Anthony, Levi, Building
Also known as: Building #22
Why it's listed
Built in 1884 on Broadway in Cape Vincent, this three-story brick building was constructed for Levi Anthony, who had served as village president in 1870. It first held the Burdick and Armstrong general store, the U.S. Customs Office and residential space on the upper floor. The customs office served the port, where Canadian goods bound for Europe were loaded onto trains for the east coast. The five-bay front carries an elaborate projecting metal cornice with large bracketed finials and a central pediment inscribed with Anthony's name and the date. Elongated second-story windows have pedimented metal crowns, while the third story has shorter round-arched windows. Ghost signs reading Montes and Blum survive on the side walls. The storefront windows were replaced in 1981 and a cinder-block chimney was added, yet the upper stories remain largely intact. The building is valued as a representative Italianate commercial block that reflects the port and retail prosperity of the period, and it is still used as apartments.
Significance in brief: It is a substantially intact, representative example of an Italianate commercial building reflecting the village's late nineteenth-century prosperity. It is one of two surviving three-story Italianate multi-use commercial buildings from the period, distinguished by masonry construction and pressed or cast metal details. It originally housed a general store, the U.S. Customs Office and upstairs residences tied to the international port.
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 85002451, listed September 27, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Broadway, Cape Vincent |
|---|---|
| County | Jefferson County |
| Listed | September 27, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002451 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Remains in use as apartments; condition marked deteriorated on the inventory form, though the upper stories retain remarkable exterior integrity. Storefront windows were altered in 1981. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 44.12974, -76.32939 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 85002451.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6535353
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.