Oneonta Downtown Historic District

Oneonta's downtown core sits on the north bank of the Susquehanna River in Otsego County, New York. The historic district spans about three blocks of Main Street and adjoining cross streets, along with a row of buildings on Market Street. Most of its buildings are multi-story brick commercial blocks built between about 1870 and 1930. They show shifting tastes, from Greek Revival and Italianate fronts to polychrome brickwork, buff brick with Neoclassical detail, Beaux-Arts civic buildings and Moderne garages. Six churches, a frame Italianate mansion that now serves as the public library, and a five-acre park complete the district. Its importance rests on Oneonta's rise as a railroad hub for the Delaware and Hudson, which carried the population from roughly 700 in 1865 to nearly 10,000 by 1910. Despite urban renewal and some losses, the district remains cohesive and still serves as the city's commercial, civic and religious center.