Silver Lake Institute Historic District
Why it's listed
Silver Lake Institute is a small summer community of about fifty acres on the eastern shore of Silver Lake in Wyoming County, New York. Several hundred small buildings, mostly cottages, sit on small lots along narrow lanes that converge on Burt Park, a grassy, tree-lined open space that was the original grove where assemblies were held. The historic district includes the park and 72 other properties, with 76 contributing components and one non-contributing building. Most were built between 1873 and 1930 in wood. The earliest cottages, from 1873 to 1885, are narrow gable-front frame buildings with porches and Gothic Revival details. A building boom in the late 1880s and 1890s brought Queen Anne and Eastlake ornament, and later cottages show Colonial Revival and Bungalow influence. Two institutional buildings, Stoody Memorial Hall and the Hoag Art Gallery, date from 1892 and 1895. The district was drawn to exclude heavily altered areas and retains its historic character as a secluded lakeside retreat.
Significance in brief: The district preserves a largely intact nineteenth-century Methodist-founded summer assembly community, with modest, finely crafted wood cottages arranged around the original assembly grove, now Burt Park. The text shows buildings from three phases of development, from Gothic Revival through Queen Anne and Eastlake to Colonial Revival and Bungalow. The form says the district retains a remarkable degree of integrity. The significance section is truncated, so only the context of revivalism and camp meetings is visible.
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 85002442, listed September 19, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Wesley, Embury, Thompson, Haven, Lakeside & Lakeview Aves., Silver Lake |
|---|---|
| County | Wyoming County |
| Listed | September 19, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85002442 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Vernacular cottages with Gothic Revival, Queen Anne, Eastlake, Stick, Colonial Revival and Bungalow influences |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Marked occupied; uses include private residence, museum and park; condition checked as excellent, good and fair. |
| Acreage | 13 |
| Coordinates | 42.69923, -78.02255 (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 85002442.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7516149
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.