Little Falls Historic District

Little Falls Historic District covers roughly twenty blocks at the center of the city of Little Falls, in the Mohawk River Valley. It includes 386 buildings, mostly private homes along with commercial and civic structures, built from the early 1800s to the early 1900s. Main Street holds a continuous row of mostly three-story brick Italianate shops, while residential streets to the north surround two public parks, West Park (given to residents in 1832) and East Park (donated in the mid-1830s). The surrounding houses show Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Craftsman designs. Civic landmarks include the public library, housed in a Second Empire residence, and the Tudor Revival former Masonic Temple of 1914. The district's growth followed the Erie Canal's opening in 1825 and the end of the Ellice Proprietorship in 1831. Many homes belonged to industrialists whose businesses relied on the river and transportation routes. Its boundaries follow the area where historic character remains intact.