{"nrhp_refnum":"08001230","name":"Buildings at 104-116 West Water St.","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"104-116 W. Water St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elmira","county":"Chemung County","state":"NY","lat":42.08996029700006,"lon":-76.80525938599999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-12-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A group of three commercial buildings on the north side of West Water Street in downtown Elmira, Chemung County, New York, dating from about 1870 to 1934: a Second Empire department store building, a 1890s yellow brick commercial block, and a 1934 streamlined Moderne variety store.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the buildings are an intact remnant of Elmira's early central business district. They show how Water Street changed from the city's premier Civil War-era shopping district to a secondary area by the 1930s, as retailers moved to Main Street. They represent the Civil War boom and its following decades, and the 1930s changes in national retailing. The Kresge building is called the best-preserved example of streamlined/Art Moderne style in downtown Elmira.","narrative":"Three commercial buildings along the north side of West Water Street in downtown Elmira, New York, record the rise and slow decline of the city's first main shopping district. The oldest, at 106-112, dates from about 1870 and is a Second Empire building with a slate mansard roof, later home to Rosenbaum's Department Store from 1930. Chain of title records show Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and members of the Langdon family briefly owned it. The Marvin's Building at 114-116, from the 1890s, has a tall yellow brick facade with pilasters, rock-faced stone and terra cotta trim. The newest, the 1934 Kresge variety store at 104, is clad in buff and jade green cast stone and is considered the best-preserved streamlined Moderne building downtown. Together they illustrate Elmira's Civil War-era commercial boom and the 1930s retail shift toward Main Street. The group was listed for its architecture and its role in local commerce. Rehabilitation work was underway in 2008.","period_of_significance":"ca 1870 - ca 1934","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"French Second Empire; Moderne/Streamlined; Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant/not in use with work in progress; in 2008 stucco and a false roof front on the former Rosenbaum's building were being removed as part of a rehabilitation.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.08878-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/08001230.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001230/35f0e610be-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001230/35f0e610be-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Dmadeo","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buildings_at_104_West_Water_St,_Elmira,_NY.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Dmadeo</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:Buildings_at_104_West_Water_St,_Elmira,_NY.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316792","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buildings_at_104%E2%80%93116_West_Water_St.","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4986634"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/chemung-county/buildings-at-104-116-west-water-st-08001230/"}