Teoronto Block Historic District
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
This one-acre block on the northwest edge of downtown Rochester, New York, combines two building groups from the mid-nineteenth century. Along State Street runs the Teoronto/Smith Block, a row of three-story, five-bay brick buildings under continuous gable roofs, with stone sills and lintels and apartments above storefronts. A limestone plaque reads "Teoronto Hall" and "Smiths Block." Around the corner on Mill Street stand brick industrial buildings from the 1850s and 1860s, with brick cornices, flat roofs, cast iron columns and wood mill framing. The block was built between 1844 and 1868, when Rochester was growing as a mill center and Erie Canal boom town. It is the oldest surviving building group from the early Frankfort neighborhood and connects State Street with the nearby Brown's Race industrial area. Storefronts and rear areas have been heavily altered, and several upper floors are badly deteriorated, but the building shells have changed little since the nineteenth century.
Significance in brief: The district is argued to be significant for its link to commercial and industrial growth on Rochester's west side, when the city was a mill center and Erie Canal boom town. It is also valued as a locally rare and well-preserved set of mid-nineteenth-century commercial and industrial buildings. The State Street row is the oldest surviving building group from the early development of the Frankfort neighborhood.
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 10000798, listed September 24, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Bounded by State, Brown, Factory and Mill Sts, Rochester |
|---|---|
| County | Monroe County |
| Listed | September 24, 2010 |
| Reference number | 10000798 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1844-1883 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Exploration/Settlement |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is listed as vacant/not in use; the State Street storefronts have been replaced with plywood and the upper floors of several buildings are severely deteriorated, while the Mill Street building at 281 is used for plumbing supply storage and offices. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 43.16146, -77.61924 (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).
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 10000798.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7701192
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.