Cure Cottage at 43 Forest Hill Avenue
Why it's listed
Set on a small, shaded corner lot in the northeastern part of Saranac Lake, this two-story wood-frame house served as a cure cottage for tuberculosis patients. It has an ashlar stone foundation, clapboard on the lower story, shingles above, and a steep gable roof with a pentagonal front dormer. Its most important feature is the rear second-floor cure porch, reached from two bedrooms. One bedroom door is wide enough for a bed, and gouge marks on its frame show where beds were rolled out. There is no threshold, the porch has sliding windows on three sides, and the remains of a call bell survive. Disinfection records show the house in use for curing by May 1912, and it remained in use until at least 1928. The nomination treats it as an intact example of the cure cottage type tied to Dr. Edward Trudeau's fresh air treatment. The front porch and many windows have been altered, but the cure porch remains highly intact.
Significance in brief: It is argued to be significant under criteria A and C, in health care and architecture, as a distinctive and intact example of the cure cottage building type. It keeps an intact cure porch with features such as a wide bed door, gouge marks from moving beds, a flat threshold, sliding windows and the remains of a call bell. Disinfection records document its use for curing from 21 May 1912.
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 12000954, listed November 21, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 43 Forest Hill Ave., Saranac Lake |
|---|---|
| County | Essex County |
| Listed | November 21, 2012 |
| Reference number | 12000954 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1912-1928 |
| Architect / builder | unknown |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th century revivals |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Health/Medicine |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed under current function as a single dwelling; the exterior is fairly intact, with an altered front porch and replaced windows, and the cure porch is very intact. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Within district | New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District |
| Coordinates | 44.33159, -74.12255 (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 12000954.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q23091490
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.