Old Court House
In 1817, Simeon DeWitt donated this land for a county courthouse. The current structure, the second on the site, was built in 1854. Union Springs architect John F. Maurice designed it in the Gothic Revival style, popular then for domestic and religious buildings. Gothic features include the asymmetrical facade, a tall parapeted tower on one side, a shorter hexagonal turret on the other, and pointed-arch windows with tracery and molded crowns. The courthouse, thought to be the oldest Gothic Revival public building in New York State, served as the county seat for 80 years, until the present courthouse was built in 1932. After a heated battle to halt demolition, extensive renovations were made in 1975-76, and the second-story courtroom was returned to its original use.LISTEN HERE
First Baptist Church
The current church is the third on the site. The first was built in 1831. The present church dates to 1890, when the congregation outgrew its mid-century Gothic Revival building. Matching a $12,000 pledge from John D. Rockefeller, the church commissioned Ithaca's foremost architect, William Henry Miller. He adopted a Romanesque Revival style, based loosely on medieval prototypes and typified by bold, rough-faced stone masonry, round-arched window and door openings, and an overall quality of massiveness. The large window in the west wall was donated by Miller, the building's craftsmen, and members of the congregation in memory of the Reverend Robert T. Jones, whose inspiration and fundraising made this church possible.LISTEN HERE
First Presbyterian Church
A Presbyterian society was founded in Ithaca in 1804. Members met first in a school where DeWitt Mall is now located, and in 1818 a wood-frame meeting house was dedicated on the present site. The second building was a Gothic Revival structure designed by James Renwick, architect of Grace Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. As in the case of the First Baptist Church, Gothic Revival gave way to Romanesque Revival. Noted New York architect J. Cleveland Cady, designer of the old Metropolitan Opera House in Manhattan, used a double-apse plan, typical of twelfth and thirteenth century German Romanesque churches. The striking western apse curving out to Cayuga Street contains vibrantly colored stained-glass windows.LISTEN HERE
Mission Monument
This marker commemorates the Oregon Mission of 1834, dispatched by the Presbyterian church under the leadership of Reverend Samuel Parker to bring "the white man's book from heaven" to the Nez Perce Indians of Oregon. Two women missionaries accompanying their husbands on this journey were reputedly the first women settlers to cross the Rocky Mountains.LISTEN HERE
Earliest Non-Indigenous Settler Marker
**This marker was removed in 2020 following regular public vandalism, and historic evidence of inaccuracy. The plaque is now held in The History Center in Tompkins County archival collections.**This marker honors Robert MacDowell and Jonathan Woodworth, who built their cabins near this site, as the earliest settlers in Ithaca. Some historians, however, maintain that Peter Hinepaw, Jacob Yaple, and Isaac Dumond, who erected log cabins along Cascadilla and Six Mile creeks to the northeast and southeast of the park in 1789, were the first settlers.LISTEN HERE
Beebe-Halsey House
This former residence is one of the oldest still standing in Ithaca. It was built in 1820 by Jeremiah Beebe, a prominent banker and one of three partners who built the Clinton House at 120 N. Cayuga Street. In 1850 the house was sold to William Halsey, who added the rear service wing. Halsey’s daughter, organist of the First Presbyterian Church for 35 years, lived in the house until 1971. A fine example of a Federal-style detached town house, the Halsey House features a narrow, three-bay façade, restrained classical ornamentation with decorative detail concentrated at the entrance, and a fanlight over the door. The flush-boarded façade, intended to resemble stone masonry, is a special feature seen on Federal-style examples. Flushboards are horizontal boards placed edge to edge, creating a smooth surface considered more elegant than clapboarding.LISTEN HERE
Williams House
Roger B. Williams, president of the First National Bank, engaged Ithaca architect Clinton L. Vivian to build his home in 1906. Although it could be labeled Colonial Revival, the architectural style is also referred to as American Renaissance, based on the rich, careful assembly of classically inspired architectural elements such as the raised basement faced with random-coursed ashlar, the use of brick veneer at the first story, the two-story corner, pilasters, and the steeply pitched hip roof. Detailing is derived from Georgian and Federal styles. The heavy semicircular bay on an elliptical entrance porch and curved windows of leaded glass flanking the door suggest the very opulent interior. Inside, elegant branching staircases curve up to the second-floor gallery, above which is a domed skylight of blue and pink marbleized glass. The dormer contains a group of windows in a Palladian motif, perhaps Vivian's favorite architectural signature.LISTEN HERE
Ackley House
This residence reflects the transition from Federal to Greek Revival with the later addition of a Colonial Revival porch. The five-bay rectangular main body, gabled central pavilion, and two-story pilasters all date from the original ca. 1825 construction. The house was commissioned by Julius Ackley, a successful businessman, and possibly designed by Ira Tillotson, Ithaca's earliest architect of note. He was father-in-law to Julius's brother Henry, one of the three original owners of the Clinton House. In 1909, then-owner Daniel van Hoesen had architect Clinton L. Vivian add the front entrance porch in the Colonial Revival style. The gabled roof of the porch is supported by Doric columns.LISTEN HERE
406 N. Cayuga Street
This house, constructed between 1888 and 1893, combines elements of two popular turn-of-the-century styles: Colonial Revival and Queen Anne. The L-shaped plan of the house, front gable and overhang, full-length porch, and varied wall surface treatments are Queen Anne features. Colonial Revival details include the garland motif over the door and the second-story Palladian window on the north side. Clinton Vivian, who also designed the Williams House, is thought to be the architect, commissioned by John K. Blackman, a wealthy grocer.LISTEN HERE
413 N. Cayuga Street
Built around 1875, this brick house is an example of the Italianate style prevalent in the mid- to late 1800s. Characteristic details include a wide overhanging cornice with modillions, tall, thin windows, prominent sills with curved brick window ornaments, metal cresting at the top of the hipped roof, and a double front door with transom above it. The raised basement is also a typical Italianate feature, as is the square, blocky shape. From 1881 to 1927 this home was owned successively by two Ithaca mayors, or presidents, as they were called until 1888.LISTEN HERE
Humphrey House
This early residence (building records indicate 1828, but the cornerstone shows 1825) is another variant of the Federal style. Note the delicate detailing in the fanlight over the door. The two-story portico with Ionic columns, however, reflects a transition in this period to Greek Revival. The Humphrey House was built by Ira Tillotson. Captain Charles Humphrey, who commissioned the house, came to Ithaca in 1819 to establish a Bank of Newburgh branch office. Also an attorney and politician, he served as president of the village of Ithaca in 1828 and 1829.LISTEN HERE
Bank of Newburgh Building
Originally located at 113 W. State Street, where the State Theater now stands, this building was built ca. 1820 by local carpenter Luther Gere as both a residence and a bank. It housed Ithaca's first bank, a branch of the Bank of Newburgh, named after that Hudson River town. The land was purchased for 10 cents from Simeon DeWitt. The symmetrical five-bay facade with side-gabled roof is typically Federal, but the recessed doorway is a common Greek Revival feature, as is the front-facing central gable. In 1912, several concerned citizens rescued the building from being torn down and arranged for it to be moved--coincidentally, to a lot beside Captain Humphrey's house.LISTEN HERE
130 E. Court Street
Built in 1832 or 1833 on property purchased from Simeon DeWitt, this residence incorporates both Federal and Greek Revival details. The stepped gable is common to Federal structures in row-house situations, where it served as a fire stop between connected buildings. The near absence of windows in the east and west facades indicates that the builder may have expected additional residences to go up adjacent to this one. The use of brick was unusual for this period in Ithaca's history, though the brick work is not easily seen because it is painted. Bricks placed vertically above each window form a lintel in a typical Federal pattern.LISTEN HERE
Temple Beth-El
Designed by Eli Goldstein of Buffalo, Temple Beth-El was constructed in 1928. Though the first Jewish residents probably arrived in Ithaca in the 1850s, the first congregation was formed in 1906. The temple derives its form from Islamic architecture, in particular, Persian mosques. The basis is a cube, topped by an octagon, topped by a dome. The main entrance is marked by a double door with stained glass depicting a menorah in the arch above. LISTEN HERE
Tompkins County Court House
The current Tompkins County Courthouse was built in 1932 in a neo-Georgian style popularized by restoration work in Williamsburg, Virginia. Authentic Georgian architecture prevailed in the English colonies from 1700 to 1780 but is not represented in Ithaca, which was settled later. The building exhibits many typical Georgian features, such as the primary use of brick and stone, the column-flanked doorway crowned by an ornate broken pediment, and the small-paned windows. J. Lakin Baldridge, a 1922 Cornell University School of Architecture graduate, designed the courthouse and the adjacent former jail.LISTEN HERE
Westminster Hall
Once a residential block, this part of Tioga Street has been converted to public and commercial uses. This 1886 Queen Anne brick-and-wood row house once served as six homes. Across the street, on the site of the current Tompkins County Courthouse, were four more row houses. Architect Alfred B. Dale designed the building for General Charles R. Blood, a prominent merchant. Originally, the house had three arched entrances alternating with paired windows. Around 1930 the building was used as an Ithaca College dormitory, and two entrances were closed. Following a 1990-91 renovation, the building was restored to residential use.LISTEN HERE
319, 317, 315, 313 and 307 N. Tioga Street
Number 319 N. Tioga Street is an example of late nineteenth-century eclectic design, using Colonial ornament in a fanciful Queen Anne manner. Note the Palladian, oval, and rectangular windows, paired columns and pilasters, and complex roofscape.Number 317 N. Tigoa Street, in very good condition, is a Greek Revival house with Italianate details, probably built about 1865.Numbers 313 and 315 N. Tioga Street are unusual twin houses dating from about 1875. They exhibit the typical L-shaped Italianate plan with a square tower. Number 313 has been restored to its original appearance, while 315 reflects unsympathetic changes.Number 307 N. Tioga Street is a Federal residence in brick with stone trim. It was built in the 1810s for Peleg Cheesebrough, one of Ithaca's first tailors. It has the same stepped gables as 130 E. Court Street and the three-bay facade with side entrance as the Beebe-Halsey and Court Street houses. The house was once owned by Ezra Cornell's brother and sister-in-law, Elijah and Betsy Ann Cornell. In the 1920s it was an Ithaca College sorority house. More recent alterations include the installation of a large picture window in the front.LISTEN HERE
United States Post Office
Construction of the post office building was authorized by an act of Congress in 1902 and undertaken in 1909-10. The Beaux Arts design reflects the return to classical and Renaissance architectural forms in federal buildings. U.S. Treasury architect James Knox Taylor modeled Ithaca's post office on the Grand Trianon at Versailles, built in 1687. Its influence is evident in the tall, round-arched windows with console keystones, the paired Ionic columns between the windows, and the roof balustrade with paneled pedestals. Taylor designed many post offices across the United States, among them in New York State are those in Niagara Falls, Schenectady, Geneva, Lockport, Little Falls, Penn Yan, Corning, Olean, and Hudson.LISTEN HERE
119-121 E. Buffalo Street
Built in 1835, this Federal-style brick double building is the only one of its kind in Ithaca. Its stepped gables are similar to those at 130 E. Court and 307 N. Tioga streets. The three-bay facades and flat wall plane are typically Federal, and the over-door transom and handsome cornices are Greek Revival. The over-door transoms and paneling in the door recesses, built in the Italianate style, are later additions. For several years, architect William H. Miller maintained an office in the projecting second-story bay.LISTEN HERE
St. John’s Episcopal Church
Constructed in 1860, this church replaced the original brick church built on the same site in 1824. The adjoining parish house was added in 1888. In 1892 the church was enlarged, and in 1913 a new chancel was built. Like the Old Courthouse, St. John's is Gothic Revival and built of bricks, here painted white to resemble stone. The main tower of St. John's, a distinctive feature on the Ithaca skyline, is topped by an attenuated hexagonal spire crowned with a Maltese Cross.LISTEN HERE
DeWitt Building
The DeWitt Building (1912) is another work by architect William H. Miller. It served originally as a senior high school and then a junior high school. The building style is referred to as Tudor Revival or Collegiate Gothic, emulating the medieval buildings of the great British universities. The roof parapet and crenellated parapet over the north entrance recall castle battlements, and rough-faced stone at the first story contributes to the feeling of a Gothic castle. The entrance facing Cayuga Street is shaped in a Tudor arch. Gargoyles grace the windows, and signs for boys' and girls' entrances are in molded terra-cotta.In his 1806 map, Simeon DeWitt designated this site for a school, and until 1971 it served as one. The building has since been adapted for commercial and residential purposes, though much of the character of the school building has been retained. The lower level is a mall, with restaurants, boutiques, and offices.LISTEN HERE
