Ithaca Downtown Historic District (Additional Documentation)
Why it's listed
Ithaca's downtown core, on level ground at the south end of Cayuga Lake, is a district of 69 properties along East and West State Street and the neighboring blocks of Cayuga, Aurora, and Tioga streets. Most are multi-story brick commercial buildings with flat or low-pitched roofs, decorative cornices, and regular window patterns above altered storefronts. A few stand apart, including the Greek Revival Colonial Building of 1830, the Clinton House, and the Egyptian Revival Masonic Temple. Bank buildings on North Tioga Street, known as Bank Alley, have stone-faced ground floors. The district was recognized for showing how Ithaca grew from a small settlement at the crossing of two turnpikes into its commercial center between 1818 and 1954, and for its largely intact collection of attached masonry buildings in Greek Revival, Italianate, Renaissance Revival, and Moderne styles. Five buildings postdate 1954 and are noncontributing. Since 1974, parts of East State and North Tioga streets have been pedestrian-only.
Significance in brief: The district is argued to be significant under Criterion A as an intact example of a Central New York commercial district, showing how Ithaca grew from a small turnpike settlement into the city's commercial center. Under Criterion C, it retains a largely intact collection of attached masonry commercial buildings in Greek Revival, Italianate, Renaissance Revival, and Moderne styles.
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 05000018, listed February 9, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | E. and W. State, N & S Cayuga, N. Aurora, N. Tioga Sts., Ithaca |
|---|---|
| County | Tompkins County |
| Listed | February 9, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05000018 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1818-1954 |
| Architect / builder | Architects named for individual buildings include Clinton L. Vivian and A.B. Dale; Driscoll Brothers and Company is named as a builder. |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Romanesque, Late 19th/Early 20th Century Commercial |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Commerce, Community Planning and Development, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still the center of Ithaca's commercial activity; two blocks of East State Street and one block of North Tioga Street became a pedestrian walkway in 1974. Many storefronts are altered, but upper stories are largely intact. |
| Acreage | 10 |
| Coordinates | 42.43910, -76.49842 (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 05000018.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6094503
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.