{"nrhp_refnum":"73001278","name":"White, Andrew Dickson, House","other_names":["Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"27 East Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ithaca","county":"Tompkins County","state":"NY","lat":42.448348019000036,"lon":-76.48208591499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-12-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A red brick Victorian mansion at 27 East Avenue on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York, built 1871-73 as the home of Cornell's first president, Andrew Dickson White. It was later used as the Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art.","why_significant":"It was built as the residence of Cornell co-founder and first president Andrew Dickson White, and survives as the last house of the campus's old faculty row. Its design is tied to Ithaca architects Charles Babcock and William Henry Miller and embodies John Ruskin's ideas about morality in architecture. It also reflects White's influence on the architectural and landscape character of the university.","narrative":"Andrew Dickson White began this red brick residence at 27 East Avenue in Ithaca in 1871, intending to give it to Cornell University as the president's house. Finished in 1873, it rests on a rusticated stone foundation and has a slate roof with ornate cresting, a tall entrance tower and a stone balcony. The plan began with New York architect George Hathorne, drew on a Calvert Vaux villa design, and was revised by William Henry Miller and Charles Babcock. Carved capitals at the entrance, made by Robert Richardson, contrast good and evil plants in the spirit of John Ruskin. White lived here until his death in 1918, and later presidents Livingston Farrand and Edmund Ezra Day also occupied it. It became the White Art Museum in 1953, and a 1911 south wing added a second library. It is the last survivor of Cornell's faculty row, set in landscaped grounds, and reflects White's belief that campus buildings should express the university's ideals.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (built 1871-73)","architect_builder":"George Hathorne (original plan), William Henry Miller (modifications and 1911 south wing), Charles Babcock (completed architectural work, designed entrance balcony); carvings by Robert Richardson","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic villa with Ruskinian Gothic details, based on a design from Calvert Vaux's Villas and Cottages","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is described as good and altered. It was used as an art museum from 1953, with plans to convert it to a center for the humanities once the new Johnson Art Museum opened.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.565646-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/73001278.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001278/cd8681a017-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001278/cd8681a017-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Notyourbroom","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cornell_AD_White_House_April09_stitched.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Notyourbroom</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cornell_AD_White_House_April09_stitched.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322536","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Dickson_White_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4756809"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/tompkins-county/white-andrew-dickson-house-73001278/"}