{"nrhp_refnum":"74001278","name":"Frontier House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"460 Center St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lewiston","county":"Niagara County","state":"NY","lat":43.17305221400005,"lon":-79.04276908899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-07-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-and-a-half-story stone tavern at 460 Center Street in Lewiston, Niagara County, New York, built in 1824 close to the Niagara River and the U.S.-Canadian border.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the state's best preserved early nineteenth century stone taverns. It was built by Benjamin and Samuel Barton and Joshua Fairbanks as part of the Bartons' efforts to diversify after the Erie Canal threatened their Niagara portage business. It remained in operation for 118 years under the Raymond family and outlasted the later Victorian hotels.","narrative":"Frontier House is a three-and-a-half-story stone tavern at 460 Center Street in Lewiston, New York, built in 1824 within an eighth of a mile of the Niagara River. Its stepped gable ends rise above the lower village streetscape and can be seen from several blocks away. The front facade has five bays, a central doorway with sidelights and fluted pilasters, and a long columned porch. Inside, a center hall divides large rooms with fireplaces, and a ballroom and guest rooms occupy the upper floors. Benjamin and Samuel Barton and merchant Joshua Fairbanks built the inn after Lewiston's rebuilding from the 1813 British and Indian raid. The Bartons had run the Niagara portage with the Porter family, and the inn is thought to be part of their effort to diversify once the Erie Canal threatened that business. The Raymond family owned it for 118 years, and it outlasted the larger Victorian hotels. A 1973 fire damaged one room, and repairs followed.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1824)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition and unaltered at its original site; a September 1973 fire damaged the east first-floor room, and restoration was under way in April 1974.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.192742-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/74001278.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001278/b0bbaec662-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001278/b0bbaec662-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Kdm85 (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FrontierHouse.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Kdm85 (talk)</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:FrontierHouse.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320104","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_House_(Lewiston,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5506006"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/niagara-county/frontier-house-74001278/"}