Henry St. John Historic District Walking Tour

A quiet stroll through one of Ithaca's historic residential neighborhoods

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Henry St. John Historic District Walking Tour

Ithaca, New York 14850, United States

Created By: Ithaca Heritage

Tour Information

The Henry St. John neighborhood, just south of downtown Ithaca, is a well-preserved historic district of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century homes. Named for Ithaca's third mayor, the district was home to many prominent figures during the city's transition from sleepy village to vibrant city. Within the neighborhood you will find excellent examples of the Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Gothic Revival, Stick, and Queen Anne styles. Please note: most of the buildings are private residences, please stay on the sidewalk!

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES ABOUT THIS TOUR:

Intendend as a walking or cycling tour.

Total distance travelled: 0.6 miles

Elevation: Mostly flat


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What You'll See on the Tour

This beautiful stone home, in a transitional Federal-Greek Revival style, was built in 1837. The original owner was Horace Mack (1799-1855), who served as a village president. This is the only surviving house of a row of three Green Street... Read more
This beautiful brick Italianate home was built in 1869. Notable are the cast-iron hoods and sills around the windows, the scrolled wood brackets of the portico, the dentils (tooth-like ornamentation) of the cornice, and the cupola. It was... Read more
This Greek Revival building was constructed around 1835 for James C. Hyatt. After Hyatt, the property was owned by prominent local lawyer George Beer, then by Horace Mack (1867-1932; whose father was the first owner of the stone house at 11... Read more
Built around 1883, this Queen Anne home has elaborate Eastlake-style ornamentation. It is cross-gabled, with a slender hip-roofed tower. Note the triangular gabled dormers cutting into the tower roof, the variety of wood cladding on the wal... Read more
This Queen Anne was built around 1884. It is a highly intact example of a Queen Anne from the period, with some elements of the Stick style (denoted by the vertical emphasis of some of the woodwork). It features tripartite windows on the th... Read more
This circa 1881 home is primarily in the Stick style but incorporates elements of Gothic Revival, Eastlake, and Colonial Revival. The large eaves have exposed rafter tails, and the main façade's gable features a decorative truss and verti... Read more
This unique Gothic Revival house was built in 1881 and maintains a high level of architectural integrity. It is a very late Gothic Revival, with massing and form more like a Queen Anne. This building has a number of interesting details, li... Read more
This 1874 Eastlake or Stick house has a complex L-shaped plan with several bays, projections, and roof shapes. Note the decorative bargeboards, cornice trim and pendants, as well as other details like the decorative brickwork of the chimney... Read more
Built around 1870, this red-painted brick Italianate house has deep eaves with ornate paired scrolled brackets and dentil molding typical of this style. Distinguishing it from other well-maintained but typical Italianates is the rounded wal... Read more
Another example of the Stick/Eastlake style that was popular during Henry St. John's development, this circa 1870 home is notable for its steeply pitched roofs, lace-like molding around the cornice lines, and the decorative brickwork and c... Read more
The crown jewel of the Henry St. John neighborhood, this palatial Second Empire structure at 304 North Titus Avenue was built in 1871. Known as the Sprague House, it is of wood frame construction with a dressed stone foundation and a comple... Read more
While many of the most notable homes in the Henry St. John neighborhood come from the 1870s to 1880s, a large percentage of the homes are from a second growth period in the 1910s and 1920s. Ithaca was growing quickly during that time, and t... Read more
This two-story wood frame house was built between 1888 and 1889 in the Eastlake/Stick style. Notable features include the projecting cross gable on the north façade, the two cross gables on the east (main) façade, and the full-width porch... Read more
Built between 1876 and 1877, this Italianate home is rectangular in plan with projecting bays at the north and south façades, a small porch at the west façade, a two-story rear wing, and a rear addition with a first-story porch and se... Read more
The Henry St. John building at 301 South Geneva Street, named for Ithaca's third mayor, was a product of the second building boom of this neighborhood. Ithaca grew substantially in the 1910s and 1920s, and a new school was needed as a resu... Read more
This two-and-a-half-story house of frame construction was built prior to 1851 in the Greek Revival style. It is rectangular in plan, with two additions to the west and a small shed-roofed addition on the south façade. It has a wide corni... Read more
This home is notable for for its two distinct phases of contruction. It is a two-and-a-half-story wood frame house originally built circa 1845 in the Greek Revival style but radically expanded and remodeled in 1885 in the Stick style. ... Read more

 

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