{"nrhp_refnum":"01001493","name":"Simmons, Alton, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"309 Van Rensselaer St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Syracuse","county":"Onondaga County","state":"NY","lat":43.05269707400004,"lon":-76.16654693899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-01-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, gambrel-roofed frame house at 309 Van Rensselaer Street in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, built in 1912 and designed by Ward Wellington Ward in the Arts and Crafts style.","why_significant":"The house is significant under Criterion C as a highly intact example of Ward Wellington Ward's residential architecture in Syracuse. It is one of the smaller houses he designed for middle-class clients in the early 1910s, showing Colonial Dutch and Craftsman influences with Arts and Crafts interior detailing. Both the exterior and the interior retain outstanding integrity.","narrative":"Built in 1912 at 309 Van Rensselaer Street in Syracuse, this compact two-story house was designed by architect Ward Wellington Ward. It sits on a narrow urban lot at the edge of a residential neighborhood near West Genesee Street. The frame building has a stuccoed first story, a broad gambrel roof sheathed in wood shakes, and a deeply recessed front porch with bracketed posts and latticework. A large stuccoed brick chimney dominates the north side. Inside, the original floor plan survives, with an open living and dining area finished in cherry, including exposed beams, wainscotting, glazed cabinetry, and a bracketed fireplace surround. Moravian tiles from Henry Mercer's studio face the chimney on the first floor and in the master bedroom. The house is valued as a well-preserved example of Ward's early work, typical of the smaller homes he designed for middle-class Syracuse residents in the early 1910s, blending Colonial Dutch and Craftsman influences with Arts and Crafts detail.","period_of_significance":"1912","architect_builder":"Ward, Ward Wellington","architectural_style":"Arts and Crafts","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a single dwelling; the interior and exterior are described as retaining a very high level of integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.475507-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/01001493.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001493/5139c4f977-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001493/5139c4f977-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Doncram","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SimmonsAltonHouse_2007_12_16c_sm.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doncram</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:SimmonsAltonHouse_2007_12_16c_sm.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75314003","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_Simmons_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4736907"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/onondaga-county/simmons-alton-house-01001493/"}