Seeley Cottage
Why it's listed
Built around 1890 on a steep hillside lot at 27 Olive Street, this two-and-one-half-story frame house sits on the edge of French Hill, one of Saranac Lake's oldest neighborhoods. It has a side-gabled roof, a central gable facing the street, a two-story rear wing that keeps an early metal shingle roof, and mostly two-over-two windows. A large veranda with spindlework frieze, balustrade and square posts wraps the south and east sides, with the eastern end glazed. Two second-story cure porches with sliding glazed panels sit above it. The Seeley family owned the house from 1890 to 1978, and Margaret Seeley ran it for a number of years as a registered private sanatorium offering boarding. The house is valued as a representative Queen Anne and Colonial Revival dwelling that was adapted step by step into a cure cottage for tuberculosis patients. Its porches show how ordinary homes were altered for outdoor treatment, and it retains strong integrity of setting, location, design and association.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is an intact, representative example of late nineteenth century residential architecture in Saranac Lake. Its open veranda and added second-story glazed sleeping porches show how private homes were adapted to treat tuberculosis patients on a commercial scale. It also retains a high degree of integrity despite changes in wall cladding.
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 92001423, listed November 6, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 27 Olive St., Saranac Lake |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | November 6, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001423 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1890-c.1930 |
| Architectural style | Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival/Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed historic and current function is single dwelling; wall cladding has been changed to include aluminum and asbestos siding over wooden clapboard. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District |
| Coordinates | 44.32804, -74.13472 (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 92001423.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7445827
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.