Smith's, Paul, Electric Light and Power and Railroad Company Complex
Why it's listed
Beside the outlet of Lake Flower in Saranac Lake, a group of four linked elements records the village's electrical history: a brick powerhouse, a terra-cotta office building, a concrete bridge and a dam with its flume. The site had held a dam and sawmill since 1827 and later supplied power to a small electric company. Paul Smith bought that company in 1907, and a new brick powerhouse replaced the old mill in 1908. Smith's son Phelps added the three-story Neoclassical office building in 1927. It has pale gray terra-cotta cladding, fluted pilasters with Corinthian capitals, colored ceramic tile and a glazed frieze showing a city with power lines. The bridge was designed to complement it, and a Works Progress Administration dam followed in the late 1930s. Generating equipment was scrapped during World War II. The village acquired the buildings in 1986 and now uses the office building for municipal offices. The complex was listed for its utility history and architecture.
Significance in brief: The complex illustrates the growth of one of the Adirondack region's earliest electric utility companies and the role of a private utility in the development of Saranac Lake. Its 1927 office building is a rare, distinctive example of Neoclassical architecture and one of only two village buildings clad in architectural terra cotta. The components show continuing adaptation and improvement through the 1930s.
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 87001898, listed November 2, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2 Main St., Saranac Lake |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | November 2, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87001898 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1908-c. 1937 |
| Architect / builder | Undetermined (construction engineer John Sweeney's name appears on some office building drawings, but it is not known whether he was the architect) |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the Village of Saranac Lake (buildings and dam) and Franklin County (bridge). The office building is used as municipal offices, power generation has ceased, and the dam was rehabilitated in 1986-1987. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Within district | New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District |
| Coordinates | 44.32433, -74.13214 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 87001898.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14707169
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.