Benham House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Built around 1876, this two-story brick house at 280-282 South Main Street in Canandaigua sits on a small lot at the southern edge of the city's commercial district. It is an Italianate dwelling with a low-pitched hipped roof topped by a cupola with cast-iron cresting. The three-bay facade is asymmetrical, with a projecting pavilion at the north end, a segmentally arched double doorway, and windows with arched drip molds and keystones. A flat-roofed porch spans the front, and pierced wooden panels rather than latticework conceal its base. The variegated brick walls, a rear brick wing, and an ornate cast-iron fence along the eastern boundary add to its character. The house was listed because it is an outstanding and unusually intact example of Italianate residential architecture, and one of few survivors of its kind in an area now dominated by commercial uses. It reflects the late nineteenth-century homes built by Canandaigua's upper middle classes. It now holds apartments and offices.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it an outstanding example of Italianate residential architecture in Canandaigua and a rare survivor in the modern commercial district. Distinctive features include an ornate cast-iron fence, cast-iron cupola cresting, pierced porch-base panels and variegated brick. It is described as an exceptionally intact example of late nineteenth-century homes built by the city's upper middle classes.
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 84002823, listed April 26, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 280-282 S. Main St., Canandaigua |
|---|---|
| County | Ontario County |
| Listed | April 26, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002823 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residential and professional, with private apartments and offices; the form notes a non-contributing twentieth-century garage at the rear and a neighborhood threatened by commercial overdevelopment. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.88318, -77.27885 (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 84002823.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4887856
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.