Canandaigua Historic District
Also known as: See Also:North Main Street Historic District; US Post Offices
Why it's listed
Canandaigua's historic core is a district of 354 properties, 338 of them contributing, built between the 1810s and the 1930s. Atwater Park, a landscaped village green on North Main Street, is its focal point, with City Hall, the Post Office, the Ontario County Courthouse and the First Congregational Church nearby. North of the park lies a large neighborhood of middle and upper class homes, with North Main Street holding the most elaborate residences. Howell Street is known for Queen Anne and Eastlake houses, and Gibson Street for Federal mansions. South of the park are the business district, with two- and three-story attached masonry buildings mostly from the third quarter of the nineteenth century, and working class neighborhoods along Bristol and Center Streets. The district joins an earlier North Main Street historic district with adjoining areas that share its character. Its boundaries exclude areas of modern intrusion and heavily altered buildings, so it presents the city's historic core with consistent scale, materials and craftsmanship.
Significance in brief: The district contains the entire historic core of the city, with residential, commercial, religious and civic buildings that keep their architectural integrity. It shows a wide range of popular American styles from Federal to Art Moderne. The expanded boundary joins areas that share similar style, scale, materials and history with the earlier North Main Street district.
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 84002856, listed April 26, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly Main St. from Chapel to Saltonstall Sts.; Howell, Gibson, Gorham, Bristol, Bemis and Center Sts., Canandaigua |
|---|---|
| County | Ontario County |
| Listed | April 26, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002856 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Wide range of styles including Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Italian Villa, Octagon, Queen Anne, Eastlake, Stick, Neoclassical, Colonial Revival, Commercial, International and Art Moderne |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Sixteen of the 354 properties are listed as non-contributing; the rest retain sufficient integrity. |
| Acreage | 125 |
| Within district | Canandaigua Historic District (Boundary Increase) |
| Coordinates | 42.89064, -77.27997 (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 84002856.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5031115
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.