{"nrhp_refnum":"90000733","name":"Jamieson and McKinney Block","other_names":["McKinney Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"115--121 S. Cayuga St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ithaca","county":"Tompkins County","state":"NY","lat":42.43894523500006,"lon":-76.49876436699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-05-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story brick commercial and residential block at 115-121 South Cayuga Street in downtown Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York, built in 1898 for the plumbing firm Jamieson & McKinney and designed by Scranton architect Frederick L. Brown.","why_significant":"It symbolizes one of Ithaca's most prominent and long-lived plumbing, gas- and steam-fitting firms. It is also an essentially intact example of a turn-of-the-century combined store and flat building, notable for its iron-and-glass storefronts and solid masonry construction. It records the 1890s South Cayuga Street improvements, since the neighboring Lyceum Block no longer exists.","narrative":"Built in 1898 at 115-121 South Cayuga Street in downtown Ithaca, this four-story brick block housed the plumbing, gas- and steam-fitting business of John M. Jamieson and James A. McKinney, along with other shops and seven apartments. Scranton architect Frederick L. Brown, brother-in-law of McKinney, designed it in a restrained Second Renaissance Revival style. Its first-floor storefronts use slender iron columns and large areas of glass, while the upper floors have white pressed brick, bluestone trim and round-arched fourth-story windows. Solid load-bearing brick walls separate the three store units and the flats above, and a skylit central stairwell brings light to interior rooms. Jacob Peters built it for $12,900, and it was finished in under six months. The firm stayed until 1962, though the founders' ownership ended earlier. It is the oldest building on its block face, and it remains significant for its size, age, type and integrity, as well as for its link to a successful local business partnership.","period_of_significance":"1898-1921","architect_builder":"Brown, Frederick L.; Jacob Peters (general contractor)","architectural_style":"Renaissance (Second Renaissance Revival)","criteria":[],"status_note":"A bookstore occupies the first story, with offices and artists' studios above; the exterior and key interior features remain largely unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.022568-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/90000733.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"05000018","name":"Ithaca Downtown Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/ithaca-downtown-historic-district-additional-documentation-05000018/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322510","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137303426"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/tompkins-county/jamieson-and-mckinney-block-90000733/"}