Boardman House
Also known as: Ithaca College Museum of Art
Why it's listed
Built in 1867 by Ithaca publisher George McChain, this Italianate mansion at 120 East Buffalo Street faces the southeast corner of DeWitt Park. It has a full basement, three stories and a cupola, with dark red brick walls laid in Flemish bond on a stone foundation. Wide bracketed eaves, tall windows with console-bracketed cornices, and a front porch with paired Ionic-style columns mark its design. McChain bought the land from Ezra Cornell. Douglas Boardman, a lawyer, judge, bank president and the first Dean of the Cornell University Law School, purchased the house in 1887 and lived there for many years. In 1911 it became the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, later Ithaca College, and it was later used as a museum of art. The nomination describes it as essentially intact and a fine example of the large urban mansion of its period, and it adds to the character of the historic park around it.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it an excellent, notable example of the large, gracious urban Italianate mansion popular in New York in the mid-19th century. It is also tied to publisher George McChain and Judge Douglas Boardman, a prominent Ithaca citizen and the first Dean of the Cornell University Law School. Its location helps define the civic and historic core of Ithaca around DeWitt Park.
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 71000559, listed May 6, 1971. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 120 E. Buffalo St., Ithaca |
|---|---|
| County | Tompkins County |
| Listed | May 6, 1971 |
| Reference number | 71000559 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century (specific date 1867) |
| Architect / builder | George McChain (builder) |
| Architectural style | Italianate mansion |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described in the nomination as in good condition and essentially intact, used as the Ithaca College Museum of Art with galleries, offices and workrooms. Later correspondence in the file notes that the county owner had applied for a demolition permit in 1975. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 42.41704, -76.45838 (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 71000559.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4931429
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.