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HomeMy WebLinkAboutContinuation Sheet - 41 E. Main, Trumansburg.pdfN.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet Address: 41 East Main Street Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg Narrative Description of Property The two-story, wood frame structure is flush with 39 East Main Street to the west, with only a narrow alley separating it from 43 East Main Street to the east. The building is located on the north side of the road, and Trumansburg Creek runs due north of the building. It is built into the hillside that is gradually sloping upwards to the east. The formerly commercial building has been significantly altered in the 20th and 21St centuries, and only retains the massing of the original building. The use the vinyl siding and replacement windows have rendered what was likely a vernacular structure unrecognizable as a historic building. The end -gable building may have once possessed Greek Revival style features, as #43-45 to the east, or may have been a simple wooden vernacular building. Although all of the windows are replacements, the two window openings on the second floor of the main (south) fagade may be original. The same may be true for the transom openings on the east and west sides of the first floor and the door on the west side, but the vinyl conceals the evolution of the building. A modern white ramp with balustrade runs the full width of the main (south) fagade. A one-story addition with a gable roof is attached to the north fagade. This was not visible from Main Street, but was ascertained by cross-referencing Sanborn Insurance Maps and contemporary Google satellite maps. The building currently shares a tax parcel with 41 East Main to the east, and the two buildings have been sided as if they are a single unit. Narrative Description of Significance Trumansburg has an unfortunate history of massive fires, and buildings that stretched the length of the north side of Main Street from Union Street to the Presbyterian Church were consumed in a monstrous conflagration on February 22, 1864. In The History of Trumansburg (1890), local historians record the fire in the following way: Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 N.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet Address: 41 East Main Street Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg Narrative Description of Significance (continued) There was no fire apparatus of any description in the town ... it became apparent that the town must go not with out standing the almost superhuman efforts of the people to check the conflagration. Lines of men, women, and even children were formed, buckets of water were passed, and the advancing flames persistently fought at every step until delicate women would fall to the ground from sheer exhaustion....Main Street from the bridge to the Presbyterian Church and Elm Street to the corner of Whig were filled with the house hold goods and merchandise of all descriptions ... Thee scene at daylight beggards description. One half the town in ruins, scores of homeless people searching the saved property for their belongings. (As quoted by L. Sears, 53). The Trumansburg New York Incorporation Centennial (1972) notes that many of the buildings devoured in the fire were of wood and the majority of owners chose not to rebuild, instead selling the lots. The new owners overwhelmingly constructed their new buildings out of brick, historically an urban guard against fire, and adopted more uniform designs and greater set -backs. 43-45 East Main Street is one of four wooden buildings along the north side of East Main Street to contradict this phenomenon. When the Sanborn Insurance surveyors came to map Trumansburg in April 1883, they noted that the building contained a furniture store. They made the same determination in December 1893, May 1898, December1905, and December 1910. In the final map of September 1929, the surveyors simplified their annotations, marking the space simply as a store. As of June 2014, the building is exclusively in use as a residential apartment complex, having been converted from commercial use at some point in the 20th century. Partial History of Ownership of Building Date Acquired Book Page David C. Vanetten Shelby J. Hildebrand 9/10/1992 684 144 (current owner) 8/26/2003 43880 5001 Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 2 N.Y. Historic Resource Inventory Form - Continuation Sheet Address: 41 East Main Street Village/Hamlet: Trumansburg Figure 1: Main (south) facade Sources Digital Sanborn Maps 1867-1970. Ann Arbor, Mich.: ProQuest UMI, 2001. A History of Trumansburg. Trumansburg, NY: The Free Press, 1890. Martin, Carolyn A. Trumansburg, New York Incorporation Centennial." Trumansburg, NY: The Trumansburg Centennial Association Incorporated, 1972. Sears, Lydia. A History of Trumansburg, New York, 1792-1967. Location unknown: I -T Publishing Corp, 1978. Tompkins County. "Property Description Report For: 39-41 Main St E, Municipality of V. Trumansburg." Image Mate Online. Accessed July 29, 2014. Compiled by Katelin Olson, August 15, 2014 3