{"nrhp_refnum":"07000485","name":"Dansville Downtown Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Main St., Ossian St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dansville","county":"Livingston County","state":"NY","lat":42.56144085400007,"lon":-77.69622455976055,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-06-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-block commercial core along Main Street (and two properties on Ossian Street) in the village of Dansville, Livingston County, New York, covering about five acres. Most of its mainly brick buildings date from ca. 1835 to ca. 1900.","why_significant":"The district is described as one of the longest intact nineteenth-century commercial areas in Western New York. Its two- and three-story buildings share scale, materials, rooflines and setbacks, and the upper floors keep a high level of integrity. The buildings also hold local history, including meeting halls and an opera hall where speakers such as Clara Barton and Frederick Douglass appeared.","narrative":"Dansville's downtown historic district is the village's three-block commercial core, running along both sides of Main Street from Perine to Chestnut Streets, plus two properties on Ossian Street. It covers about five acres and contains 51 contributing buildings and one noncontributing building, a 1972 bank. Most are two- or three-story brick structures built between about 1835 and 1900, with storefronts on the ground floor and living quarters, offices or meeting rooms above. Many keep cast metal storefronts, and the upper floors retain a high level of original materials and design. Continuous block fronts, similar scale and consistent rooflines give the area a cohesive look. Fires in the 1850s and 1940s led to some rebuilding, and a few later buildings replaced lost ones. The district also includes the 1932-33 post office and the 1823 Shepard Memorial Library, both individually listed. Third-floor halls hosted lectures by figures such as Clara Barton and Frederick Douglass. The district is considered one of the longest intact nineteenth-century commercial areas in Western New York.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Louis B. Pelton (local architect, 130 Main Street and 144 Main Street); A.J. Verdeen (builder, 130 Main Street); Joseph E. Schwan (builder, 106 Main Street); Bragdon and Hillman of Rochester (191 Main Street, 1899)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival, Neoclassical, Georgian Revival; mostly nineteenth-century vernacular commercial buildings","criteria":[],"status_note":"Most buildings remain in commercial use; the document mentions two vacant lots and some vacant upper floors and storefronts.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.383116-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/07000485.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000485/3dc6736abe-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000485/3dc6736abe-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dansville_Downtown_Historic_District_Oct_09.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dansville_Downtown_Historic_District_Oct_09.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318629","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dansville_Downtown_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5221105"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/livingston-county/dansville-downtown-historic-district-07000485/"}