Lane Cottage
Why it's listed
Lane Cottage is a shingle-clad, L-shaped house at the entrance to Rockledge Park on the edge of Saranac Lake. Built about 1923 by Ernest Shaw for his wife Isabelle, who had tuberculosis, it has a jerkin head gable, a small gabled portico with curved returns, and a concrete block foundation. A matching two-car garage stands beside it. On the left side, a cure porch opens from the living room through wide French doors. An enclosed stairway to an upstairs apartment takes up part of that porch. The Shaws feared their two young sons might catch the disease, so a separate house was built for the boys on East Pine Street, an arrangement described as the only known example of its kind in the village. Isabelle Shaw died in 1926 and the cottage was sold in 1933. It served as a cure cottage through the 1930s and has been a private home since. Few alterations have been made, and it retains a high degree of integrity.
Significance in brief: It is significant as a private cure cottage from the post-World War I building boom in Saranac Lake. It was built for Shaw's tubercular wife, with a separate house for their two sons, an arrangement described as the only known example of its kind in the village. It was used as a cure cottage through the 1930s and retains a high degree of integrity.
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 92001434, listed November 6, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 4 Rockledge Rd., Saranac Lake |
|---|---|
| County | Essex County |
| Listed | November 6, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001434 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca.1923-ca.1940 |
| Architectural style | Shingle Style |
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still a private single-family residence since its 1933 sale; it has undergone very little alteration and retains a high degree of integrity. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District |
| Coordinates | 44.32975, -74.12228 (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 92001434.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6485365
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.