{"nrhp_refnum":"00000987","name":"Rail and Titsworth Canal Warehouse","other_names":["DeCilio's"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Hughes Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Belfast","county":"Allegany County","state":"NY","lat":42.34272505400003,"lon":-78.12558040299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-08-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story wood frame canal warehouse on Hughes Road in Belfast, Allegany County, New York, built about 1853 beside the Genesee Valley Canal. It was later used as a hotel/brothel and as a barn.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the oldest surviving warehouse on the route of the Genesee Valley Canal and the only extant warehouse of its type. It is tied to the canal and the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad, which shaped Belfast's growth. It also retains its vernacular Greek Revival character despite changes in use.","narrative":"Beside the remains of the Genesee Valley Canal at the end of Hughes Street in Belfast, New York, stands a two-and-one-half-story wood warehouse built about 1853. Measuring roughly 61 by 32 feet, it has board and batten siding, a side-gabled roof, a central gabled dormer, a small cupola and a dry-laid fieldstone foundation. Its emphasized cornice lines and returns reflect vernacular Greek Revival style. The warehouse served canal trade when the waterway brought commercial importance and lumber shipping to Belfast. After the canal closed in 1878 and a railroad took its place, the building passed through other uses, including a hotel that was apparently a brothel in the early 1900s, and later an animal barn. Remnants of wallpaper from the hotel period survive on the second floor. It was recognized for its link to the canal and railroad, for retaining its original form and fenestration, and for the possibility that the surrounding land holds archaeological evidence of a dry dock and early uses.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1853-1910","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Vernacular (Greek Revival details)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed current function is vacant; the building is boarded up and the upper floors are reached by free-standing ladders.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.039795-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/00000987.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000987/9596c7ad54-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000987/9596c7ad54-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"eyesofibad","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rail_and_Titsworth_Canal_Warehouse_2012-09-29_21-46-13.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">eyesofibad</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rail_and_Titsworth_Canal_Warehouse_2012-09-29_21-46-13.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316427","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_and_Titsworth_Canal_Warehouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7283924"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/allegany-county/rail-and-titsworth-canal-warehouse-00000987/"}