Three Squares Historic District

Three Squares Historic District covers 23 acres at the commercial heart of Glens Falls, New York, on a plateau above the Hudson River. It is organized around Glen Street and South Street and takes its name from three focal points: Fountain Square, Union Square and Monument Square. City Park, a landscaped one-block open space, lies near the center. The district holds 93 commercial and civic structures, 77 of which contribute to its character. Most are brick buildings of two to five stories, built mainly between 1902 and 1930 after devastating fires in 1864 and 1902 destroyed much of the earlier business district. Styles of the American Renaissance dominate, including Italianate, Romanesque, Queen Anne, Beaux-Arts, Neoclassical and Colonial Revival. Notable buildings include the Cowles block of 1865, the Rogers Building of 1926-27, the Beaux-Arts Saunders Building of 1907, the Empire Theatre of 1899 and City Hall of 1900. Urban renewal clearance in the 1960s removed part of the business district, but the remaining area keeps strong integrity of design and materials.