Clinton House - Scaffolding Community Memory

116 N Cayuga St, Ithaca, NY 14850

Take a close look at Clinton House. Can you believe that it was once threatened with demolition? The building was nearly torn down in 1973 for the construction of a Holiday Inn. In 1973, Clinton House was nearly town down for the construction of a Holiday Inn. Instead, Historic Ithaca purchased and restored the building, saving it from demolition. Clinton House was later sold in 2009 and is now protected through a covenant.

According to Historic Ithaca, the building is an important example of building evaluation and adaptation. Clinton House, designed Ira Tillotson, was built as a grand hotel in 1830 in a monumental Greek Revival style, reflecting Ithaca’s early prosperity. In the building’s long history, it has only been remodeled twice: prominent Ithaca architect William Henry Miller added a fourth floor, tower, and mansard roof in the Second Empire style, and Clinton L. Vivian largely restored the roofline to its original design following a fire in 1901.

Read more about this historic building on Historic Ithaca's website.

For further reading on building adaptation, we recommend the book How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built by Stewart Brand.