{"nrhp_refnum":"84003243","name":"Bemis Eye Sanitarium Complex","other_names":["See Also: Sherman House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Glen St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Glens Falls","county":"Warren County","state":"NY","lat":43.31214457200008,"lon":-73.64982640099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-09-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Health/Medicine","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of eight buildings in the Glen Street neighborhood of Glens Falls, Warren County, New York, used from 1893 to 1902 as the Bemis Eye Sanitarium. Five boarding houses were built around 1895, and two existing residences and a carriage house were converted for the clinic.","why_significant":"The complex is significant as a prominent but controversial medical institution in Glens Falls between 1893 and 1902. Dr. Edward H. Bemis advertised eye treatment without surgery, and the clinic drew patients from many states and abroad. The buildings retain their 1890s appearance and reflect the institution as it operated then.","narrative":"Eight buildings near Glen Street in Glens Falls once formed the Bemis Eye Sanitarium, a resident clinic that operated from 1893 to 1902. Dr. Edward H. Bemis, an optician, advertised an \"absorption\" method of treating eye disorders without surgery. Patients were housed in five boarding houses built around 1895 to designs by local architect Ephraim B. Potter. The clinic also took over the Italianate Sherman House, its carriage house (renamed Sunshine Cottage) and the Queen Anne style Allen House, which served as offices, treatment rooms and lodging. In 1896 the clinic gave some 58,000 treatments to patients from twenty-three states and three foreign countries. Local physicians criticized Bemis's methods, yet the clinic was highly profitable until his death. The boarding houses share mansard roofs, galleries and bay windows meant for patient comfort. Today the buildings keep their 1890s appearance and are used as a senior center and as apartments.","period_of_significance":"1893-1902","architect_builder":"Ephraim B. Potter, local architect (designed the boarding houses and the renovations of the Sherman buildings)","architectural_style":"Italianate and Queen Anne residences, with mansard-roofed late nineteenth century boarding houses","criteria":[],"status_note":"The Sherman House is used as a senior citizen center; the other structures continue in use as multiple residences or apartments.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:43.50146-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/84003243.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003243/91c8c40f0d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003243/91c8c40f0d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Image from page 45 of \"The literary digest\" (1890)","credit_html":"Image from page 45 of "The literary digest" (1890), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bemis_Sanitarium,_1890.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315407","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bemis_Eye_Sanitarium_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4885122"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/warren-county/bemis-eye-sanitarium-complex-84003243/"}