Rutger-Steuben Park Historic District

Rutger Street in Utica climbs the hillside south of the Mohawk River flats, and along it and around Steuben Park stands one of the largest groupings of Italianate villas in the northeast. The first house, built in 1830 by Rutger Miller from plans by Philip Hooker, was nicknamed "Miller's Folly" because it sat so far above the town. Later mansions were built for the merchants and industrialists who prospered as textile mills and the Erie and Chenango canals made Utica a leading knit goods center. At the heart of the district, five exceptional houses form the private Rutger Park. They include a villa drawn from an A. J. Downing design, one inspired by a trip to Italy, one by Alexander Jackson Davis, and one with Romanesque influence. Descendants of the first owners moved to the suburbs, and the houses became apartments, offices and headquarters. Few alterations and no modern intrusions keep the area's character largely intact.