Walker Cottage
Why it's listed
Built late in 1904 as a two-family residence by carpenters Robert and David Durgan, this cottage at 67 Park Avenue in Saranac Lake is a two and one-half story Colonial Revival house with a stone foundation and clapboard walls. It sits on a small lot in the densely built Cottage Row neighborhood. By 1913 it had been leased and began to operate as a private commercial sanatorium, later serving as a boarding and nursing cottage for tuberculosis patients. By 1934 it was recommended as a nursing cottage with a capacity of eight. Its eight cure porches, including three glazed sleeping porches above the front veranda, keep original features such as sloped floors, sliding glass windows, wide doorways without sills and call buttons. These features make it a representative example of a house adapted for the outdoor treatment of tuberculosis. The property is considered locally significant for architecture and health and medicine, and it retains a high degree of integrity.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is architecturally significant as a representative residence altered to serve as a private commercial sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. It retains eight cure porches with sloped floors, sliding glass windows, wide doorways and call buttons. It also shows a high degree of integrity and is part of the Cottage Row development.
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 92001424, listed November 6, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 67 Park Ave., Saranac Lake |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | November 6, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001424 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1904-c.1940 |
| Architect / builder | Robert and David Durgan (Carpenters) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is listed as single dwelling; the form says the cottage has undergone very little change since construction. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District |
| Coordinates | 44.33244, -74.13315 (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 92001424.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7962241
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.