Johnson City Historic District
Why it's listed
Johnson City's historic district covers roughly eighty acres and twenty blocks on the north side of the Susquehanna River in Broome County. Its core is the parcel the Lester Brothers Boot and Shoe Company platted in 1888, which later grew into the Endicott-Johnson Corporation. The district holds six former factory buildings, a company firehouse, a medical building, a recreation hall, the first Endicott-Johnson retail shoe store and churches built or endowed by the Johnson family. Main Street forms the commercial center, with two- and three-story brick blocks from the late nineteenth century beside one-story storefronts rebuilt after fires and during the 1950s and 1960s. Industrial buildings on Corliss Avenue include the 1916 Pioneer Annex, a reinforced concrete factory, and the 1926 Jigger Factory. The oldest building is a mid-nineteenth century farmhouse at 107 Main Street. The district was listed because it keeps the intact industrial, commercial, civic and residential character of a company-shaped village.
Significance in brief: The district preserves the industrial, commercial, civic and residential core of a village shaped by the Lester Brothers company and its successor, the Endicott-Johnson Corporation. It contains former factories, company-built civic and recreational buildings, and a main street showing development from the late nineteenth century through the 1960s. The statement of significance was not included in the supplied text, so this reading relies on the description section.
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) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 11000593, listed August 30, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Generally Corless Ave., Arch St., Main St., Lester Ave. & Helen Dr., Johnson City |
|---|---|
| County | Broome County |
| Listed | August 30, 2011 |
| Reference number | 11000593 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Truman I. Lacey (114 Main Street house, 1885); A.T. Lacey and Sons (East Branch Recreational Center, 1947) |
| Architectural style | Various; examples include Italianate, Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, Colonial Revival and mid-twentieth century modern commercial |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Social History, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Mixed continuing uses including industry, commerce, housing, government, recreation and religion. One building at 242 Main Street is noted as vacant but virtually unchanged. |
| Acreage | 78.6 |
| Coordinates | 42.11590, -75.95288 (NPS GIS) |
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.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 11000593.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q23091814
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.