. By the mid-1920s,
the movement had collapsed, replaced by cinemas. Ott's position at Ithaca Conservatory ended
in 1928. Ott remained in the carriage house using part of the building for a small publishing
business. He also took in Cornell boarders. Seeing the opportunity for Cornell related lodging
and dining, Ott remodeled again in 1933 converting the building to a residence and dining
cooperative, one of the first student dining and housing cooperatives in the United States. Ott
continued to live on the first-story and managed what he called the Llenroc Lodge Cooperative
Association,with thirty-eight residents in the upper floors of the building and a dining hall for
100 members in the basement. Llenroc Lodge was quite successful. The Llenroc Lodge
Association purchased the Carriage House from Ott in 1937, allowing him to stay in the building
as "advisor for life." (Ott's tenure at the building ended in 1945.)By 1938, the lodge established
a second cooperative, the Algonquin Lodge(624 Stewart Avenue), to accommodate the overflow
from Llenroc Lodge. In 1946, the Algonquin Lodge bought the single-family residence located
at 526 Stewart Avenue and relations between the two cooperatives slowly faded. In 1940, the
cooperative's name was changed to Cayuga Student Residence in order to differentiate it from
Llenroc House, owned by Delta Phi.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 16
636 Stewart Avenue 1910 Photo 24
John Kelly rental property
Description:
This two and one-half story, stucco-clad, simple Swiss Chalet-style residence features decorative
half-timber string courses separating the attic, first and second stories. The low-pitched, front-
facing gable roof features wide overhanging eaves with a cutout decorative bargeboard supported
by massive knee braces. A very shallow pitch gable-roof hood covers the central front entrance
door.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
This building is architecturally significant as the only representative of the Swiss Chalet style
within the Historic District, a style visible in other fraternity buildings of the period. Typical
Swiss Chalet elements include the low-pitched front gable roof,modest decorative stringcourse
and cutout decorative bargeboard at the eave. The building originally featured a full-width porch
with a pergola-like roof supported on battered posts,which was removed in the later half of the
twentieth century, thus the integrity of the building has been compromised,but what remains is
still significant.
This building is historically significant as a representative example of the numerous fraternity
buildings constructed at the west border of the Cornell campus within the first decades of the
twentieth century to fulfill Comell's increasing residential needs. Sited immediately west of the
Cornell campus on land once associated with Ezra Cornell's estate, Llenroc, this building was
deeded to Mary Cornell and Emma C. Blair,who had inherited the Villa Cornell"with all the
land used and embraced in the grounds about said residence" from their mother, Mary Ann
Cornell. In 1907, the Cornell estate was subdivided. John Kelly, a machinist,purchased this
property(Llenroc Lots 9 and 10) on May 5, -1910. His brother, Thomas Kelly, simultaneously
purchased Llenroc Lots 3,4, and 7 for construction of his own home 626-8 Stewart Avenue
and a rental property(612-4 Stewart Avenue). This building, constructed to serve as investment
_ property,was rented to Alpha Sigma Phi Lodge in 1911 and the Washington and Jefferson
Society in 19134. Kelly's heirs sold the building in 1946. The building is currently owned by
_Cornell University and continues to house students.
IL
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 17
638 Stewart Avenue 1909 Photo 25, 26
Description:
This two-and-one-half-story, asymmetrical front-facing gable roof,wood-frame Queen Anne-
style home is constructed on a rock-face concrete block foundation. Stringcourse trim at the
second-floor level separates stucco cladding below from clapboard siding above. The projecting
half-timbered gable end on the front(east) fagade features a wide flared bargeboards, a pent roof,
and a sixteen-lite oriel window support by decorative brackets. The fenestration consists
primarily of one-over-one double hung windows. A full-width, flat roof porch covering the
recessed entry has been partially enclosed. Identical cross-gables are located on the south and
north facades. The cross-gables are cantilevered with decorative brackets at the second story
above semi-hexagonal bays. This house has been altered with several fenestration changes and
rear additions. An early twentieth century two-car garage is located at the rear of the property. .
Significance:
Contributing.
The architectural integrity of this house has been compromised by late twentieth-century
alterations,rendering this property contributing, but not architecturally significant.
A good example of Queen Anne-style domestic architecture, this residence, is sited immediately
west of the Cornell campus on land once associated with Ezra Cornell's estate, Llenroc. Mary
Emily Cornell and Emma Cornell Blair inherited the Villa Cornell"with all the land used and
embraced in the grounds about said residence" following the.death of their mother, Mary Ann
Cornell. In 1907,the Ezra Cornell estate was subdivided. Graham Straat, a commercial travel
agent,purchased this building site, located at the northern boundary of the residual Cornell estate
(Llenroc Lot 10), in 1908 for construction of his single-family residence. Straat sold the home
ten years later to Joseph Hickey, owner of Hickey's Lyceum Music Store. Hickey lived in the
house until 1944 when it was converted to an apartment house for Cornell graduate students and
young professionals. It is currently owned by Cornell University.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 18
640 Stewart Avenue (411 University) 1901 Photo 27
Kahin Center(formerly known as the Robert H. Treman House)
Description:
The Robert H. Treman House is located on the west side of Stewart University. The house is one
- of three residences constructed between 1901 and 1902 for the Treman family and arranged in a
rough semi-circle significantly set back from the road. The Robert H. Treman House is the
southernmost residence of the trio, set at a forty-five degree angle from Stewart Avenue and the
centrally placed Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef House. The three houses are located in a common,
designed landscape that covers nine acres. A single driveway from Stewart Avenue, accessed
between this house and the Elizabeth Van Cleef House (660 Stewart Avenue), then continues
south toward the Robert H. Treman House circling under the porte-cochere on the front fagade
and west to University Avenue. A small parking lot is located on the eastern side of the circular
drive facing Stewart Avenue.
The Robert H. Treman House is a Tudor Revival-style, gable-roof residence with a largely
rectangular original plan and an asymmetrical fagade. The projecting second story is
predominantly brick with decorative half-timbering. The first story is rock-faced Llenroc stone
(Ithaca limestone). The steeply pitched roof is covered with terra cotta tiles. A large, gable-roof
dormer is located at on the front fagade toward the south corner. It features a quadruple casement
window, a decorative ridge course and decorative half-timbering. A very large brick chimney is
partially obscured by the northernmost cross gable.
The front(southeast) fagade is dominated by a central porte-cochere and two prominent cross
gables. The single-story porte-cochere has a gently sloping gable roof with decorative half
timbering in the gable area. A short stone wall and paired posts support the roof on the opposite
side of the circular drive. The main entrance is centered under the porte-cochere and is accessed
by short stairs on the either side of the raised porch beneath the door. A two-story,projecting,
parapeted cross gable to the southwest of the porte-cochere is also faced in stone. It features
three tall Tudor arch windows stretching from the top of the first story to the bottom of the roof.-
Dividing the three windows are stone mullions and two stone transom bars. A triple casement
window is located near the south corner southwest of the parapeted gable on the second story.
The second cross gable is located northeast of the porte-cochere on the second story. The gable
is supported by large, double brackets and the stone wall of the porte-cochere. A double'
casement window is centered in the attic story and a triple casement window is aligned beneath
on the second story. Diamond-pane transom windows are placed above both-triple windows on
the second story. A secondary entrance is located to the northeast under the second-story cross
gable. Five irregularly placed casement windows are located to the northeast of the secondary
entrance. Southwest of the porte-cochere, a double casement window is centered beneath the
parapeted cross gable. A triple, Palladian-style window is aligned beneath the second-story
window,near the south corner on the first story. Diamond-paned glass fills the area above the
typical Palladian shape to form an almost square window. The substantial wood frame
surrounding the window projects slightly from the fagade and is supported by a massive stone
sill.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 19
The southwest elevation features half timbering above the first. The gabled attic projects over
the second story, supported by decorative brackets. The second story projects over the stone-clad
first story. A row of five casement windows is centered in the attic story. A triple casement
window on the second story is flanked by three-sided oriel windows. Two casement windows
are located on the first story. A Tudor-arch,recessed porch with decorative wrought iron railing
is located at the west corner. The ground slopes away from the front facade and reveals a central
entrance door at the partially exposed, stone-clad basement level.
The northeast elevation is similar in composition and"material-to the southwest elevation with a
projecting gabled attic and second story,half-timbering, and decorative brackets. Windows
located in the attic story match those on the southwest facade. A row of four casement windows
is located at the north corner on the second story. Three casement windows are evenly spaced on
the remainder of the second-story above a shed-roof, single story stone clad wing with an
entrance door. Short windows are located directly beneath the roof above the stone-clad walls.
Directly beyond the wing is a contemporary flat-roof addition that wraps around to the rear
elevation.
The rear(northwest) elevation features a gabled wall dormer at the north corner and a projecting
cross gable near the south comer. A shed roof dormer is located between the two gables
balanced by a similar dormer south of the cross gable. A double casement window is centered in
the cross gable in the attic story with a triple casement window beneath. The cross-gable
projects over the first story, supported by decorative brackets. Two triple casement windows are
located north of the cross gable on the second story, with a single window south of the cross
gable. Another Palladian-style window, similar to that on the front facade window, is centered in
the first story beneath the cross gable. A recessed porch at the south corner with decorative
wrought iron railing features another Tudor-arch opening.
The building has received contemporary modifications to accommodate its conversion to
institutional use. A single-story, flat-roof addition stretches along the rear elevation north of the
cross gable and wraps around the corner of the building. The addition is covered in vertical
wood siding and has a bank of six large windows on the rear elevation. In addition, a ramp has
been added parallel to the front facade. Another set of stairswas constructed to access the
entrance door on the northeast elevation.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 20
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Robert H. Treman House is an outstanding example of the Tudor Revival style of American
domestic architecture first popularized in the late nineteenth century. Houses from the early
Tudor Revival period tended to be architect-designed significant structures. The Robert H.
Treman House is the work of architect William Henry Miller(1848-1922), Ithaca's most
renowned architect of the period. Miller completed a number of large residential commissions in
the Tudor style. The Robert H. Treman House was among Miller's last single-family residences
completed in Ithaca and is his most significant remaining Tudor-style building. Although altered
to accommodate institutional use, the house retains a high level of integrity and an outstanding
level of craftsmanship and detail.
The house has historic significance due to its association with the Treman family, one of Ithaca
and Tompkins County's most prominent families during the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. Abner Treman served with distinction in the Revolutionary War and in recompense
received a 600-acre military lot in the Town of Ulysses. At the time,Ulysses encompassed all
the land around the southern end of Cayuga Lake. In 1792, Treman established his homestead on
what is now Main Street in the Town of Trumansburg. Abner's two brothers and his brother-in-
law joined him. Leonard, Lafayette and Elias Treman, sons of Abner's fifth child,brought the
family into prominence in Ithaca through the establishment of a prosperous hardware business,
Treman,King and Co., and the development and management of the Tompkins County Bank,
Ithaca Trust Co., Ithaca Water Works and Ithaca Gas Light Company. The civic work of the
Treman brothers continued in the next generation with the work of Elias Treman's three
children: Robert H.,Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef, and Charles E. Treman.
In 1900, the Treman siblings purchased nine-acres of property between Stewart and University
Avenue,north of the Cornell Villa, Llenroc, from Ezra Cornell's eldest son, Alonzo, a former
Governor of New York State. The property,perched just below the Cornell campus on East Hill
possesses panoramic views of the Town of Ithaca, Inlet Valley and Cayuga Lake. Ezra Cornell
owned the land, purchased from George Beers in 1862, for seven years. Ezra exchanged it for
Alonzo's property to the south,the site of Llenroc. The Tremans hired Boston-based landscape
architect Warren Manning,who was working on a master plan for the university, to locate their
three residences on the site and landscape the grounds. Brothers,Robert H. and Charles E.
Treman completed their Tudor-style homes in 1901.A year later, elder sister Elizabeth and her
husband Mynderse Van Cleef had an Italian Renaissance-style villa constructed between her
brother's two residences. This site, at the south end of the group with a view towards Cayuga
Lake,was Robert H. Treman's home.
Robert H. Treman(1858 - 1937),the first in his family to graduate from Cornell University,
served as President of the Tompkins County National Bank, Director of the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York, officer of Treman,King& Co., a member of the Cornell University's Board .
Comell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 21
of Trustee and a founding member of Ithaca'ss Town and Gown Club. Among Robert's enduring
legacies are the establishment of the Finger Lakes Park System, through the donation of Enfield
Glen and Buttermilk Falls, and Ithaca's collection of city parks, among them Cascadilla Ravine,
given to Cornell University in 1922, and the Treman Triangle at the foot of University Avenue
and Six Mile Creek ravine, given to the City of Ithaca in 1910.
Five years following the purchase of this property, the Treman siblings obtained land from Ezra
Cornell's heirs located on the west side of University Avenue, directly below their residences,
for construction of their stables and carriage houses (308, 314 and 320 University Avenue).
Robert purchased the former Dauncey homestead(302 University Avenue) in 1911 to house his
butler. In 1916,Robert purchased 402 University Avenue. He moved the butler and his family to
this property in 1925, following his demolition of the Dauncey homestead. Robert increased his
holdings in the district in 1919,with the development of a residential rental property at 510
University Avenue.
Robert Treman's heirs sold this house to Cornell University in 1944 for$28,000. Initially
occupied by a fraternity, it became the Graduate Teaching and Research Center of Cornell's
Department of Communication and in the early 1990's was rehabilitated to serve as the home of
the Kahin Center for Advanced Research on Southeast Asia.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 22
660 Stewart Avenue (417 University) 1902 Photo 28
Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef House
Description:
The Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef House is located on the west side of Stewart Avenue. The
house is the central of three residences built by the Treman family arranged in a rough semi-
circle significantly set back from the road. The houses were sited in a common 9-acre landscape
that slopes gently down to the west. They are accessed by a wide drive from Stewart Avenue
located between the Van Cleef House and the Robert H. Treman House (640 Stewart Avenue).
The drive branches north and south continuing past the site of the former Charles E. Treman
House and out to University Avenue to the north and descending along the south side of the
Robert H. Treman House and west to University Avenue. Parking lines both sides of the drive at
the east facade of the Van Cleef House.
The Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef House is a symmetrical Italian Renaissance-style two-story
residence with a largely rectangular-plan. The first story has irregular and undecorated
fenestration. A belt course of stone divides the buff-colored brick second story from the red
sandstone clad first story and also functions as a continuous sill for the majority of the second-
story windows. The hip roof is clad in terra cotta tile with open eaves exposing decoratively
carved rafters.Brick chimneys rise from roof at a reentrant angle with the side wings. The roof
features two flared shed-roof dormers flanking a central gable-roof wall dormer with an
emphasized pediment and side volutes. A triple one-over-one sash window, with flat soldier
brick arch above,is located in the attic story of the wall dormer. On either side of the wall
dormer, simple diagonal wood braces extend from the wall supporting the roof eave. A trio of
arched windows is centered in the-second story with molded brick arches above and prominent
stone keystones. Decorative, inset brick squares are located between the trio of windows.
Flanking the arched windows are a small sash window and a larger sash window toward the
north and south corners. The larger windows also feature a keystone.
A central, single-story,hip-roof portico is supported by paired Tuscan columns. Flat-roof, single-
story porch wings align with the front facade to the north and south partially covering two-story
wings set back from the front facade. A single sash window is located on the west facade of each
wing above the porch. Both porches have short sandstone walls,paired Tuscan columns at the
far corners, and exposed, decoratively carved matching rafters. The northern porch has been
partially enclosed.
A central, gable-roof wall dormer in each wing dominates both the north and south elevations. A
fire escape has been added to access the attic window centered in the wall dormer on each
elevation. Two more single-story, flat-roof porches wrap around from the north and south
elevations to the rear of the house. On the south elevation, two windows are located on the
second story of the wing and one window on the main block of the house. A chimney rises from
the room to the west of the wall dormer. Each of these second-story windows has a flat soldier
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 23
course brick arch with a keystone above to match the front fagade. Three windows are located
on the first story of the wing and one window on the main block. A stone platform connects the
- two porches at the bottom of the first story as the ground slopes away toward the rear-of the
house..
A triple window with a matching flat brick arch and keystone over the center window is aligned
beneath the wall dormer on the north fagade. Three windows are located on the first story of the
wing. A flat-roof addition is located at the basement level beneath the three windows and
between the two porches. Short windows are located directly beneath the eaves and an entrance
door is centered on the north elevation. An entrance door is located on the partially enclosed
porch.
The rear(west) elevation features another, central, wall dormer in a slightly projecting,hipped-
roof, centered rear gable. Flared shed-roof dormers in the main block flank the gable and a
chimney rises from the roof between the northern dormer and the gable. A triple window is
located beneath the pediment of the wall dormer in the attic story. Three large one-over-one sash
windows are evenly spaced on the second story of the gable with very small windows in between
the trio. Two large sash windows flank a much smaller window north of the gable on the second
story. South of the gable are two large sash windows. All the large windows, like the front
fagade, feature flat soldier course brick arches and keystones.
The porches stretch from the north and south corners of the house to the central gable. Paired
Tuscan columns are located at the corners and in the middle of each porch on top of an exposed,
stone basement wall. Four sash windows are evenly spaced on the basement level of the north
porch. An entrance door and three sash windows are located on the basement level of the south
porch. A turned balustrade railing stretches between the Tuscan columns. Two arched windows
are located on the first story of the gable. Each arched window is flanked by recessed, angled
sash windows forming an inset bay window. Three basement windows are aligned beneath each
bay window. South of the gable on.the first story is a triple window.
The current porch is all that remains of an original porte-cochere. The enclosure of the northern
porch and the two fire escapes were added to accommodate cooperative housing residents after
Cornell University purchased the residence. A skylight has also been added on the south
elevation of the main block of the house just east of the wing.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef House, an outstanding example of early twentieth-century
Italian Renaissance-style domestic architecture, usually associated with architect-designed
residences. This home is the work of William Henry Miller(1848-1922), Ithaca's most
renowned architect of the period. The Van Cleef House was among his last single-family
residences in Ithaca and his only known Italian Renaissance-style residence. In this commission,
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 24
Miller employed many elements identified with the Italian Renaissance style, most specifically,
the terra cotta tile clad, hipped roof with wide overhanging eaves supported by decorative
brackets is exemplary of this style, the prominent Tuscan columned porches, and symmetrical
fagade with emphasized central entry. Although altered to accommodate institutional use, the
house retains a high level of integrity and an outstanding level of craftsmanship and detail.
The house is historically significant for its association with the Treman family, one of Ithaca's
most prominent families during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Elizabeth Treman
was the eldest child of Elias Treman who,with his two brothers, established a prosperous
hardware business, Treman,King and Co., and developed and managed the Tompkins County
Bank, Ithaca Trust Co., Ithaca Water Works and Ithaca Gas Light Company. Elizabeth Treman's
husband, Mynderse Van Cleef, an 1874 graduate of Cornell University, attended Columbia
University prior to setting up a prestigious law firm in Ithaca whose clients included Cornell
University.
Construction of the Van Cleef House began in 1902; a full year after Elizabeth's younger
siblings,Robert H. and Charles E., completed their adjoining homes on the hill. When
completed,the gracious Italian Renaissance-style residence,with its stone exterior cladding and
terracotta tile roof, formed a soft contrast to the angular Tudor-style homes of Robert H. Treman,
located at the south end of the group, and Charles E. Treman, located to the north. Boston-based
landscape architect Warren Manning, a prominent landscape architect and founder in 1901 of the
American Society of Landscape Architects,who was working at the time on a master plan for
Cornell University, is responsible for the creation of the unified symmetrical composition of the
three residences. The Van Cleefs were responsible for the construction of the stream,ponds and
pergola of the Japanese garden below and south of the Robert H. Treman House.
Following Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef s premature death in 1919, the Van Cleef s daughter,
Eugenia, remained in the house carrying for her father until his death in 1935. Although Cornell
University began making arrangements to purchase the Van Cleef House in 1944, for a sum of
$40,000, Eugenia remained in the home until her death on Christmas Day 1951. Eugenia's niece
and nephew inherited the house and then sold it to Cornell for$95,000.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 25
130 University Avenue (30 University Ave.) 1873 Photo 29
Truman Green House
Description:
This two-story, hipped-roof, simple Italianate-style residence is the southernmost structure on the
west side of University Avenue, oriented facing south just prior to University's steep northern
ascent. The house features a two-bay, one-story, full-width front porch supported by square
posts. A hip-roof wing, set back from the front fagade on the east elevation, has a matching full-
width porch. The main block of the house,which is square in plan, and the wing both have
projecting eaves with decorative dentil molding beneath. The single-story, flat-roof porches are
supported by square posts with simply defined capitals. A railing composed of square balusters
stretches between the posts. Three pair of one-over-one sash windows are evenly spaced on the
second story of the main block and wing. A tall one-over-one sash window and a very short
casement window flank the entrance door on the main block. A secondary entrance is located in
the wing with another tall one-over-one sash window. Clapboard siding with corner boards
covers the exterior.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Truman Green House is architecturally significant as the only example of a simple hipped-
roof Italianate-style residence in the Historic District,the most prevalent Italianate subtype. The
Italianate style was first popularized in pattern books published in the 1840s and 1850s by
Andrew Jackson Downing. The style persisted into the mid-1880s. With its simple rectangular
plan, hipped-roof,paired integral windows, and single-story full-width porch supported on
square posts,this residence is an excellent example of this popular American domestic
architecture style. This building is unique in the duplex form employed by its builder Truman
Green, a cabinetmaker for whom this building served as a shop and residence between 1873 and
1877. The house displays a high level of architectural integrity.
The Truman Green House is historically significant as one of the first homes built on University
Avenue and the second oldest extant residence in the District. It is also significant for its owner
and builder. The deed for this property, dated August 25, 1873, identifies the grantee as Freeman
Green and his wife Minerva. The City of Ithaca Directory of that year identifies Truman P.
Green, a cabinetmaker, residing on University Avenue near Linn Street.
In 1877,the "premises and its adjoining ravine lot" (132 University Avenue)were purchased by
George and Lydia Frank. Frank, a dentist,had his office in the eastern portion of the building.
His wife, Lydia,was a milliner with a shop on State Street. Ten years later,the Franks bought
property to the north and moved to a new residence located at 202-4 University Avenue,
continuing to rent this home until its sale in 1908. The land was subdivided in 1915 and a home
developed immediately east of this home on what was the"ravine lot,"with a property line
drawn at the east facade of this house.
Comell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 26
132 University Avenue 1915 Photo 30
Description:
This two and one-half-story, simplified Tudor Revival-style residence has a hipped-roof with a
dominant, central cross gable on the front facade. A small,multi-pane window is located in the
attic story of the cross gable. Decorative half-timbering covers the second story with irregularly
spaced one-over-one sash windows. A pedimented and gable roof porch, supported by square
posts, is located at the west corner of the facade and shelters a single-light,wood entry door. A
Chicago-style window is also located on the first story. The east and west facades each feature
cross gables. The east facade has a projecting cross gable with a cutaway bay window on the
first story and a brick wall chimney. The exterior of the house, including the porch, is clad in
stucco. _
Significance:
Contributing.
This structure displays a high level of architectural integrity,but is not architecturally significant.
This property was subdivided from that immediately west(130 University Avenue)by Raymond
Torrey, who owned both lots from 1913 to 1923. Immediately following its construction in 1915,
this home was occupied by S. Bruce Wilson, General Secretary of the YMCA. Wilson bought
the property in 1923, subdividing it from its neighbor at the east building line of the house to the
west. The Wilson family remained in the house until 1961.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building.List,page 27
202-4 University Avenue (40 University Ave.) 1889 Photo 31
Description:
This two-story, gable-roof,Folk Victorian-style residence with a gable front and wing plan is set
slightly below University Avenue on the north half of its lot. It is covered in clapboard siding.
A small,multi-pane window and decorative truss are located in the gable. Crown molding
decorates the top of simple window surrounds on each window of the front fagade. Three one-
over-one sash windows are located in the second story of the gable, aligning with two identical
windows and the entrance door on the first story. Additional matching windows are located on
the first and second stories of the wing. A hipped-roof, single-story porch shelters the entrance
door at the corner of the gable and extends to cover another door at the corner of the wing.
Paired columns with lacy, decorative brackets at the top support the porch. A scroll-sawn cutout
railing stretches between the columns.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant.
This building is an excellent example of Folk Victorian style,relatively unaltered since its initial
construction in 1889. As is typical of this style, the building's major ornamentation is found in
the Victorian detailing present at the porch and gable-end. Window surrounds are simple with a
plain pediment above. This structure displays a high level of architectural integrity.
Dentist George Frank and his wife Lydia Frank, a milliner,had lived at 130 University Avenue
since 1877. They bought this land, the eastern portion of a lot owned by Theophilous Drake, in
1887 and constructed this Folk Victorian style residence that they occupied from 1889 to 1908.
They increased their holding in 1895 with the purchase of an additional 73 feet on University
Avenue immediately south of this home and north of their rental property(130 University
Avenue) from Jane Humiston, owner of a residence fronting on Linn Street.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 28
206 University Avenue (42 University Ave.) 1890 Photo 32
Description:
This two-story, gable roof Folk Victorian-style residence features a gable front and wing plan.
The exterior has been covered with aluminum siding and all that remains of any original
detailing are decorative gable trusses on the front and south facades. A small window is located
in the attic story of the gable on the front fagade. Irregularly placed one-over-one sash windows
are located on the first and second stories. The entrance door at the south corner is covered by a
small gable roof supported by square posts with lattice infill sidewalls. A shed roof covers a
secondary entrance on east fagade of the south gable wing. The house is sited below street level.
Significance:
Contributing.
Significant alterations to this Folk Victorian-style residence have rendered it architecturally non-
significant. Built by Nettie Johnson, the first known occupant of the building was a dressmaker,
Martha Halsey, in 1890. Halsey later lived briefly at 512 University Avenue (1898)before
moving to 502 University Avenue,her family's home,where she lived from 1901 to 1950. Ann
Brown operated a boarding house at this location from 1896 to 1898 and Thomas Stuart, a
dentist, rented it for a short time prior to Johnson's 1902 sale to Seth Squier, an insurance and
real estate agent,who converted the property to single-family and owner-occupied use. His
family remained in the home for twenty years. Seth was joined on the block by his brother and
business partner, Clarence,who resided four doors north at 216 University Avenue beginning in
1906.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
1
Annotated Building List,page 29
210 University Avenue (48 University Ave.) 1890 Photo 33
r Description:
i
This two and one-half story, front-facing gable roof residence set below the street level on the
west side of University Avenue originally displayed exuberant Queen Anne-style architectural
detailing. The attic story of the gable features a centered double one-over-one sash window
covered in wood shingles. Three six-over-six sash windows are evenly spaced on the second
story. A full-width, single-story, shed-roof porch was enclosed in 1999. A steel entry door and
two triple casement windows are located on the enclosed porch. A gable-roof dormer and a bay
window are located on the south fagade and a shed-roof dormer is located on the north fagade.
Significance:
Contributing.
Prior to 1999,this building represented an excellent example of Queen Anne-style residential
architecture. The insensitive enclosure of the front porch and removal of original shutters and
architectural details has rendered the building non-significant architecturally.
This residence was built in 1890 on land purchased the previous year by Reverend Charles O.
Hammer who lived in this residence from 1890-1902. The building's second owner was
Elizabeth Seelye,previously a renter living immediately north at the Elijah B. Cornell House
(212 University Avenue).
i
a
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 30
212 University Avenue (50 University Ave.) 1875 Photo 34
Elijah B. Cornell House
Description:
This two-story, clapboard-sided, L-shaped plan, mansard-roof residence displaying elements of
the Italianate, Second Empire, and Gothic styles is located on a site sloping dramatically down
from the street and sidewalk. The asymmetrical principal fa ade, dominated b a Mansard tower,
Y p P Y ,
meets the south wing west of the tower, significantly set back from the front facade. The
mansard-roof tower features a wrought iron cresting. It is shingle-covered has a widely
projecting curb. Gothic-style,triangular arched dormers are located on each facade of the tower
roof. Italianate brackets are located beneath the curb. Matching brackets decorate the eaves of
the main block and wing along and a cornice band, carved in a quatrefoil-like design,wraps
around the tower as well.
Paired one-over-one sash windows align on the first and second stories of the main block. A
convex hood with Gothic-style crenellated wood molding beneath it covers the first-story
window. A single two-over-two sash window is located in the second story of the tower and
aligns with the double entrance door below. Another two-over-two sash window is located on
the second-story of the wing aligned with a secondary entrance on the first-story. Each of the
windows features a simple, slightly projecting window surround. The p g y p � g single-story, flat-roof
porch spans the front facade of the tower and wraps around to end at the front facade of the wing.
Square posts with decorative brackets above support the porch. The square baluster porch railing
is only located along the southern side as the ground slopes toward the rear of the house. A
square bay window with a mansard roof is located on the south elevation. A flat-roof, single-
story wing is located on the north elevation.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Elijah B. Cornell House is an architecturally significant residence employing a combination
of Gothic, Italianate and Second Empire styles of American domestic architecture, all popular in
the mid-nineteenth century,to create an elegant and unique.composition: This is obviously the
work of a skilled craftsmen,with a firm knowledge of architectural design. The steeply pitched
mansard tower is punctuated by a single Gothic-style dormer in each facade and crowned by
decorative wrought iron cresting. The residence is graced by a gentle-pitch, straight silhouette
mansard roof,with Italianate brackets at the cornice line. Windows are double-hung, two-over-
two wood sash with bracketed, Italianate surrounds. Windows on the primary facade are tall and
paired. It is believed that the interior chestnut woodwork in this house came from the
construction of Cornell University's McGraw Hall. The-house retains a high level of integrity
both inside and out and an outstanding level of craftsmanship and detail. .
I,
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 31
This house is historically significance for its association with the Cornell family. Elijah B.
Cornell (1810-1889), the builder and first occupant of this residence,was the younger brother of
Cornell University founder Ezra Cornell. At his brother's urging, Elijah B. Cornell, or E.B. as he
was referred to by family, moved to Ithaca in 1837 to work on the foundations of a new Fall
Creek mill for Ezra's employer, Colonel Jeremiah S. Beebe. This was followed by a substantial
stone dam across Fall Creek to create the 20-acre reservoir now known as Beebe Lake. Elijah
stayed on in Ithaca after the 1839 sale of the Beebe Mill,working at Ezra's newly established
farm or speculative building operations when not engaged in masonry work. In 1842, the Cornell
brothers succeeded in attracting their father to Ithaca by locating a house for him and building
him a small pottery factory and kiln. It was also at this time that Ezra Cornell began to travel
from Ithaca to create his fortune. He relied on Elijah to keep an eye on his affairs and watch out
for his growing family. Temporarily frustrated with the seasonal nature of construction in Ithaca,
Elijah worked for a short period in 1847 for his brother's growing telegraph business. By 1857,
E.B. was working as a construction manager. The Cornell Library(1863),Morrill Hall(1866),
White Hall (1867), McGraw Hall(1868), Sibley Hall (1871), and Villa Cornell (Llenroc)begun
in 1867 and completed in 1874 following Ezra's death
, were all built under the direction of
p g ,
Elijah from stone quarried on site.
.This lot and the one immediately north were purchased in 1874 by Elijah B. Cornell in
partnership with Allen Gray, a local insurance and real estate agent. At the time, Elijah B.
Cornell listed his profession in the Ithaca City Directories as "mason." Cornell and Gray sold the
northern half of the 68' x 150' lot, 214 University Avenue, to Oliver L. Dean in 1875. Elijah
went on to build his own home on the remaining lot,buying out Gray's remaining interest on
January 1, 1876. At the time these two homes were built, E.B. had recently completed
construction supervision on Villa Cornell, or Llenroc, a home for his brother Ezra, who had died
the previous year. Ezra's home is located north of this property, accessible by a drive on the east
side of University Avenue.
It is unknown if Elijah completed the design of this house alone or in partnership with a more
experienced designer,but the home clearly displays a comfortable ease with varying
contemporary architectural styles and a rich variety of design elements. It is possible that Elijah
gained this knowledge from his work as construction foreman and supervisor on the Cornell
University academic buildings designed by trained architects. This residence displays elements
reminiscent of numerous buildings Elijah was associated with, such as the mansard roof from
Morrill Hall (1866) and the prominent tower punctuated by Gothic-style dormers of McGraw
Hall (1868). B.A. Stevens painting and decorating firm worked on the house in the mid-1880s.
Cornell lived in this residence until his death in 1889, spending his last six years homebound by
advanced paralysis. The home was deeded to William H. Cornell at the onset of Elijah's illness.
Cornell student Elwyn Seelye lived in the home from 1901-5. From 1907-17,the home was
owned by Dr. Wilford M. Wilson, director of the U.S. Weather Service and professor at the New
York State College of Agriculture. Wilson sold the home to the Trustees of Central New York
Conference,who in 1939.deeded it to Mrs. Ella Fitzgerald, a tenant in the property since 1923.
This house remained in the Fitzgerald family until 1997, when it was purchased and restored by
Joanna Luks and Frederick Bouche.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 32
214 University Avenue(54 University Ave.) 1878 Photo 35
Oliver L. Dean Residence
Description:
This two-and-one-half story,hipped-roof, clapboard-sided, largely symmetrical,Italianate-style
residence also contains elements of the Second Empire and Gothic styles. The residence takes
advantage of the site's slope with an exposed basement to the west. A small yard is created by a
stone retaining wall. The hipped-roof is crowned by Second Empire-style wrought iron cresting.
A centered cross gable features a multi-pane, four-part, Gothic-style, triangular arch, casement
window in the attic story. The overhanging eaves have a wide band of cornice trim with small,
decorative brackets. Aligned beneath the attic window on the second story is a single, one-over-
one sash window flanked by two pair of matching windows. Each window has a pair of louvered
shutters. The central entrance door has a paneled wood transom above and three-light sidelights
on either side. Two additional pair of matching one-over-over sash windows, also with shutters,
flank the entrance door. A triangular pediment tops each of the windows on the first and second
stories. A single-story, flat-roof porch with decorative brackets begins at the entrance door and
ends at the southern corner of the house. Square posts with carved spandrel brackets support the
porch. A simple, square baluster railing stretches between the posts. A brick end wall chimney
and a first-story, flat-roof, square bay window are located on the south fagade.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Oliver L. Dean Residence is architecturally significant example of predominantly Italianate-
style domestic architecture. Like its adjacent contemporary to the south, this house displays a
unique combination of the prevailing American domestic architecture styles of the mid'-
nineteenth century. Although primarily Italianate in its form and detailing, this building employs
elements of both the Second Empire and Gothic styles. This is obviously the work of a skilled
craftsmen,with a knowledge of architectural design. The wrought iron crest topping the hipped-
roof is a feature typical of the Second Empire style. The central doorway,with its paneled
transom and side lites, is more commonly associated with Greek Revival-style domestic
architecture. It is believed that the interior chestnut woodwork in this house came from the
construction of Cornell University's McGraw Hall. The house retains a high level of integrity
both inside and out and an outstanding level of craftsmanship and detail.
This house is historically significance for its association with the Cornell family and a prominent
Ithaca businessman, Oliver L. Dean. The home sits on the northern half of a 68' x 150' lot
purchased by Elijah Cornell.(1810-1889), the younger brother of Cornell University founder
Ezra Cornell, in partnership with Allen Gray, a local insurance and real estate agent, on
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 33
July 1, 1874. Cornell and Gray sold this property on January'4, 1875 to Oliver L. Dean, owner of
a"fancy goods"store on East State Street. Elijah then built his own home immediately south,
located at 212 University Avenue,buying out Gray's remaining interest in that property on
January 1, 1876. Construction began on the Dean residence the following year. April 22, 1878,
the Ithaca Daily Journal reported, "the new house of Mr. O. L. Dean is rapidly approaching
completion. It stands next to that of Mr. E. B. Cornell, of which is to be a duplicate."Although
not in fact a duplicate of the Cornell home, it does show similarities in its use of a mixture of
contemporary architectural styles and rich variety of design elements.
Cornell University mathematics professor Virgil Snyder owned the home throughout the first
half of the twentieth century. Ithaca High School teacher Curtis Pfaff lived in the house from the
mid-1950s until the late 1970s. It remains in single-family use.
i
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 34
216 University Avenue (56 University Ave.) 1871 Photo 36
O. Daniel Edwards House
Description:
This two-story, gable roof,Folk Victorian-style residence with a gable front and wing plan is
covered in clapboard siding. A small window is located at the peak of the gable in the attic
story. Two one-over-one sash windows are located in the second story of the main block. A
similar window is located on the second story of the wing. The two-panel, single-lite, wood
entrance door is centered on the first story and is flanked by wide one-over-one sash windows.
A full-width porch with a partial hipped-roof spans the front fagade of the main block. The porch
features a spindle work frieze and is supported on turned columns. The railing is a simple
r replacement rail. A single-story addition was built on the south fagade flush with the front
fagade and ending at the wing. A later shed-roof porch was added to the north fagade. A one-
story shed roof addition to the west takes advantage of the steeply sloping site by providing an
exposed walkout basement. Although it is a good example of a Folk Victorian style residence,
this building's architectural integrity has been lost with replacement of the porch rail and
removal of original shutters.
Significance:
Contributing. Historically significant.
I
This house displays a high level of architectural integrity,but is not architecturally significant.
The oldest extant house on the west side of University Avenue, the O. Daniel Edwards House
was built in 1871 by O. Daniel Edwards on land purchased from Jacob Prame, a farmer living on
Linn Street. According to the Ithaca Daily Journal January 23, 1872, the O. Daniel Edwards
House, a 14 by 24 foot main structure with a 12 by 16 foot front wing,had been built the
previous year at a construction cost of$1,200. According to ledgers kept by Franklin Cornell
concerning the construction of his mother's carriage house, Edwards worked with Campbell,
Richardson&Co.builders and contractors on the construction of the Cornell Carriage House
(630 Stewart Avenue). In 1886, Edwards,who referred to himself in the Ithaca City Directory as
a mason,purchased the property immediately north of this-home from Henry St. John and built
two income producing rental properties (218-20 and 222 University Avenue). Ten years later,
Edwards,now a contractor/builder residing on Fulton Street, still retained both this and the
neighboring property for investment purposes. This building was rented to Cornell University
Professor George McDermott from 1901-6, at which time Edwards sold the home to Clarence
Squier, a real estate and insurance agent,whose brother and business partner Seth owned 206
University Avenue.
Comell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 35
218-20 University Avenue (60 University Ave.) ca. 1890 Photo 37
O. Daniel Edwards rental property
Description:
This two-and-one-half story,Folk Victorian-style residence with a gable front and wing plan has
a very steeply pitched, metal-clad,hipped-roof. The front-facing gable has three one-over-one
sash windows aligned on the first, second and attic stories. Two gable-roof dormers punctuate
the roof of the wing. One-over-one sash windows on the second story of the wing align with the .
smaller one-over-one sash dormer windows. Two entrance doors are located near reentrant
angle. A full-width,hipped-roof,wrap-around porch featuring a spindle work frieze, turned
baluster railings and turned columns has a cross gable located at the juncture of the front-facing
gable and wing, emphasizing the location of the entry doors. The porch spans the entire south
fagade as well, and due to the steep slope of this hillside site,.becomes a three-story porch along
portions of the fagade. The porch railing on the south fagade.has been replaced with sections of
cedar fencing. Porch supports on the lower stories of the south fagade are replacement posts.
Two triangular-roof dormers are located on the south fagade to either side of an exposed brick
chimney.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant.
This building was constructed to serve the growing residential needs of Cornell University
during its expansion at the end of the nineteenth century. With its simple rectangular form and
ornamentation'focused on the wrap-around porch,which features spindle work, columns and
frieze typical of the Queen Anne style,this is an excellent example of a Folk Victorian style
structure. The structure displays a high level of integrity, despite the loss of minor architectural
details.
O. Daniel Edwards, a mason residing with his wife Sarah next door at 216 University Avenue,
purchased this and the adjoining lot to the north(222 University Avenue) in 1886 and built this
structure as a rental apartment building, shortly before opening a contracting and building
establishment on Fulton Street. This lot was originally the.;eastern half of a lot owned by Henry
St. John of Linn Street. The Edwards retained this apartment house for just under forty years.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 36
222 University Avenue (62 University Ave.) ca. 1890 Photo 38
O. Daniel Edwards rental property
Description:
This two-and-one-half story, hipped-roof,Folk Victorian-style residence has a double cross
gable and a largely symmetrical front fagade. Each cross gable contains a small, central double
window in the attic story and one-over-one sash paired windows centered on the first and second
stories. Between the cross gables is a hip-roof porch supporting a second-story balcony
protected by the extended overhang of the primary roof. Turned columns support the first-story
porch with decorative, geometrical railings and a spindle work frieze. The second-story balcony
features matching geometrical railing and is accessed by a one-over-one sash window. The first-
story porch shelters a large one-over-one window and an entrance door located on the wall of the
north cross gable. The building is clad in replacement aluminum siding and able end trusses
have been removed.
Significance:
Contributing.
The architectural integrity of this house has been compromised by late twentieth-century
alterations, rendering this property contributing,but not architecturally significant.
O. Daniel and Sarah Edwards, owners of 216 University Avenue, purchased this and the
adjoining lot to the south(218-20 University Avenue), the eastern half of the property owned by
Henry St. John of Linn Street. Edwards, a mason,built this structure as a rental.apartment
building shortly before opening a contracting and building establishment on Fulton Street.
Immediately following construction,the Edwards sold this residence to an out of town investor.
The building was never owner occupied.
Comell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 37
302 University Avenue(68 University Ave.) Photo 39
Vacant Lot,
Description:
This empty lot, once the site of the George Dauncey House, the first residential structure built on
University Avenue,now serves as a small level area parking area. The site is constrained by
steep ravines on the south, west and north.Portions of a stone retaining wall persist at the
northern edge of the site.
Significance:
Non-contributing. Historically significant.
From 1863 — 1902, this site housed the small, square hipped-roof frame residence of George
Dauncey, a machinist. Dauncey's was the first permanent home built on University Avenue,
then referred to as the Dryden Road, and predated the commencement of Ezra Comell's Villa by
four years. Following Dauncey's death Gustav Dahmen, a tailor, owned the home for nine years
selling the property to Robert H. Treman in 1911. Treman had ten years previously built his
residence(640 Stewart Avenue) further north on the east side of University Avenue and with his
siblings had recently constructed two stables with carriages houses on the land immediately
north of this property(308 and 312-4 University Avenue,built in 1905). From 1911-20,Robert
rented this house to a series of laborers. The Treman's butler, Albert Molowa, and his family
lived here from 1920 until the structure was demolished in 1925, at which time Molowa moved
to a home at 402 University Avenue purchased by Robert Treman and his wife in 1916. Robert
and Laura Treman's heirs sold the land in 1944. It remains associated with the former Charles E.
Treman Stable to the north as accessory parking.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 38
308 University Avenue 1905 Photo 40, 41
Charles A. Treman Stable
Description:
The Charles Treman Stable at 308 University Avenue is located on the west side of University
Avenue, south of Cornell Avenue. The Stable is situated on a level platform located below the
grade of University Avenue. 312-4 University Avenue,the next-door neighbor and also
originally a Treman family carriage house owned by Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef andMynderse
Van Cleef,was built on the same platform. Behind the two carriage houses the land slopes
sharply and is covered with trees. A driveway runs parallel to the front fagade of 308 University
Avenue and ends at the south elevation of the Van Cleef Carriage House.
The Charles Treman Stable is a two-story, Shingle-style building with a gable-on-hip roof. The
front fagade is largely symmetrical with the exception of a flat roof, two-story garage toward the
south. A prominent projecting cross gable with cornice returns and exposed rafter tails
dominates the front fagade. The projecting gable features decorative brackets underneath. The
cross gable is flanked by shed-roof dormers. A single one-over-one sash window is centered in
the attic story of the cross gable. Two one-over-one sash windows flank a four-paneled
decorative wood section on the second story. Additional matching windows are aligned with the
roof dormers on the first and second stories. A second-story porch with a simple railing is
located on the north corner and wraps around to the north elevation. The eaves feature curved,
exposed rafter tails. A smooth wood belt course separates the first and second stories.
A second story has been added above the garage with a double one-over-one sash window. The
belt course above the original carriage doors and entrance also includes matching rafter tails.
Double twenty-light garage doors are located at the south corner of the first story with an
entrance door directly to the north. Another entrance door is located at the north corner on the
first story with a concrete, three-step stoop. A simple shed-roof supported by brackets,which
match the projecting cross gable, covers both entrances. A third entrance is centered under the
cross gable and is flanked by matching windows.
On the north and south elevations the ground slopes to the west, revealing the basement story on
the rear(west) elevation. Each gable end features a trio of stepped one-over-one sash windows
on the attic story. Irregularly spaced windows are located on the first, second, and basement
stories on the north elevation. On the east corner of the second-story porch a single post supports
the roof and short posts support the railing. The first story projects beneath the second story on
the west corner.
The buttress for the retaining wall of the driveway is located along a portion of the basement of
the south elevation. A tall brick chimney is located on the hip roof of the south elevation directly
in front of the stepped window. East of the chimney a portion of the roof has been removed to
allow an emergency exit for the attic. A metal fire escape was added to the flat roof above the
garage and extends down the south elevation. The two-story garage does not extend the full
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 39
length of the south elevation and has concrete basement walls. Beyond the garage, a three-sided,
two-story oriel window is located at the western corner on the first and second stories. Directly
to the east is a three-sided oriel on the second story. Brackets that match the front fagade support
both oriel windows.
The rear, or west, elevation is punctuated by two balconies near the north and south corners on
the first story above the completely exposed basement. The balconies have matching simple
railings and rounded, exposed floor joists. Carved brackets support the floor of the balconies and
connect to vertical supports on the wall. A sliding glass entrance door is located beneath the
northernmost balcony. To the south of the sliding glass door is a recessed entryway. On the
northern corner of the second story a rectangular addition is cantilevered over the balcony below.
A shed-roof dormer is centrally located on the roof. The rear of the two-story garage,which is
set back several feet, features a two-bay,rectangular, cantilevered section on the first story.
The Stable was turned into a series of apartments for students of nearby Cornell University.
Originally,the basement housed horses, the first floor provided space for carriages, and the
second story was a coachman apartment. The second floor over the garage, the sliding doors,
recessed rear entrance, and cantilevered additions on the rear elevation were all constructed to
accommodate apartment residents.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant.Historically significant.
The Charles E. Treman Stable is an outstanding example of Shingle-style architecture designed
by Clinton L. Vivian, one of Ithaca's leading residential architects. Vivian began working as an
apprentice in the office of William Henry Miller in 1882. From 1890-1900,he was in partnership
with Arthur Gibb. Vivian was also the architect of the Charles E. Cornell House(508 Stewart
Avenue) and Charles E. Treman House (625 University Avenue), demolished following a 1944
fire. Vivian also served as the City of Ithaca's first building commissioner(1909-I2) and as city
assessor(1918-21). This is an exemplary shingle style structure displaying identifying features
that include continuous wood shingle cladding uninterrupted at the corners, asymmetrical fagade
with irregular, steeply pitched roof with interesting gables and multi-level eaves. The structure
displays a high level of architectural integrity.
This building is historically significant for its association with the Cornell and Treman families.
The site was previously vacant land purchased by Ezra Cornell from John Watts in 1868, one
year after construction began on the his Villa located at 101 Cornell Avenue. Cornell most likely
purchased this property, located due west of the future Cornell home,to protect his panoramic
view of the City of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake. Mynderse Van`Cleef, Robert and Charles Treman
purchased this property and that of the Van Cleef Carriage and Gardener's House(312-4
University Avenue) and the Wilder D. Bancroft Carriage House (320 University Avenue)in
1903 from Ezra Comell's sons,three years following their purchase of a nine-acre parcel north
and east of this property, from Ezra's son Alonzo,'-for.construction of their homes. This is the
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 40
central of three carriage houses designed as accessory buildings to the Treman homes, built four
years prior and fronting on Stewart Avenue. A newspaper clipping of the time states the three
carriage houses were to stand in a row on a common platform. The Charles E. Treman Stable
was to have stalls for horses in the basement, space for carriages on the first floor and a
coachman's apartment in the second story. The Van Cleef Carriage and Gardener's House (312-4
University Avenue)was built concurrently, immediately north of this structure. Robert Treman
chose not to build,but rather share space in his brother Charles' stable.
The building was converted to student housing in-the mid-1940s. Robert and Charles Treman's
heirs sold the property to the Hillside Cooperative Lodge, a cooperative housing organization
that operated at this site from 1946-59. The building remains in use as transient student rental
housing.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 41
311 University Avenue 1925 Photo 42, 43,44
Baldwin Memorial Stairs
Description:
This English Collegiate Gothic-style memorial is located on the east side of University Avenue
adjacent and north of the City of Ithaca Cemetery and west of the former Cornell estate, Llenroc
(100 Cornell Avenue). The Baldwin Memorial Stairs combines a lookout providing impressive
view of downtown Ithaca, West Hill and Cayuga Lake with stairs that link Cornell Avenue,
above, with University Avenue,below. The stairs are a vital link between the University and the
town. Built of locally quarried Llenroc stone with limestone capping and stairs, the memorial
consists of a series of landings,which wind up the hill. They are articulated with square and
octagonal piers,buttresses,benches, stone waterspouts and Gothic style letters carved into
limestone panel that reads:
This Stairway is erected in memory of
Morgan Smiley Baldwin Cornell 1915
Who lies where he fell at Boni-France
i - September 29`h 1918
Another inscription at the base of the stairs along University Avenue reads:
Llenroc
Built for his home by-
Ezra Cornell
1869
TRUE AND FIRM
A buttress adjoining a stone pier along University Avenue is ornamented with a Delta Phi
Fraternity symbol underneath a Gothic trefoil hood. A stone block at the base of the stairs reads,
"Bryant Fleming/Architect/AA Ward—Builder/ 1925."
Two original light fixtures have been replaced by new Gothic-style lampposts. The surrounding
landscape is in need of maintenance.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Baldwin Memorial Stairs are an English Collegiate Gothic-style memorial designed by
Landscape Architect Bryant Fleming to honor a Cornell University alumni and member of Delta
Phi Fraternity who died serving in World War I. Bryant Fleming (1877-1946) studied under
Liberty Hyde Bailey at Cornell, graduating in 1901. Following a three-year apprenticeship in the
Boston office of Warren Manning(designer of the Cornell University Master Plan and the
t
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 42
Treman Family Landscape located at 411 University Avenue),Fleming returned to Cornell and
with Bailey developed the Department of Landscape Architecture in the College of Agriculture.
Fleming was the school's first lecturer in 1904 and served as head of the department from 1906
until 1915. In 1905,Fleming established a private practice in Buffalo. Among his commissions
was the Cornell Campus Comprehensive Plan,with Manning, and the design of the nearby
Cascadilla Gorge, a green space adjoining the Cascadilla Creek, connecting the town of Ithaca
with the campus. Fleming designed this memorial in 1925 as though it were a natural outgrowth
of the rugged,rocky landscape. The Baldwin Memorial Stairs retain a high level of integrity and
craftsmanship.
The stairs were donated by the parents of Morgan Smiley Baldwin, a member of the Cornell
class of 1 15 eta i Fraternity who died in World
- . 9 and Delta Ph ty W War I. At the time of its construction,
the memorial stood on the lawn of the Llenroc estate,purchased by Delta Phi Fraternity from
Ezra Cornell's daughters in 1911. This property was transferred to Cornell University in 1974,
with restrictive covenants giving the fraternity full use of the land.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 43
312-4 University Avenue 1905 Photo 45
Van Cleef Carriage and Gardener's House
Description:
The Van Cleef Carnage House at 312-4 University Avenue is located on the west side of
University Avenue, south of Cornell Avenue. The Carriage House is situated on a level parcel of
land located below the grade of University Avenue. 308 University Avenue,the next-door
neighbor,was also originally a Treman family carnage house and was built on the same
platform. Behind the two carriage houses the land slopes sharply and is covered with trees. A
driveway runs parallel to the front fagade of 308 University Avenue and ends at the south
elevation of the Carnage House. A small concrete block shed is located on the drive at the south
end of the site. Due to the steep slope of the street, a retaining wall runs parallel to University
Avenue and the front fagade of the building. Only the third story is visible from the street
though all three stories are exposed on the south elevation.
The Carriage House is a three-story, Shingle-style, rectangular-plan building with a hipped-roof
and several prominent cross gables. Two symmetrical cross gables at the north and south corners
and a central,gable roof dormer dominates the front fagade. The cross gables have open eaves,
decoratively carved verge boards, a row of scalloped shingles, and carved brackets at the edge of
the roof.Under each cross gable on the third story is an entrance flanked by one-over-one sash
- windows. The entrance doors are covered by a shed-roof supported by triangular brackets. Two
bridges stretch from the sidewalk to the entrance doors and are supported by matching, larger
triangular brackets. Another entrance is located near the south corner on the second story is not
visible from the sidewalk. A fourth entrance is located at the north corner in the porch addition.
Several windows are irregularly spaced on the second story between the two entrances.
The north and south elevations both include a central cross gable with a small window in the
attic story. The detailing of each cross gable matches the front fagade. The second and third
shingle-sided stories slightly overhang the clapboard-covered first story. The north elevation had
a shed-roof, cantilevered porch on the second story near the east corner. A shed-roof, concrete
addition is located on the exposed basement story near the west corner of the elevation.
The south elevation features a shed-roof, cantilevered,roughly centered porch on the second
story. The porch is supported by triangular brackets that match the front fagade. A concrete
stairway located in front of the southeast corner of the Carnage House leads to the top of the
driveway.retaining wall,which is roughly the same height as the floor of the second story. A
walkway then extends from the top of the retaining wall along the south elevation to the porch.
A brick chimney is located on the roof of the south elevation just west of the cross gable.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 44
The rear or west elevation matches the front fagade with two cross gables and a central roof
dormer. However, all three stories and the basement are exposed. A cantilevered third-story
porch is located near the north corner. Under the porch is a clapboard-sided, tall, thin addition
that ends at a large, shed-roof addition at the basement level. Near the south corner is another
cantilevered porch on the second story with an open porch directly above. A first story deck
stretches from the roof of the basement addition to the south corner. Two entrance doors are
located on the first story. Under the deck on the basement level is an additional entrance. The
basement is covered in clapboard siding.
The Van Cleef Carriage and Gardener's House was turned into a series of apartments for
students of nearby Cornell University. Originally, the basement was a storage area, the first
story housed horses and carriages, the second story provided further storage, and the third story
featured an apartment for the coachman and gardener. Any original large,barn doors have been
replaced or covered. The two basement additions and the rear deck were added to accommodate
- more occupants.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Van Cleef Carriage and Gardener's House is an outstanding example of Shingle-style
architecture designed by Clinton L. Vivian, one of Ithaca's leading residential architects. Vivian
began working as an apprentice in the office of William Henry Miller in 1882.From 1890-1900,
he was in partnership with Arthur Gibb. Vivian was also the architect of the Charles E. Cornell
House (508 Stewart Avenue),.and Charles E. Treman House (625 University Avenue)
demolished following a 1944 fire. Vivian also served as the City of Ithaca's first building
commissioner(1909-12) and as city assessor(1918-21). This is an exemplary shingle style
structure displaying identifying features which include continuous wood shingle cladding
uninterrupted at the corners, asymmetrical fagade with irregular, steeply pitched roof with
interesting gables and multi-level eaves. The structure displays a high level of architectural
integrity.
This building is historically significant for its association with the Cornell and Treman families.
The site was previously vacant land purchased by Ezra Cornell from John Watts in 1868, one
year,after construction began on the his Villa located at 101 Cornell Avenue. Cornell most likely
purchased this property, located due west of his future Cornell home,to protect the panoramic
view of the City of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake. Mynderse Van Cleef, and Robert and Charles
Treman purchased this property and that of the Charles Treman Stable (308 University Avenue)
and the Wilder D. Bancroft Carriage House(320 University Avenue) in 1903 from Ezra
Cornell's sons, three years following their purchase of a nine-acre parcel,north and east of this
property, from Ezra's son Alonzo, for construction of their homes.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 45
This is the northernmost of three carriage houses designed as accessory buildings to the Treman
homes,built four years earlier and directly east of this property, fronting on Stewart Avenue. A
newspaper clipping at the time states that the three carriage houses were to stand in a row on a
common platform.The taller Van Cleef Carriage and Gardener's House was designed with
storage in the basement, space for carriages and horse stalls on the first floor, straw and grain on
the second floor and quarters for a coachman and gardener on the third floor. The Charles E.
Treman Stable was designed with stalls for horses in the basement, space for carriages on the
first floor and a coachman's apartment in the second story. The Charles Treman Stable (308
University Avenue)was built concurrently,immediately south of this structure. Robert Treman
chose not to build his own carriage house,but shared space in his brother Charles' stable.
The Mynderse and Elizabeth Van Cleef's family continued to own this property until 1971 when
it was sold to the owners of the former Charles Treman Stable. The building now serves as
rental housing primarily for Cornell students.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 46
320 University Avenue 1907 Photo 46,47
Wilder D. Bancroft Carriage House
Description:
This single-story, stucco-covered, Tudor Revival-style residence has Italian Renaissance massing
and was originally built as a carriage house and squash court. The main block of the house,
which has a hipped-roof, open eaves with exposed rafter tails, and a central,hipped-roof, wall
dormer, is flanked by a flat-roof wing set back from the front fagade to the south. The main.
block dormer is aligned above the entrance door. A small, flat-roof hood supported by paired
decorative brackets is located above the door. The paneled wood entrance door is flanked by
Tudor-style, double, multi-pane casement windows with engaged turned columns in the center
mullions. The flat-roof wing has a projecting cornice supported by decorative brackets beneath a
small parapet. A horizontal wood band that aligns with the top of the entrance hood wraps
around to the wing and the side elevations. Between the horizontal band and the cornice on the
wings are a series of short,wood pilasters. The wing also features a central, multi-pane,triple
casement window with engaged, turned columns in the center mullions. A small, hipped-roof
skylight is located on the roof of the wing.
On the south elevation,more pilasters under the cornice flank small diamond-pane awning
windows. The ground slopes away toward the rear, exposing the basement level on the south
elevation. Two large arched openings on the basement level,which originally accommodated
carriages and horses, have each been filled with smaller doors and windows. A short wall is
located at the end of the driveway on the edge of another steep slope and is aligned with the rear
of the house. The north elevation features a hipped-roof dormer, one small awning window
under the cornice, four sash windows on the first story,multi-pane basement windows, and a
shed-roof addition at the basement level near the rear of the house.
An English Gothic Collegiate-style window was installed within the west wall of this paneled
room,but the original venting windows of the squash court were retained.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The exterior of the Wilder D. Bancroft Carriage House and Squash Court is an outstanding
example of Arts and Crafts-style architecture. The house retains a high level of exterior and
interior integrity, including original 1907 horse stalls on the lowest level connected to the upper
levels by the original horse ramp. It is also a rare and outstanding example of a residential
carriage house and stable. This structure originally contained a squash court and coachman's
residence on the top floor at street level. Carriages and tack rooms were on the level below.
Horse stalls, accessible from the west by a gently sloping horse ramp,were located on the lowest
level. The Bancroft's residence was located further east on the University campus at 7 East
Avenue, a street lined with faculty"cottages."
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 47-
The Wilder D. Bancroft Carriage House and Squash Court are historically significant for their
relationship to the Treman family. This carriage house was built by Wilder D. Bancroft, a
brother-in-law of Charles E. Treman. Bancroft,who received his A.B. from Harvard(1888) and
PhD. From Leipzig(1892),began his teaching career as an instructor at Harvard (1888-95). On
June 19, 1895,he married Katherine Bott, a sister of Charles Treman's wife, and accepted the
position of Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry at Cornell University. He became a full
professor in 1903, a position he held until his retirement in 1937. Wilder, the co-founder and
editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry from 1896 to 1932,made contributions to the study
of insanity and brain chemistry.
In 1926 the building was sold to Mabel Wheeler,who hired architect J. Lakin Baldridge to
convert the building to a residence. The original squash court was paneled with sophisticated
woodwork and a staircase and landing were imported from England. The only visible exterior
change is the addition of a English Gothic Collegiate style window installed within the west wall,
not visible from the street.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 48
402 University Avenue (100 University Ave.) 1890 Photo 48
Marion Millspaugh House
Description:
This two-and-one-half story,hipped-roof, asymmetrical fagade, Stick-style residence has a
prominent cross gable at the northern corner of the front fagade with a smaller cross gable in the
same plane directly south. The large cross gable features decorative stick work in the gable with
a gable truss, decorative brackets, and diagonally applied siding. A small,multi-pane window is
located in the attic story of the gable. Two one-over-one sash windows are evenly spaced on the
clapboard second story of the cross gable. A triple one-over-one sash window,with a shingle-
covered, flared hood above, is centered on the clapboard first-story of the larger cross gable. The
smaller cross gable, originally a second-story porch that has been enclosed, features two sash
one-over-one windows in its east fagade and one in the south return. An original triangular
window is located in the peak of the cross gable with a band of diagonally applied siding and a
horizontal band below. The same siding pattern and horizontal band continues along the front
fagade and the side elevations. A hipped-roof porch that begins in front of the smaller cross
gable and wraps around to the south elevation has been enclosed and covered in vinyl siding.
- The remainder of the house is covered in clapboard siding. A steel entrance door and two
windows have been added to the front fagade of the enclosed porch. The south fagade has
another projecting cross gable. The north fagade has a cross gable with a shed-roof, second-story
balcony below. The balcony is supported by decorative brackets and features partially paneled
railings with square balusters above:
Significance:
Contributing. Historically significant.
At one time, this building presented an excellent example of Stick-style domestic architecture,
popular between 1860-90. Significant alterations, including the infill of the original front porch
and removal of the second floor balcony, have rendered the building contributing,but no longer
architecturally significant. Original Stick-style siding pattern and gable-end trusses are intact.
This house is historically significant for its relationship to the Cornell and Treman families. Ezra
Cornell bought this land from John Watts in 1865 for$450. It was the first piece of land Cornell
purchased on the east side of University Avenue. Ezra's second son and executor of his father's
estate,Franklin Cornell, sold this property and the four adjoining lots to the north(402-412
University Avenue) in 1890. Marion Millspaugh purchased this, the northernmost site, from
Franklin on April 9, 1890 and began construction of a$2,500 house for rental use. The
Millspaughs had a long-standing relationship with the Cornell family. John Millspaugh was a
frequent correspondent with Ezra Cornell and supplied works of art to the Cornell Library. The
first tenant was Chester A. Platt, a partner in Platt & Colt drug and paint store on East State
Street. Charles White, a Buffalo Street resident who owned numerous rental properties in the
area,purchased the building from Millspaugh in 1895 for$3,750, subject to leases payable to
Millspaugh.
Comell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 49
In 1916,Robert H. and Laura Treman purchased this house. The Tremans,who lived directly
east of this home at 640 Stewart Avenue and were partial owners in the Charles Treman Stable
308 e d a rental building at 302University( Umv University Avenue) an g Avenue, rented this property to
a series of young professionals prior to moving their butler,Albert Molowa, and his family here
from 1925-46. This followed the demolition of Molowa's previous residence at 302 University.
Avenue. The Treman family retained this.rental property until 1975. Antonia Glasse,who
subsequently purchased and remodeled 210 University Avenue, converted the building for
owner-occupied use.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 50
404-6 University Avenue (102 University Ave.) 1895 Photo 49
William Pearson House
Description:
This two-and-one-half story, front-facing gable roof, simplified Queen Anne-style residence has
a shingled gable with a small double window in the attic story. A horizontal band separates the
shingle siding of the attic story from the clapboard siding that covers the remainder of the
exterior. A central,pedimented gable-roof porch with carved verge boards shelters the single-
light,
wood entrance door on the first story. The porch is supported b simple wood columns
rY P pP Y p
resting on half-height walls. Large windows once flanked the entry porch at the first-story. These
have been replaced with shorter windows and the opening in filled with clapboard siding. One-
over-one sash windows are located directly above on the second story. Slightly projecting wood
window surrounds topped by crown molding decorate the door and windows on the first and
second stories. Single-story, flat-roof porches are located on the side elevations. The porches
stretch from the front facade to cross gables on the north and south facade, each with a two-story
bay window. Square posts with simple decorative brackets support the porches. Each porch also
features a paneled and square baluster railing and covers two additional entrance doors. The
front post on the north elevation porch has been replaced.
Significance:
Contributing.Historically significant.
i
The architectural integrity of this house has been compromised by late twentieth-century
alterations,rendering this property contributing,but not architecturally significant.
This house is historically significant for its relationship to the Cornell family. In 1868, Ezra
Cornell bought this land for$1,400 from John Watts, in an effort to secure the undeveloped land
located north and west of Cornell's new Home, on which he had begun construction the previous
year, and thus to preserve his panoramic view of the City of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake. The
acquisition included land commencing at the north lot line of the Dauncey homestead(302
University Avenue) and continued north for a total of 440 feet on the east side of University
Avenue. It encompassed a previous purchase from Watts near the center of the holding. Ezra's
second son and executor of his father's estate,Franklin Cornell, sold this propery, the fifth and
last in a group of sales begun in the 1890s and including 402-412 University Avenue, to the
Lewis family on June 2, 1891. Lewis resold the vacant lot to William E. Pearson, a mail carrier,
in 1895. After Pearson built this simple double house,he continued to occupy the southern half
and rented the northern portion to a series of Cornell instructors. The building remained in the
Pearson family for over a half-century. The building is currently rented to Cornell students.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 51
408 University Avenue (106 University Ave.) 1891 Photo 50
George S. Moler House
Description:
This two and one-half-story, gable roof, Queen Anne-style residence has a dominant cross gable
at the north corner of the front fagade. A strip of three one-over-one sash windows is located in
the attic story of the cross gable,with decorative shingle siding above. Flanking the triple
window is diagonally applied clapboard siding. The remainder of the house is covered in
clapboard siding with horizontal bands located above the windows on all three stories and below
the attic windows. One-over-one sash windows are irregularly spaced on the first and second
stories. A cutaway bay window on the first story is located on the south corner with a decorative
pendant above. A three-sided bay window is located near the north corner of the first story. A
partial-width, shed-roof porch stretches between the two bay windows. The porch is supported
by turned columns and features a spindle work frieze and turned baluster railing.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The George Moler House is a good example of Queen Anne-style domestic architecture retaining
much of its original character and ornamentation despite minor alterations within the last quarter
of the twentieth century. Typical of the Queen Anne style, this building employs a variety of
decorative patterned wall cladding on an asymmetrical fagade. It features a porch with turned
columns, spindle work frieze and a lattice rail. The prominent first floor bay window and cut-
away bay with decorative pendant are typical of the style. Unfortunate alterations include the
removal of a gable-end decorative truss,removal of a centrally placed gable on the front porch,
removal of decorative porch column brackets, and replacement of the triple gable-end window's
original single sash with border of small squares. The architectural integrity of the house has
been compromised by alterations to the partial width entry porch,removal of the gable end truss,
-and replacement of attic window sash, yet it remainsa good example of its architectural style.
This house is historically significant for its relationship to the Cornell family and George S.
Moler, the Cornell University Professor of Physics responsible for the first outdoor electric lights
in America. In 1868 Ezra Cornell bought this land for$1,400 from John Watts, in an effort to
secure the undeveloped land located north and west of Comell's new home, on which he had
begun construction the previous year, and to thus preserve his panoramic view of the City of
Ithaca and Cayuga Lake. The acquisition included land commencing at the north lot line of the
Dauncey homestead(302 University Avenue) and continued north for a total of 440 feet on the
east side of University Avenue. It encompassed a previous purchase from Watts near the center
of the holding. Between 1890-1, Ezra's second son and executor of his father's estate, Franklin
Cornell, concluded a group of sales encompassing 402-412 University Avenue. Cornell
University Professor of Physics, George S. Moler,bought this central site from Cornell on May
3, 1891 and built this home.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 52
George S. Moler graduated from Cornell in 1875 and immediately was appointed instructor in
physics. He remained on the Cornell faculty as Professor of Physics until his retirement in 1917.
Moler,who held a patent for"Photographic Cabinets"used to store lantemslides and
photographic negatives, is best known for his work with fellow Cornell Professor William A.
Anthony. Together, Moler and Anthony built the first electric dynamo to supply current to the
first outdoor electric lights in America,two arc lights on the Cornell campus, and were
responsible for the birth of the field of electrical engineering.
Professor Moler died in 1932 at the home of his daughter, Grace Moler Critchlow, who
continued to own and rent the property until 1959. The residence was still in single-family,
owner-occupied use in 1986.
i
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 53
410 University Avenue (108 University Ave.) 1891 Photo 51
Description:
This two-story,hipped-roof, simplified Stick-style residence features an entrance door protected
by a partial-width porch on the south elevation. The front facade has a cross gable with a pent
roof and a gable truss,with a small window in the gable. Double one-over-one sash windows are
centered beneath the cross gable on the first and second stories. Two additional matching
windows are aligned on the first and second stories toward the north corner. Each of the
windows has a slightly projecting surround topped by crown molding. The south elevation has a
projecting cross gable. A shed-roof porch spans the distance between the cross gable and the
front facade. Turned posts with decorative brackets support the porch, which also features a
spindle work frieze. The entrance door is located under the porch near the front facade. Another
projecting cross gable on the north facade has a porch below it with a matching spindle work
frieze. The house is covered in clapboard siding. The house takes advantage of its steeply
sloping site with a walkout basement oriented to the west.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
This residence provides a good, though modest, example of Stick-style residential architecture.
The building retains its gable trusses. Simple lace-like brackets support a spindle work frieze on
the south porch. Minor modifications, including replacement windows and removal of shutters
do not significantly deter from the building's significance or architectural integrity.
This house is historically significant for its relationship to the Cornell family. In 1868 Ezra
Cornell bought this land for$1,400 from John Watts, in an effort to secure the undeveloped land
located north and west of his new home, on which he had begun construction the previous year,
and thus to preserve his panoramic view of the City of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake. The acquisition
included land commencing at the north lot line of the Dauncey homestead(302 University
Avenue) and continued north for a total of 440 feet on the east side of University Avenue. It
encompassed a previous purchase from Watts near the center-of the holding. Between 1890-1,
Ezra's second son and executor of his father's estate,Franklin Cornell, concluded a group of
sales encompassing 402-412 University Avenue. Following a short interim ownership,Amelia
Reed purchased this lot on December 30, 1891 and built this home. Reed's son sold the house in
1927 for continued owner-occupant use. The current owners have lived here since 1968.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 54
411 University Avenue (108 University Ave.) 1901-2 Photo 52a, 52b, 53a, 53b
Treman Family Landscape
Description:
This authored landscape was conceived as a unified composition for the three Treman residences
constructed between 1901 and 1902. The homes are located in a common, designed landscape
that covers nine acres, set in a rough semi-circle on a stone terrace. The houses are oriented
towards Stewart Avenue. The symmetrical Italian Renaissance-style Elizabeth Treman Van
Cleef House(660 Stewart Avenue) is centrally placed,with the Robert H. Treman House (640
Stewart Avenue) set at a forty-five degree angle to the south and the site of the former Charles E.
Treman House (present location of the Von Cramm Cooperative, 623 University Avenue) set at a
forty-five degree angle to the north. A single driveway descends from Stewart Avenue, between
the Robert Treman and Elizabeth Van Cleef House. The drive continues south toward the Robert
H. Treman House where it meets with the site is original concrete-guttered carriage drive,which
circles under the Treman House's porte-cochere and continues west to University Avenue,
eventually leading to the property's carriage houses and servants quarters located across from the
homes on the west side of University Avenue. The winding drive forms the southern border of
the sloping western lawn, which features a few specimen trees. The western portion of the lawn
has become overgrown with invasive species. The primary landscape elements of Landscape
Architect Warren Manning's plan(the stone retaining wall, central open lawn with mature trees , .
and carriage drive) are intact though in need of repair.
To the south of the carriage drive is a wooded swale that partially masks a Japanese garden with
a series of ponds and pergola, located to the south and west of the Robert H. Treman House. The
ponds are formed by two small, irregularly-shaped concrete and stone basins. East of this once
cascading water feature is a stone retaining wall and small rectangular level garden area. A
partially restored brick and frame pergola is located to the north of the former garden area.
Centrally located at the western perimeter of the lawn is an archeological site, titled the"E.
Cornell site,"previously recommended for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.
P Y g
A Phase 2 archeological site examination, conducted by the Binghamton Public Archeology
Facility in November 2001, revealed evidence of a wooden;household structure built between
1857 and 1866,which stood until approximately 1900. The investigation unearthed and
catalogued over 4,000 artifacts, consisting primarily of architectural items and tableware typical
of a domestic site.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Treman Family Landscape is an architecturally significant estate landscape plan designed by
Landscape Architect Warren Manning(1860-1938). Before opening his own Boston-based
landscape architecture firm in 1896,Manning apprenticed in the office of Frederick Law
Olmsted for eight years,participating in the design and supervision of over 100 projects,
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 55
includingthe Biltmore estate in Asheville N.C. Chicago's Columbian Exposition and the
� g p
Boston Metropolitan Park System. In 1899, he was one of the founding members of the
American Society of Landscape Architects. The Treman Family Landscape was completed at a
time in his career when he was just embarking on the design and planning of many major park
and regional plans, as well as a comprehensive plan.for Cornell University.
The original concept for the Treman Family Landscape, as described in a contemporary article
published in the Ithaca Daily News on November 2, 1901,was "carefully worked out"by
Landscape Architect Warren Manning and Architect William Henry Miller.Formal gardens were
to appear on the east side of the houses, "each bearing a like relation to each of the others."The
residences shared a common drive that passed each house by the east facade before turning west
and descending on the south side of the property to the family's carriage houses on the west side
of University Avenue. The terrace was "formed symmetrically about the houses, in the form of
an `Omega,' the two sides parallel with the sides of the Treman houses, and the middle bowing
out to the west in front of the Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef House."Below this terrace was to be
a"beautiful rolling lawn sloping to the west, and so arranged as to catch'the lights and shadows
of the afternoon sun in a very beautiful manner. In direct contrast to the front or east lawn, this
lawn will not contain any formal gardens,but will be left to nature as the best gardener."The
Japanese garden and water pools to the south of the Robert H. Treman House were a later
addition to the grounds and were not mentioned in the article.
The landscape features contribute significantly to the aesthetic character of the site and the
remaining Treman properties. The grounds have suffered'from the loss of the Charles E. Treman
home,which burned in 1944 and was replaced by the Von Cramm housing cooperative, and
from lack of maintenance. The primary components of the landscape retain their integrity despite
the lack of maintenance.
The Treman Family Landscape is historically important for its association with both the Cornell
and Treman families. The three Treman siblings purchased this land from Alonzo Cornell in
1900 for construction of their residences. Alonzo Cornell, Ezra Cornell's eldest son and
Governor of New York State,purchased this land in 1860.from Jeremiah Beebe, his father's first
employer in Ithaca. Boston-based landscape architect Warren Manning,who was working on a
master plan for.the university,was hired to locate the three buildings on the site and to landscape
the grounds. Manning sited the houses on an elliptical stone retaining wall, creating a unified
symmetrical composition overlooking a common sloping landscape. The Treman family
grounds,perched just below the Cornell campus on East Hill,were planned to provide each of
the three Treman residences with a unique and infinite view of Inlet Valley, West Hill and
Cayuga Lake. The symmetrical Italian Renaissance style home of Elizabeth Treman and her
husband Mynderse Van Cleef(660 Stewart Avenue) anchored the grouping. The Tudor Revival
style homes built for Robert H. and Charles E. Treman (640 Stewart Avenue and 623 University
Avenue),which were set at forty-five degree angles to either side in the original architectural
composition, embraced and enclosed the private lawn below and west of the homes.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 56
412 University Avenue (110 University Ave.) 1891 Photo 54
Description:
This two-and-one-half-story, gable roof, Queen Anne-style residence with Free Classic detailing
has a full-width,wrap-around porch on the first story and a Palladian window centered in the
attic story of the gable on the front facade. A row of scalloped wood shingles is located above
the wide horizontal band that separates the gable from the second story. Decorative brackets are
located at the edge of the roof near carved bargeboards. Two pair of one-over-one sash windows
are evenly spaced to either side of the Palladian window on the second story. The windows are
surrounded by wide wood trim and topped by wood lintels. Tuscan columns with square baluster
railings support the first-story porch covering the inset front door. The second and attic stories
are covered with shingle siding, and the first story is stucco clad. Both side elevations feature a
cross gable with a two-story cutaway bay window beneath it, a gable roof-dormer and
decoratively carved, exposed rafter tails. The south elevation also has a shed-roof dormer
located between the cross gables. The north elevation features an exposed brick chimney
centered in the west cross gable. An iron exit stair from the attic window terminating at the roof
of the front entry porch is a later addition.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
This residence is an excellent example of the stylistic merging of two uniquely American
architectural adaptations, the Queen Anne and Shingle styles,both prevalent residential styles
- from 1880-1910. The Queen Anne style can be seen in the building's complex roof and cut-
away bays. The shingle wall cladding, extensive porch and prominent gable-end with Palladian
window are typical components of the Shingle style. The structure retains a high level of
architectural integrity.
This house is historically significant for its relationship to the Cornell family. In 1868 Ezra
Cornell bought this land for$1,400 from John Watts, in an effort to secure the undeveloped land
located north and west of his new home, which he had begun constructing the previous year, and
to thus preserve his panoramic view of the City of Ithaca and-Cayuga Lake. The acquisition
included land commencing at the north lot line of the Dauncey homestead (302 University
Avenue) and continued north for a total of 440 feet on the east side of University Avenue. It
encompassed a previous purchase from Watts near the center of the holding. Between 1890-1,
Ezra's second son and executor of his father's estate,Franklin Cornell, concluded a group of
sales encompassing 402-412 University Avenue. This, the northernmost lot sold by Franklin
Cornell,was purchased on March 5,'1891 by Addison O' Daniel, a blacksmith, who built this
residence.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 57
Edwin S. Banks, lawyer and Vice-President of Ithaca Realty,bought the home in 1899. His
family continued to live here for four decades. The building remained in owner-occupied use
until 1977 when it was converted to a rental property primarily serving Cornell students.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 58
502 University Avenue (112 University Ave.) 1873 Photo 55
Mary B. Wood House
Description:
The Mary B. Wood House is a one-and-one-half story, Second Empire-style symmetrical
residence with a rectangular plan and projecting bays on each side of a center entry porch. The
steep mansard roof is punctuated by dormer windows and is topped by a pyramid-roof central
cupola. The steeply pitched mansard roof has an overhanging curb with decorative brackets
below. The central dormer in the mansard roof has a steeply pitched hipped-roof and is flanked
by matching shallow-pitch,hipped-roof dormers. Each dormer features a one-over-one
replacement sash window. A double entry door fills the inset entryway and is sheltered by a
single-story,two-bay flat-roof porch. Tuscan columns support the porch, and square baluster
railing spans the distance between the columns. The porch stairs are located on the north and
south elevations of the porch. One-over-one sash windows flank the entrance door. These two
windows are crowned by flared hip roofs. Two additional dormers and a bay window with an
addition above are located on the south elevation. Another dormer and a small, cantilevered
addition are located on the north elevation.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
The Mary B. Wood House is an outstanding example of the Second Empire-style of American
domestic architecture popular in the later half of the nineteenth century. With its mansard roof
featuring dormer windows, molded cornices,prominent decorative eave brackets, and central
cupola, this house displays the prominent identifying features of its style. The Second Empire
style is distinguished from the closely related and contemporaneous Italianate style by its
distinctive roof, a form employed by the French architect Francois Mansart in the seventeenth
century. The Paris Expositions of 1855 and 1867 introduced this fashionable French style to a
larger audience. It became the dominant style for American houses between 1860 and 1880. The
Mary B. Wood House retains a high level of integrity despite its various small rear additions and
asphalt siding.
This property is historically significant for its relationship to the Cornell family and is one of the
first houses constructed on the west side of University Avenue,predated only by the Dauncey
Homestead at 302 University Avenue, built in 1863 and no longer extant, and the 18710. Daniel:
Edwards House (216 University Avenue). In 1868,Ezra Cornell bought this undeveloped land
for$1,400 from John Watts in an effort to secure the panoramic view land of the City of Ithaca
and Cayuga Lake, located north and west, from his future home,which had begun construction
the previous year. The acquisition included land commencing at the north lot line of the
Dauncey homestead(302 University Avenue) and continued north for a total of 440 feet on the
east side of University Avenue. It encompassed a previous purchase from Watts near the center
of the holding. This lot,the northernmost lot,was the only property on University Avenue sold
during Ezra Comell's lifetime. In 1872,Ezra's wife,Mary Ann Wood Cornell, sold this land to
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 59
her recently widowed mother, Mary B. Wood. According to the Ithaca City Directory, Mary
Wood was living in this house in 1873 with Alonzo Chase, and his wife Cordelia. Alonzo Chase
was a first cousin of Ezra Cornell, a son of Ezra's sister Lucretia. ,
In 1876,the Chases purchased the home they had shared with Mary Wood. Alonzo Chase, an
employee of Ithaca Iron Company, served as a Cornell University chemistry instructor during the
1871-2 academic year, at a time when the University was growing rapidly and sufficient faculty
was not available. At this time the majority of Cornell faculty, along with their families and
numerous students, lived in Cascadilla Hall, a building on East Hill begun as a water-cure
sanitarium in 1864,prior to the founding of the University. Ezra Cornell was one of the primary
investor in the spa, financing and overseeing its construction. When the stockholders in the spa
transferred their interests to the newly forming University,the project ended. Cornell bought the
building in 1868 and it became the first all-purpose University building,housing faculty and
students. By the 1870s, many faculty members and their families were complaining bitterly of
the living conditions at Cascadilla Hall. As a result the University began to construct faculty
housing on campus, lining Central and East Avenues. Campus construction stopped due to the
Panic of 1873 and was recommenced in 1877. This house, conveniently located one block west
of the growing University,was constructed during this lull.
The Chases lived in the home intermittently for ten years, and later rented it to fellow chemist
Lincoln A. Knisely and Cornell University instructor John F. Moakley. Martha Halsey, a
dressmaker who had rented 206,University Avenue (1890) and briefly owned 512 University
Avenue,bought this residence in 1901.From 1907- 1927 she took in primarily Cornell-affiliated
boarders.Her son, lawyer George Halsey, lived in the home from the mid-1930s until 1950.
Following a five-year vacancy, the building was returned to owner-occupancy. It was converted
to rental student housing in the mid-1980s.
Comell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 60
504 University Avenue (114 University Ave.) 1879-80 Photo 56
Evaline Powelson House
Description:
This two-story, gable roof, asymmetrical fagade, Stick-style residence has a prominent projecting
cross gable at the north corner of the east fagade. The projecting gable of the cross gable
features stick work, decorative brackets, a gable truss, and a small, double, one-over-one sash
window in the attic story. Two one-over-one sash windows are located in the second story of the
cross gable, surrounded by stick work. The first story features a cutaway square bay window
with two additional aligned windows. Two pair of double, one-over-one sash windows are
located on the remainder of the second story. A single-story,.wrap-around porch slightly
overlaps the cross gable and spans the rest of the front fagade. A pedimented cross gable is
located at the reentrant angle above the steps leading to the main entrance door. Square posts
with decorative brackets support the porch and square baluster railing stretches between the
posts. The double entrance door and another double window are sheltered beneath the porch. As
the porch wraps around to the south fagade, a secondary porch entrance with another pedimented
cross gable is located at a forty-five degree angle at the southeast corner of the porch. A small,
single-story, enclosed entryway has an angled wall to match the porch and features an entrance
door. The south fagade also has a matching cross gable. The exterior is covered with clapboard
siding and features decorative stick work.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant.
The Powelson House is an excellent example of Stick-style domestic architecture,popular
between 1860 and 1890. The house features elaborate horizontal and vertical stick work and
- gable trusses, unique to this style, along with common details such as the cut-away square bay
and prominent wrap-around porch with gabled entries. Designed by Ithaca architect A. B. Wood
and built by contractor John Snaith, original construction was estimated at a cost of$2,500. On
February 16, 1880,the Ithaca Daily Journal reported that the house of Mrs. E. G. Powelson,
designed by"the painstaking gentleman"A.B. Wood,was receiving the finishing touches and
the results were astonishing. The home with its beautiful landscaping and rear piazza taking
advantage of the view, was an"ornament to the beautiful avenue."Alvah Bugbee Wood(1850-
1909), an 1875 graduate of Cornell University College of Architecture, designed numerous
school buildings, among them the Fall Creek.School House. His industrial buildings included
numerous railroad stations in the Finger Lakes region, including Ithaca's Lehigh Valley Railroad
Station,built in 1898 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The structure retains
a high level of architectural integrity.
The Powelson House is situated on the second lot purchased for residential development on
University Avenue,predated only by the Dauncey House,built in 1863 and no longer extant.
Mrs. Evaline G. Powelson, a resident of Rochester,N.Y.,purchased land directly north of Ezra
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 61
Comell's University Avenue holdings in 1869, one year following Cornell. In March of 1880,
Mrs. Thomas M. Griffith and her husband, a civil engineer from Newtown,Pennsylvania, rented
the newly completed home. Construction was underway on a barn at the rear of the property,
built by Snaith and designed by Wood. Powelson lived here in 1896-7,but by 1898 the house
was rented to lumber dealer Henry G. Smith,who purchased it from Powelson's executor
between 1901 and 1902. Smith sold the house to Cornell University professor Lewis L. Forman
' in 1904. Forman, a classics instructor at Cornell University,taught Greek between 1894-1900
and 1902-10. After moving to France and serving in World War I,Forman returned to the
University to teach Latin from 1921-4. Cornell Professor Francis J. Seery owned the home for
three decades beginning in 1912. A professor of hydraulic engineering on the Cornell faculty
from 1905-42, Seery explored Panama for alternate routes for the Panama Canal and was a
-- consultant for water power plants working on water supply surveys many in New York State
cities. In addition, Seery served as a member of the first Ithaca City Planning and Zoning
Committee. Following Professor Seery's death in 1947, the residence was converted to a
' rooming house.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
' Annotated Building List,page 62
508 University Avenue (118 University Ave.) ca. 1895 Photo 57
Evaline Powelson rental property
' Description:
This two-and-one-half story, front-facing gable roof, Queen Anne-style residence has a shingle-
sided gable enclosed by a pent roof. A horizontal double window,with sash consisting of a large
' pane surrounded by small panes, is located in the attic story of the gable; above it is a projecting
gable decorated with diagonally applied stick work. A wide horizontal band separates the gable
from the second story. The second story, which is flared and also covered with shingle siding,
has a paired one-over-one sash window to the south and a single one-over-one sash window to
the north on the east facade. A decorative scroll molding has been applied beneath the sills of the
' attic and paired second-story windows. Another horizontal band separates the second story from
the clapboard-sided first story. A single-story, flat-roof porch shelters the multi-pane entrance
door near the north corner. Chamfered square posts support the porch. A pair of matching
' windows is located south of the entry. Two overlapping cross gables are located on the south
facade. Second-story windows on the south facade also employ scroll molding beneath the sills.
Significance:
' Contributing.
Although this house displays a fair level of architectural integrity, it is not architecturally
significant.
Evaline Powelson,the owner of the adjoining property to the north(504 University. Avenue),
constructed this building as an income-producing property. Powelson purchased the lot from
local real estate investor Charles White beginning in 1886, accumulating 38 feet in three sales
over the next five years. The first known tenant was Harriett Kenyon in 1896.Powelson's
executor sold the property in 1902. It has housed a transient population of Cornell University
affiliated students and adults throughout the twentieth century.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
' Annotated Building List,'page 63
510 University Avenue 1920 Photo 58
Robert H. Treman rental property
' Description:
This two-story, hipped-roof, Craftsman-style residence also features elements of the Shingle
style. It features a front gabled composition with prominent cross-gables. The front facade is
' dominated by a projecting gable roof and a second-story cross gable covered in shingle siding.
The overhanging gable roof has decorative brackets. Exposed rafters are visible under open
eaves. Two three-over-one sash windows with smaller upper sash are evenly spaced in the cross
gable. The cross-gable is supported by a pedimented porch hood,which is supported in turn by
large, curved triangular brackets with lattice inserts. The hood shelters the three-light entrance
door,which is flanked by three-quarter, leaded glass sidelights, and another three-over-one sash
window. A fourth three-over-one sash window and a very small matching window flank the
cross gable on the first story. Each window features a slightly projecting window surround
topped by crown molding. Matching projecting cross gables supported by decorative brackets,
located on the north and south elevations, form second-story rectangular bays. A hipped-roof
hood supported by large, scroll brackets with lattice inserts covers a small porch on the north
elevation. The railing on the porch is made of lattice stretching between square half-height posts
and has a gate on the front facade. The first-story and exposed basement and covered in stucco
siding.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
This residence is architecturally significant as the only Craftsman-style building on University
Avenue. Among its typical Craftsman style elements are the second-story rectangular bays, open
eaves with prominent rafter tails, massive supporting brackets at the gable ends and supporting
porches. The shingle cladding above the stucco first-story is a carryover from the proceeding
Shingle style as is the smaller multi-pane upper sash fenestration. The structure retains a high
level of architectural integrity.
The building is historically significant for its relationship to the Treman family. Once associated
with the house located at 512 University Avenue, this land was purchased Robert H. Treman in
1919. He constructed this Craftsman-style house,begun in September 1920 and completed in
May, 1921 as a rental property. The total construction cost, including the lot, was $13,100. The
architect was John M. Wilgus and the contractor was A. H. McPherson. George Rogalsky,
Cornell University Treasurer and an early Trustee of The Town and Gown Club,was Treman's
first tenant in 1922. In 1923 Treman sold the property,with fixtures, to Mariano and Caroline
deYcaza, who continued to rent the home to a series of Cornell-related tenants, among them
Gilmore Dobie, a Cornell football coach. Cornell University instructors rented the house
throughout the 1930s,replaced by Cornell students in the 1940s. Following a 1944 default on the
mortgage,the building was assumed.by Tompkins County Trust,which sold it for single-family
use in 1945.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 64
e512 University Avenue (122 University Ave.) 1891 Photo 59
Description:
B This two-story, gable roof, Queen Anne-style residence has a prominent cross gable wall dormer
near the north corner of the front fagade. The gable of the cross gable is covered in L-shaped
wood shingle siding, and a small window with a large pane surrounded by smaller panes is
located in the attic story. A horizontal band separates the gable from the second story,which
features a central, double one-over-one sash window. Beneath the cross gable is a cutaway bay
window with a one-over-one sash window on each of the three sides. Each angle of the cutaway
bay is adorned with a spindle work frieze, scroll bracket, drop pendant, and railing beneath the
window that matches the porch railing. A shed-roof dormer features a double one-over-one sash
window with a strip of small lights at the top south of the cross gable. The sloping gable roof
' covers the porch that spans the remainder of the first story from the cross gable to the south
elevation. Turned posts with scroll brackets support the porch,which also has a geometric
spindle work frieze and matching railing. The north and south elevations feature projecting
gables with decorative stick work. A square oriel with a shed roof is located on the first story of
the north elevation.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
iThis building is architecturally significant as an excellent example of Queen Anne style built at
the height of that style's popularity;midway between 1880 and 1890. This residence possesses
many elements representative of the style, including a dominant front-facing gable, cut-away bay
windows with intricate spindle work frieze above supporting scroll brackets. The asymmetrical
fagade features a typical one-story,partial-width porch with elaborate spindle work detailing.
The wall texture displays unique variety in the use of L-shaped shingle siding in the gable end.
The only missing decorative element appears to be the gable-end truss. The structure displays a
high level of architectural integrity.
Fred Fowler, a Cornell University instructor and later Cornell Mechanician,purchased this site in
1890 from local real estate investor Charles White. Martha Halsey, a dressmaker, owned the
A house from 1898-1901,prior to moving to 502 University Avenue. She was followed by a series
of short-term owners,until the house was purchased by The Cornell Inn in 1929. Cornell
University bought the residence in 1933 and converted it to student housing. In 1981, Cornell
sold the residence to Quality Rentals of Ithaca,which continues to rent primarily to Cornell
students.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 65
623 University Avenue 1957 Photo 60
Von Cramm Cooperative (Site of the former Charles E. Treman Home)
Description:
The Von Cramm Cooperative is located on the south side of University Avenue west of Stewart
Avenue. The house is one of three residences arranged in a rough semi-circle significantly set
back from Stewart Avenue. The Von Cramm Cooperative is the northernmost residence of the
trio and is angled away from Stewart Avenue and the central Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef
House. The Cooperative is also angled away from University Avenue and is considerably set
back from the street. The three houses, though Von Cramm Cooperative replaced an earlier
Treman residence, are located in a common,designed landscape that covers several acres of
land. After a fire in the Charles Treman House, the residence was demolished and the.
Cooperative was built using the same foundation. A roughly semi-circular driveway is located
near the front fagade with parking located adjacent to and opposite the fagade. The drive parallel
to the Elizabeth Treman Van Cleef House at 660 Stewart Avenue continues past the southeast
elevation of the Cooperative and ends at University Avenue. This is the.eastern entrance to the
semi-circular driveway.
The Von Cramm Cooperative is a seven-bay, Tudor Revival-style, one-and-one-half-story group
residence,with a variegated gray slate gable-roof featuring long shed dormers located on both
sides of the main gable and a small hipped-roof wing to the south. The front fagade, which faces
northeast, is dominated by a central, five-bay, shed-roof wall dormer. The first story is
predominantly clad in brick as is the exterior of the walkout basement at the west (rear) fagade.
The overhanging second floor, dormers and gable-ends are covered with stucco and half-timber
trim. The main entrance door is centered in two bays of the wall dormer that projects slightly.
This portion of the first story is clad in square-cut, ashlar stone and the second and third stories
feature more elaborate half-timbering. The entrance door, a half-light wood door with leaded
glass, is slightly recessed with a wide stone surround. Two sash windows.with stone headers and
sills flank the entrance door and a cornerstone with the date 1956 is located on the northwest
corner. Fenestration, consisting of six-over-six double-hung windows, are of regular size but
irregular placement.
Two bays of the dormer are located southeast of the entrance with a double six-over-six sash
window and a single six-over-six sash window on the third story. Two additional six-over-six
sash windows are aligned on both the first and second stories. A single bay of the dormer is
located northwest of the entrance with a double six-over-six sash window on the third story and
single six-over-six sash windows on the first and second stories. The five-bay dormer is flanked
by single bays with aligned six-over-six sash windows on the first and second stories. Windows
..on the first story are crowned by wood lintels.
Set back from the front fagade on the east is a two-story,hipped-roof wing. Another entrance
door is centered in the front fagade of the wing, crowned by a recessed stone Tudor arch. Above
the door is a.single six-over-six sash window in the second story.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 66
A central, square-cut, ashlar stone chimney dominates the northwest elevation_ Six-over-six sash
windows flank the chimney on the first, second, and third stories. The ground slopes away from
the front fagade, which reveals the basement level at the west corner. The southeast elevation of
the hipped-roof wing has a single six-over-six sash window in the second story and a matching
window aligned in the basement level. Flanking the wing on the main block of the house are six-
over-six sash windows on the first and second stories. An entrance door is located on the
basement level south of the wing.
The southwest or rear elevation also features a matching five-bay wall dormer but without any
projecting section. Half-timber on stucco covers the second and third stories, and the first story
and exposed basement level are covered in brick. Three evenly spaced, single, six-over-six sash
windows are flanked by-matching double windows on the third story. Six single six-over-six
sash windows are irregularly spaced on the second story. A single window is located between
the first and second stories toward the west corner of the wall dormer. Quadruple matching sash
windows are aligned on the first story and basement level near the west corner with an entrance
door on the basement level.to the southeast. Southeast of the entrance door are single aligned
matching sash windows on the first story and basement levels followed by aligned triple sash
windows. Two additional pairs of aligned single sash windows are located on the remainder of
the first story and basement level. An entrance door is located near the south corner. A short
divided-light window is located in the attic story of the east wing.
No alterations are readily apparent on the exterior of the house.
Significance:
Contributing. Historically significant.
The Von Cramm Cooperative was built on the site of the Tudor Revival-style Charles E. Treman
House, designed by prominent Ithaca architects Clinton L. Vivian and Arthur N. Gibb. The
Charles E. Treman house was the first of a trio of houses built on a nine-acre site purchased from
the family of Ezra Cornell in 1900 by the Treman family, one of Ithaca's and Tompkins
County's most prominent families during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Charles,
the youngest of Elias Treman's three children and an 1889;graduate of Cornell University,
served as Superintendent of Public Works for tat S p P W h State of New York,trustee of Cornell.
University and officer of Treman,King and Co. and President of the Ithaca Trust Co. The
Charles E. Treman House, the northernmost of the three Treman residences,was an important
element in the unified symmetrical composition overlooking a common sloping landscape
created by Walter Manning, a prominent landscape architect and founder in 1901 of the
American Society of Landscape Architects. The original house burned on December 23, 1944
shortly after its conversion to a fraternity house. The Von Cramm Cooperative,built in 1957 on
the site of the Charles E. Treman house, was designed to be compatible with the adjacent
remaining Treman houses in architectural style and siting,but the grounds of the related
Comell-Treman Families Historic District
' Annotated Building List,page 67
' properties suffer from the loss of the original structure. The simple gable-roof structure with
applied half-timbering at the upper stories building, designed by Starrett &Van Vleck Architects
and built by A. Frederich& Sons, Co. Although it possesses a high level of architectural
integrity, it is not architecturally significant and possesses no known historical significance.
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 68 '
625 University(625`Stewart Ave.) 1901 Photo 61
Alpha Tau Omega Lodge
Description:
This two-and-one-half story largely symmetrical Italian Renaissance-style residence,with
shallow pitch hipped-roof and broadly overhanging eaves,was built as a fraternity. A flat-roof.
porch is setback from the facade-on the west elevation. A central eyebrow roof dormer
punctuates the roof. The shorter, flared third story,which is covered in wood shingle siding,has
a series of seven one-over-one sash windows evenly spaced on the front facade. A horizontal
wood band separates the second and third stories. A trio of slender one-over-one sash windows.
is centered in the shingle-sided, flared second story and is flanked by larger matching windows.
Each window features window surround with pilasters-topped by prominent crown molding. A
central portico on the first story dominates the facade. Grouped Tuscan columns resting on
rusticated ashlar piers support the portico,which has a second-story railing above. Half-height
square posts with.decorative tops support the-simple square baluster railing. The double entrance
door with a transom and dentil molding above is sheltered by the portico and flanked by
sidelights,pilasters and fluted engaged columns. The first story is covered iri yellow brick and .
has flat brick arches above the windows. Large one-over-one sash windows flanked by slender
matching windows are located on each side of the portico on the first story. The fieldstone
foundation has a large stone arch west of the portico.
r ,
' The large west elevation porch has grouped Tuscan columns resting on rusticated ashlar piers.. A
square baluster railing stretches between the piers, and a matching railing encloses the roof of the
porch. A large, square bay window with pilasters dominates the east elevation. Square baluster
railing is located on the flat roof of the bay window. A small,hipped-roof entry porch covers a
secondary entrance, also on the east elevation.
Significance:
Contributing. Architecturally significant. Historically significant.
Alpha Tau Omega is architecturally significant as.one of the group of Italian Renaissance-style
fraternities constructed at Cornell during the beginning of the twentieth century. With its block-
like massing, center entrance portico, and gentle-pitched hipped-roof with broad eaves the.
building displays the prominent elements of the'Italian Renaissance style. The classically
detailed grouped Tuscan columns set on rusticated ashlar piers at the entrance, and use of .
eyebrow dormers usually associated with the Colonial Revival style,' date from a later
remodeling following a 1908 fire'that destroyed the structures original gambrel roof,:with
gambrel-roofed dormer, and attic portions of the house. These changes create a more eclectic
example of the style. The structure has retained•a high level of architectural integrity.. ; .
Cornell-Treman Families Historic District
Annotated Building List,page 69
This building is historically significant as a representative example of the numerous fraternity
buildings constructed at the west border of the Cornell campus at the beginning of the twentieth
century to fulfill Cornell's increasing residential needs. This building is sited immediately west
of the Cornell campus on land purchased in 1860 by Ezra Comell's eldest son and a Governor of
New York State, Alonzo Cornell, from Jeremiah Beebe, Ezra Cornell's early employer. Alonzo
sold this lot at the corner of University and Stewart Avenues to the Alpha Tau Fraternity in 1900,
just prior to the sale of the remaining nine-acre holding to the Treman-family for the construction
of three family homes.
Cornell-Treman Historic District
Bibliography, page 1
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Cornell-Treman Historic District
J
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