Hillcrest
The National Park Service has not published a boundary polygon for this district; the map shows the listed properties inside it and the district's reference point.
Why it's listed
Hillcrest is a summer estate on a hillside along Ridge Road in Cazenovia, overlooking Cazenovia Lake. The nominated 8.1 acres hold a three-story frame main house with a conical turret, wraparound porches and Queen Anne gables, plus a carriage house, guest house and ice house built as a group in matching materials. Robert Benson Davis, a baking powder manufacturer from Manlius, bought the property in 1903. The house gained Colonial Revival details on the exterior after 1905. In 1922 his daughter Lucretia had the interior remodeled with gilded coffered ceilings, plaster wainscoting and a large carved mantel in a French Renaissance style. The estate was once about ninety acres, but most of the land was subdivided and developed, so only the house and three outbuildings are included. The listing rests on architecture and on the estate's link to Cazenovia's growth as a lakeside resort for wealthy city residents from the 1870s to about 1929. The designer is not known.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | c1903-1922 |
|---|---|
| Styles | Queen Anne; Colonial Revival; Second Renaissance Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Acreage | 8.1 |
| Boundary source | not published |
| Full listing page | Hillcrest (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.