House at 37 West Cayuga Street
Why it's listed
Italianate design shapes this two-story frame house at 37 West Cayuga Street in Moravia, New York. It faces north onto a residential street and is a rectangular block with a notch removed from the northeast corner, where a one-story entrance porch carries matching ornament. Two-over-two-light windows with heavy hood moldings, a low-pitched hipped roof, wide eaves and a rib-patterned band beneath the cornice mark the exterior. The foundation is cut limestone. The house was probably built between 1880 and 1883, judged from a jump in the lot's sales price and its absence from an 1875 map. A board-and-batten carriage house on the property bears the date 1870, though the basis for that date is unknown. A rear wing was added in 1960. The house was listed for its architectural value as an intact example of the Italianate style linked to Moravia's prosperity after the Civil War, retaining more period integrity than many comparable frame houses in the village.
Significance in brief: The house is argued to be an intact, representative example of Italianate residential architecture in Moravia, tied to the village's post-Civil War prosperity. It keeps its period characteristics and integrity of construction, form, materials and detailing inside and out. It retains more period integrity than many other frame Italianate houses in the village.
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 95000063, listed February 24, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 37 W. Cayuga St., Moravia |
|---|---|
| County | Cayuga County |
| Listed | February 24, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95000063 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1880-1885 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single-family dwelling; the interior retains its historic floor plan and finishes, and the roof has been re-covered with asphalt shingles. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.71393, -76.42639 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 95000063.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5914283
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.