Lent Cottage
Why it's listed
Built around 1920 on Helen Hill in Saranac Lake, this Colonial Revival apartment building at 18 Franklin Avenue was designed to house tuberculosis patients and their families. It is a two and one-half story, side-gabled frame building with two southward wings that flank a central pedimented entrance. The wings hold four identical cure porches, one for each two-bedroom tenant apartment, each measuring 9 by 13 feet with oak flooring and six-over-one sash. Simon Ades, a tuberculosis patient from Baltimore, built it and left it to his nurse, Cornelia L. Nourse. Dr. Malcolm Lent, a tuberculosis specialist, owned it in 1925 and sold it in 1933. At one time it was registered with the village T.B. Society as a sanatorium. It is considered significant because few Saranac Lake apartment houses were originally designed for tuberculosis patients, and this one has changed little since construction, keeping its original materials, design, setting and association.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is architecturally significant as a representative example of apartment house design adapted specifically for tuberculosis patients, and one of the few in Saranac Lake originally designed for that purpose. It has not been significantly altered and retains a high degree of integrity. It is also associated with health and medicine 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 92001462, listed November 6, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 18 Franklin Ave., Saranac Lake |
|---|---|
| County | Essex County |
| Listed | November 6, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001462 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca.1920-ca.1940 |
| Architect / builder | Scopes & Feustmann (architect); Simon Ades (builder) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a multiple dwelling (apartments); described as not significantly modified since construction. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Helen Hill Historic District |
| Coordinates | 44.32860, -74.12543 (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 92001462.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6523295
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.