Broad Street-Water Street Historic District
Why it's listed
Along the northern bank of the Erie Canal in Lyons, New York, a T-shaped commercial district of about twelve acres preserves buildings from the 1830s to the 1890s on Broad and Water Streets. The area grew from the canal landing at the foot of Broad Street, where the canal opened to Lyons in 1825. Its brick and stone blocks carry inscriptions naming their builders and dates, including the Exchange Buildings of 1835, the Knowles Block of 1852, and the Nusbickel Block of 1879. Cast iron storefronts, iron balconies, stone piers and decorative cornices survive with few changes, and several Water Street buildings back directly onto the canal bank. The Baltzel Block, built in the 1880s for the Baltzel brothers, was valued for its dormers, gables, weathervanes and cast iron lion ornaments. The district was listed because it keeps the look of a nineteenth-century canal commercial street. Later correspondence records that the Baltzel Block burned in 1978 and was demolished.
Significance in brief: The district keeps a largely unaltered 19th-century canal-era commercial character, with stone piers, cast iron storefronts, balconies and decorative cornices. The Exchange Buildings (1835) are the earliest documented commercial block in Lyons. The ornate Baltzel Block was considered the gem of the district. A Cornell architecture professor called the area a rare historical survival.
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 73001284, listed August 14, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Broad and Water Sts., Lyons |
|---|---|
| County | Wayne County |
| Listed | August 14, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73001284 |
| Resource type | District |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The form rates condition as good to fair, with some alteration. The Hotel Baltzel is described as vacant apart from a ground-floor newspaper office. A later letter says the Baltzel Block burned in August 1978 and was demolished. |
| Acreage | 12 |
| Coordinates | 43.06254, -76.99507 (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 73001284.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4971944
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.