Main Street, Lake Placid An architectural and historic survey

Mary MacKenzie, Lee Manchester, Janet Null

Main Street, Lake Placid

Main Street, Lake Placid: An Architectural and Historic Survey

Mary MacKenzie Lee Manchester

Janet Null

Makebelieve Publishing Jay, New York

September 2006

Main Street, Lake Placid: An Architectural and Historic Survey By Mary MacKenzie, Lee Manchester and Janet Null Edited by Lee Manchester Front cover illustration: A panoramic photo of Main Street, taken by Saranac Lake photographer William Kollecker between 1927 and 1933, looking north from just below the Marcy-Lake Placid hotel. Back cover illustration: A 1911 colorized postcard shows the Main Street streetscape (mislabeled “Lake Street”) looking south, with 97 Main St. and 99-101 Main appearing in the far left. Compiled September 2006 Published December 2008 To the best of the editor’s knowledge, all the material in this compilation is in the public domain. No profits of any sort are made by the editor on the sale of this book; any charges come from the printer for duplication and binding costs, and for shipping and handling. For additional copies of this book, visit Lee Manchester’s print-on-demand Internet storefront at http://stores.lulu.com/leemanchester, where electronic PDF copies can be downloaded at no charge, and print copies can be ordered at cost.

Contents

Acknowledgments and notes...................................................................................................ix

Surviving 19th century buildings (listing) ..................................................................................xi

East Side ................................................................................................................................. 1

West Side ............................................................................................................................ 109

Historic Main Street streetscapes........................................................................................ 161

ix

Acknowledgments and notes This is a compilation of the work of three researchers and a multitude of archival photographers. The summaries of each building’s background combine the research of Mary MacKenzie, Janet Null and Lee Manchester. Mary MacKenzie was the Lake Placid village historian. MacKenzie’s research was completed in October 1988 for a preliminary historic survey of Main Street. Janet Null was contracted two years later (1990) to produce a professional survey of Main Street historic architecture for the Lake Placid Historic Commission. Lee Manchester was a staff writer for the Lake Placid News from 2000 to 2006. He had a strong interest in local history and historic preservation, and many of the feature articles he wrote for the News focused on those subjects. The modern-day (2006) photos were taken by Lee Manchester. Manchester also edited this compilation. Most of the historic photos contained in this compilation were drawn from the following sources:

• The Mary MacKenzie Historic Slide Collection • The private collection of Chris and Nancy Beattie • The archives of the Lake Placid village historian, housed in the Lake Placid Public Library

A few historic images were harvested from various sites on the Internet, including the New York Public Library and the U.S. Library of Congress. The survey starts at the north end of Main Street, on the east side of the street. It moves south, covering each building on the east side of the street to the North Elba Town Hall, before crossing over to the west side of Main Street and moving north again, building by building, to the head of the street. As this project was being completed, so was the renumbering of houses and the renaming of streets throughout Essex County, N.Y., to bring the county into compliance with the new E-911 automatic emergency locating system. Because all of the research for our project was done under the old numbering system, each building’s street number in this collection is given first under the old system; the new street number is given next to the old number, in parentheses. And, finally, a reminder: This survey was compiled in the fall of 2006, but Lake Placid is a dynamic community, much more so than other communities of similar size because of its identity as the Olympic Village of the Adirondacks. Almost as soon as the last photograph was taken for this survey, buildings started changing again on Main Street — a restaurant was redesigned, a floor was added to a commercial property, an old structure was completely refurbished. To see how Main Street has evolved since 2006, visit Lake Placid and see for yourself!

xi

Surviving 19th century buildings Main Street has twelve buildings that have survived — in one form or another — from the 19th century: 1. 104-06 Main St., the core of which was built in 1880; 2. 75 Main St., built in the early 1880s, the first Main Street structure built specifically for commercial use; 3. 44 Main St. rear, the Crosby house, built in 1884; 4. 67 Main St., the Lake Placid Public Library, built in 1886; 5. 3 School St., just off Main Street across from the Town Hall, was originally located about half a mile north on Main

when it was built in 1888; 6. 76½ Main St., originally a Baptist parsonage, also built in 1888; 1 7. 3-5 Main St., built about 1890; 8. 125-127 Main St., also built about 1890; 9. 83 Main St., within which is the first Catholic church in the village, built in 1896; 10. 7 Main St., built before 1900; 11. 97 Main St., a market and carriage house built in 1900, and 12. 44 Main St., an Episcopal church first built on another site in 1900.

1 The 1888 Baptist parsonage was demolished in 2007.

East Side

3

1 (2407) (built before 1913)

The building’s architectural character has been significantly disguised by alterations (including storefront, windows, siding and cornices). A field stone retaining wall is adjacent, at the south side of Pioneer Park. The primary importance of the building in its current state is urban, as the first structure in a continuous row of buildings extending to Mid’s Park and forming an essential street wall. July 2006: Far Mor’s Kids October 1988: Far Mors Corners; Artists Café downstairs

4

3-5 (2409-2411) Reuben Clifford Block (built ca. 1890) One of Main Street’s oldest buildings, this structure was built around 1890 for Reuben Clifford. It is a symmetrical building with a double storefront and simplified Italianate detailing. Originally, the building had a five-bay façade and a one-story porch on the front. The front section with bay windows, a rare feature on Main Street, was added after 1908 and probably before 1920. Presumably, the storefronts were added and the roof altered at the same time. Notable features include a pair of second-floor bay windows on Main, multi-story porches overlooking Mirror Lake, and original cornices and parts of storefront intact. The building also has a complete tin ceiling on the first floor. July 2006: Brown Dog Café & Wine Bar; Lake Placid Gallery October 1988: Pot Luck; Lake Placid Gallery

5

7 (2413) (built before 1900)

Built before 1900, this building has not changed substantially. It is a symmetrical three-bay structure that may have originally been a house. The exterior is significantly intact, including siding, windows and cornice. The building appears in early photos with a gabled roof, which was apparently altered after 1915; now, the roof is flat. Additions made to the building include: stair/passage on north side; rear addition with porches; first-floor bay windows and entry porch on street façade. July 2006: F. Matthews luxury “roughwear” October 1988: Mini-Swiss Shop

6

9-11 (2415) (built early 1920s)

This structure was built in the early 1920s, after the fire of January 1919 destroyed the previous building on this site. Like the Leggo Block [17-19], this may have been constructed on the foundations of the previous building. It is a symmetrical, utilitarian commercial block with double storefront and recessed panels and brick cornice above. July 2006: Ruthie’s Run October 1988: Ruthie’s Run

7

13 (2419) (built 1990)

This is a new structure, built in 1990. July 2006: Terry Horrocks Real Estate

8

15 (2421) Tobin & Webb Block

(built 1922) This structure was built for Tobin & Webb in 1922 as a meat market after the fire of January 1919 had destroyed the previous building. The building is simple, symmetrical, and utilitarian in character, but nevertheless of good proportions and integrity of design. Changes: Upper storefront façade, and stucco siding. South windows infilled. July 2006: China City Chinese restaurant October 1988: The Studio

9

17-19 (2423) Leggo Block (built 1919)

Built in the 1919, this structure replaced the old building destroyed in the fire in January of that year. Called the Leggo Block, it was actually built on top of the foundation of the previous building. Changes: Second story added ca. 1979. Storefronts altered and angled into façade; formerly, each storefront had center entry and glass transoms. Passage addition on south. Little of the original character of the building is apparent due to these alterations; it contributes negatively to the historic character of the street, but positively to the street wall. July 2006: Fanfare October 1988: Lake Placid Shirt & Shade Co.

10

11

21 (2425) (built 1922)

Built in 1922, this is another structure built to replace an earlier building destroyed in the fire of January 1919 (shown in the photo, opposite). It is an unusually tall and narrow (two-bay) structure, utilitarian in design but with attention to detail. It would be a reasonable speculation to suggest that the height of the building was intended to approach to the scale of the adjacent No. 23, which had escaped the 1919 fire; whether intended or not, it does so successfully. Notable features: flat-arched second-floor casement windows with solider coursed lintels running between brick pilasters. The building contributes positively to the streetscape. The photo on the opposite page shows Lake Placid’s Main Street coach, filled with passengers for a posed shot in front of the building that previously stood on the site of 21 Main. The photo is from around 1900. July 2006: Jimmy’s restaurant October 1988: Jimmy’s Eating & Drinking Place

12

13

23 (2427) Cheesman Block (built 1901)

This structure was built in 1901 for William F. Cheesman, a photographer who conducted a novelty, souvenir and art shop at this location until 1924. It has not changed substantially in the last century. The building figures prominently in all the early photos of Main Street and, due to its design and its scale, retains considerable prominence today. The eclectic gable, combining unusually heavy and curved stickwork decoration with a Palladian window, contributes Victorian exuberance to a street mostly composed of more plain, utilitarian and/or serious buildings. The substantially unaltered condition of the building increases its historical and architectural value. Changes: Storefront altered. The photo on the opposite page shows young Saranac Lake photographer William Kollecker at work behind the counter at the Cheesman store in 1904. July 2006: Zoe Noble clothing October 1988: Bear Haus (skiwear, clothing)

14

29-31 Main St., September 2006

15

29-31 (2431-2433) Stickney Block (built 1878; burned 1910)

Cautin Block (new building, 1911) This is one of the buildings where Mary MacKenzie and Janet Null’s stories differed significantly from one another. According to MacKenzie, Frank Stickney built the first store on Main Street on this site in 1878 [JN] or the early 1880s [MM]. It housed the first Lake Placid Post Office during Stickney’s tenure as postmaster, from May 1883 through Sept. 1885, and again housed the post office in the early 1900s. The Stickney Building was destroyed by fire in 1910. The present building was probably constructed the next year, 1911. This was the Lester Cautin store block for many years, and afterward was owned by James Hadjis, who had the LeBourget Restaurant. While Mary MacKenzie was convinced that the Lester Cautin Block, which stands here today, is a wholly new building that replaced the Stickney Block after the 1910 fire, Janet Null believed that the Cautin Block was built using the surviving shell of the Stickney Building. Null based her belief on several early photos (1880s, 1903, 1906, 1908) that show part or all of the Stickney Building, “which is strikingly similar to the current building in configuration, lacking only a story.” If Null is correct, then the Cautin Block contains the oldest extant building on Main Street — at least, according to Null’s date of 1878, which predates the Lamoy house by two years. (MM said it was the early 1880s, making it a year or two after the Lamoy house.) It should be noted that pre-1910 photos show the Stickney Block as a two-story building, while the Cautin Block is a three-story building. If the Cautin Block was built using the shell of the old Stickney Block, the builder added one completely new story to the structure. Architecturally, the building is a plain Victorian block distinguished only by its prominent bracketed cornice, but its importance to the continuity and character of this section of the street is unmistakable. Changes: Storefronts altered. Upper floors of street façade aluminum sided. One-story addition on south [Barnaby’s]; three-story addition on north [stairway?]. In 1946, two interior store spaces were combined for a restaurant [Le Bourget?]. July 2006: Bobo’s Ice Cream Parlor; Pete’s Steakhouse; Barnaby’s Wines & Liquors October 1988: Georgeo’s Sportswear; E-Mega-Zee gifts; Barnaby’s Wines & Liquors

16

33 (2435) F.S. Leonard & Co. Department Store (1902)

The building appears to have been constructed in three sections. Even so, the building achieved its current form and façade by 1906, giving it the distinction of being the first neoclassical structure on Main Street. This building and the Cheesman Block (23 Main) were also the first large commercial structures on the street. Occupied by the Leonard department store for many years, and housing the telephone company switchboard on the second floor from 1901 to 1919, when it was removed to 113 (2519) Main Street. The building became a drugstore in the 1950s. The well-proportioned façade is symmetrical, with a wide center bay flanked by a narrower bay on each side, all articulated by four brick pilasters which carry a plain frieze and a bracketed cornice. Only the storefront has been altered (albeit drastically) so that the integrity of the façade serves to increase the considerable historical and architectural value of the building. The steel and neon sign is also noteworthy, not only as it is apparently the oldest extant sign on the street, but also because it is of a type and style recognized today as worthy of preservation on artistic and technological grounds. Notable features: Five-story wooden porch structure overlooking the lake. Changes: Storefront replaced and inset from the street wall. Original pedimented section of cornice crowning the center of the building has been removed. Aluminum siding installed below second-floor windows. [Also, “DRUGS” sign has been removed.] July 2006: Lake Placid Christmas Company October 1988: Lake Placid Drug Store

17

35-37 (2437-2439) Salisian Building/Feldstein Block (ca. 1909)

Built circa 1909 on the site of the little Henry Kaiser photography shop. Number 2439 was occupied by a drug store for much of this building’s existence. The first known structure on this lot was a tent, used to house the pioneer photography business of Wallace Brownell and his partner, a Mr. Fry, shown in an undated photograph taken before 1895. Henry Kaiser replaced Mr. Fry in 1901; by 1905, Kaiser had evidently bought out Brownell himself. By 1895, Brownell had erected a rough, narrow building with one story at street level and another below it looking out onto the lake. By 1901, another building had gone up immediately to the north, housing the oriental rug shop of Mihran S. Salisian. A 1903 Main Street map shows three small buildings on this site, side-by-side. Salisian acquired the lot from Brownell in 1904. The two (or three) small buildings were replaced in 1909 by the present three-story structure (with two more stories below street level), which is apparently the first entirely masonry structure built on Main Street. The building was occupied initially by Merriam’s Drugstore, then Feek’s drugs for many years. Due to its size and its location adjacent to Mid’s Park, the building really stands out on the street. Unfortunately, the most prominent characteristics of the building — the white stucco, the massive band of dark wood over the parapets, and the excessive signage on the building — do not enhance the historic character of the structure [these features were all added in 1940]. The building appears strange today because of these “improvements,” and in part because it began life as a very unusual building for the region. The exterior walls originally were stuccoed and also surmounted by tall parapets in a virtually Baroque form. The arched windows of the top floor (now partially infilled) echoed the curved forms of the parapets. The 1940s storefront design is the first example of an alpine architectural influence on Main Street. Although this renovation destroyed the original storefronts and compromised the integrity of the original design of the building, this alpine revival must be noted as something of a local and Adirondack phenomenon. Notable features: Five stories of wood porches on the lake side. Round-arched and flat-arched windows in top story. Tin ceilings on first floor. July 2006: On the Bright Side; Body & Sole (shops downstairs, too) October 1988: The Instep; Swiss Boutique

18

The Brownell & Fry photo tent — the first structure to stand at 35-37 Main — in a photo taken before 1895.

19

This 1895 photo is captioned “Brownell Shooting Gallery.”

20

This photo of upper Main Street, taken in 1901, shows that Brownell has taken on a new partner, Henry J. Kaiser. A new building has been added to the north.

21

This 1903 photo shows the photo business now being in the exclusive hands of Henry Kaiser, next to the Salisian oriental rug shop.

22

This undated photo, captioned “Henry Kaiser, Mrs. Brownell” by Mary MacKenzie, may provide a clue as to why Messr.s Kaiser and Brownell dissolved their brief partnership.

23

35-37 Main St. (2437-2439 Main St.) in 2006.

24

51 (2453) Eastern Mountain Sports (built 1987)

July 2006: Eastern Mountain Sports

October 1988: Eastern Mountain Sports

25

55-57 [unk] Malone Building (1929)

This structure, built for Leo Malone in April 1929, is a simple brick block enlivened by two highly distinctive architectural features. First, the storefront is a true classical composition that encompasses the full width of the building; relatively short and slender Doric anta columns are surmounted by a very deep entablature, in which the tall frieze becomes the sign board. Second, the only fenestrations on the second floor are two large and delicate windows, strangely but effectively contrasting with the heavy brick wall. The combination of picturesque windows and a manipulated classical storefront looks suspiciously like a building designed by committee, but the result is still fascinating and singular. Notable features: Rear porches, upper three floors. neoclassical, Doric storefront. Tripartite second floor windows with projecting iron grille work and copper roofs. Changes: Storefront windows replaced with aluminum. [The storefront has been completely reworked since the 1990 survey. None of the storefront features that so enchanted Janet Null survived.]

July 2006: Gap Outlet October 1988: Razook’s

26

59 (2461) Lockwood Building (ca. 1920)

This structure was built around 1920 for Homer Lockwood, who used it as his own shop. The building contributes positively to the streetscape, being part of a group of structures built to a common streetline and complementary scale, but offering variety in architectural detailing. The second floor is distinguished by grouped windows with multi-paned transoms and very unusual truncated arched heads, and by a delicate bracketed cornice. The delicacy of the second-floor detail is contrasted effectively by the stucco wall finish, which may be original (no historic photos of the building have been found). The original design of the storefront probably complemented the upper story, but has been completely altered and no longer contributes any architectural value to the building. Notable features: Top-floor rear porch on enormous brackets. Bracketed cornice and tripartite second-floor windows with unusual truncated arches. Changes: Stucco may be an alteration. Storefront altered. Rear porch added. South side stair addition.

July 2006: John T. Wilkins, Atty., upstairs; downstairs, new store selling used books October 1988: Wilkins Agency, Realty/Insurance

27

61 (2465) (Probably pre-1908)

The construction date of this building is not completely certain. Mary MacKenzie believed that it was probably built in the 1920s. Janet Null noted, however, that the building shown on this site from the lake side in a 1908 photo is consistent in scale and form with the current building, indicating the probable construction date above. The building has the common three-bay composition of Victorian row house structures with plain surrounds. The building was always very simple in design, but the recent re-siding and the alterations of the storefront have nonetheless diminished its historic character, so that its value today stems from its age and its contribution to the street. Changes: Building sided. Storefront altered. Side porches added. Note: Either this building (61 Main) or the one just south of it (65 Main) housed the Lake Placid post office just before it moved to the new Masonic Building, completed in 1916.

July 2006: Candy Man October 1988: Northern Insuring

28

65 (2469) (Pre-1913; rear boathouse/cottage, pre-1909)

Mary MacKenzie dated the construction of this commercial building in the early 1900s, while Janet Null dated it only as having been built before 1913. The bulk of the building has been essentially unaltered through its history, and it retains the original two-bay configuration of the upper façade. The architectural character and detail (including the storefront), however, have been completely altered, producing a mock-historical appearance. The scale of the building, however, is appropriate to the street. The boathouse is more significant. Historically, there were numerous boathouses on the Main Street section of the lakefront, some within the lowest level of the commercial blocks, but this is the only remaining example, although it does not appear to be used now as a boathouse. The boathouse-cottage also possesses architectural features. Notable features: Boathouse-cottage, pre-1909. Three-story hipped roof structure, with novelty siding central stone chimney, decorative roof rafter ends, and pent roof at second floor. The boathouse is substantially unaltered. Changes: Storefront altered. Building completely re-sided, including street façade, which possesses mock-classical second story executed in aluminum siding and fascia parts. North side stair addition.

July 2006: Merrill L. Thomas Realty October 1988: Merrill Thomas building

29

67 (2471) Lake Placid Public Library (1886)

• Built 1886. Architect: James L. Breeze, New York City. Builder: R.W. Clifford. • Moved back from sidewalk, 1901: Seth Johnson, contractor. • Renovated, 1950: George Bola. Completed in 1886, the Lake Placid Public Library is one of the early libraries in the Adirondacks. This gracious little structure survives intact, with improvements such as enclosure of porches (1941) and a 3-story extension (2000). The Library Association of North Elba was incorporated in 1884, and the same year plans to build a library were put in motion and a site belonging to the Adirondack Baptist Church was secured for an annual token rent of $1. The $1,200 budgeted for the building was raised through donations of money and materials, and the library opened its doors in July 1886. Lydia Wood was the first librarian. The library was transferred to the school district in 1894 and granted a state charter (under the regents of the state university) as a school district library. The famous librarian and founder of the Lake Placid Club, Melvil Dewey, was one of the early supporters of the library. In 1901, the new village corporation installed a new sidewalk along Main Street and the library was moved back a few feet to accommodate it, and at the same time raised a couple of feet off the street. In 1928, the Baptist Church sold the land on which the library is located, and after the new owner refused to honor the original lease agreement, the school district eventually bought the land in 1935. The library has been an important, and one of the earliest, cultural assets of the community throughout its history, as well as being one of the earliest libraries in the Adirondacks. Moreover, it has been used by such famous figures as Albert Einstein, Kate Smith and Victor Herbert, and it houses the Adirondack oral biographical tape collection. The library building, in essence, is a small, Shingle Style cottage, with a gable-cum-hipped roof. It is a unique example of the style on Main Street, and certainly one of the earliest structures on the street It contributes significantly to the architectural variety of Main Street, and despite some renovations and routine replacement of roofing and shingles, it has substantially retained its original fabric, and certainly its architectural integrity. Interrelationship of building and surroundings: Free standing between 65 and 71 Main St., and set back a few feet from the common street frontage. A garden with a view to the lake adjoins the south side of the building, and a rear garden runs down to the lakeshore. Notable features: Original fireplace. East porch (now enclosed) overlooking the lake. Changes: Substantially unaltered. East porch enclosed, 1941. Shutters added. Building was moved back a few feet on its site when Main Street sidewalks were installed in 1901. Renovations in 1950-52 included adding a reference room on the middle lower level and a separate children’s room. West foundation wall was replaced in 1981.

30

Lake Placid Public Library, 2006

31

From 1902 book on the history of the Lake Placid Public Library.

32

Lake Placid Public Library, 1903

33

Main Street boardwalk, 1902, with Lake Placid Public Library on left

34

Boardwalk, 1902, with library at center

35

71-73 (2475) (1932)

This is a simple commercial block, similar to other buildings on the street of the same period. (See also 9 Main St.) While not architecturally exceptional, it contributes positively to the street and is substantially unaltered. Interrelationship of building and surroundings: Originally free-standing but now attached to 75 Main by side passage addition to 75. This one-story (street side) structure is one of the shortest buildings on the street, but still maintains the street line. Changes: Storefronts partially, but not significantly altered, including over-painting of glass transoms, and addition of decorative roof vent with weathervane.

July 2006: Island Mountain (clothing) October 1988: Country Store

36

The Charles Green drugstore, 75 Main St., possibly during the 1914 Winter Carnival

37

75 (2477) (1880s)

Built in the 1880s for Charles Green, this is one of the oldest buildings on the street, and apparently was the first commercial-type structure on upper Main Street. It was occupied as a drug store for many of its early years. The building essentially retains its original form, including the two-bay composition, but alterations have diminished or obscured its architectural character. The original frame building was stuccoed over. The shallow hip roof has been replaced by a shallow gable, particularly incongruous and dominating overtop the bracketed cornice. The windows have been replaced and undoubtedly reproportioned, and the storefront has also been replaced. The result is a building of unworkable proportions and indeterminate character. The cornice is the only readily apparent historic feature, but the building still has historical value and contributes to the streetscape. Notable features: Simple bracket cornice. Changes: North side addition, 1945. Storefront altered, 1975. Building stuccoed, windows replaced, and openings altered. Roof-line altered — originally, very shallow hip roof.

July 2006: Adirondack Museum on Main store October 1988: Roland Urfirer building

38

77 (behind 2477) (ca. 1962)

Built ca. 1960,the residence at 77 Main St. is a strongly characteristic, though not exceptional, Ranch Style structure with low-hipped roof, stone chimney, and board and batten siding. Its integrity and condition are both good.

July 2006: Roland Urfirer Law Office October 1988: Roland Urfirer residence on Mirror Lake

39

Bank of Lake Placid, 81 Main St., 1917

40

Former Bank of Lake Placid, 81 Main St., in 2006

41

81 (2483) Bank of Lake Placid (1916)

The first bank building in Lake Placid, it has been continuously occupied by the Bank of Lake Placid [and its successors]. It was designed by architect Floyd Brewster of Lake Placid in 1915, and construction was completed in 1916. The continuation of the original use and ownership has resulted in the retention of the original banking hall space with most of its original features, despite some interior renovations. The bank has been a mainstay commercial institution in the community, and the architecture of the building is highly valued by the community as a whole — in short, it is a local landmark. The design of the building — with its arches, quoins, cornice at the first floor, and Roman grillwork — is an example of the Renaissance palazzo revival of the early 20th century, most often found in a more urban context. The only major exterior alteration, the loss of the cornices, definitely detracts from the integrity and character of the building. Notable features: • Tall arched windows on sides and rear. • Carved frieze with bank name and construction date. • Arched entry on Main Street with oak pilasters, polished bronze doors, and Roman-style grillwork in the arched

window above, surmounted by a scroll-form keystone. (This type of window is sometimes known as Diocletian after its source, the Baths of Diocletian.) This entry is one of the most widely recognized and appreciated architectural features on Main Street.

• Wood canopy over side entrance. • Interior: marble wainscoting and teller counter, original vault, marble and bronze clock over entry. Changes: Rear addition, fall 1930. Cornices removed and replaced with aluminum, 1956. July 2006: NBT Bank branch October 1988: Bank of Lake Placid

42

83 (2487) St. Agnes Catholic Church #1 (1896)

This block started out as the first Catholic church in Lake Placid. Built in 1896 by John Shea, it was a traditional church building but soon proved too small for the needs of the parish. A new wooden church was erected on Saranac Avenue [1905]; Frank Walton purchased the old church in 1906, cut off the steeple, and established a hardware store in the building. Although several additions had been built onto the structure, the bulk of the original church remained until 2004; its steep roof and upper façade, visible from the street, were clearly those of the original church. St. Agnes No. 1 was an eclectic Victorian structure of considerable character. Changes: Steeple removed ca. 1906. First-floor west elevation addition. Large, three-story rear (east) addition, between 1908 and 1917. North side addition [Ben & Jerry’s]. [A small postcard/gift shop was located in little square building beneath the former steeple, but it was demolished sometime prior to the construction of 89 Main St. next door. The building retained some features of the original church until a reconstruction project in 2004 reshaped the building completely, albeit attractively.] July 2006: Ben & Jerry’s ice cream; Alpine Meadow (high-end gifts, furnishings) October 1988: Lake Placid Hardware

43

The evolution of 83 Main St. began in 1896, when St. Agnes Catholic Church was constructed. (Above, ca. 1900)

44

By 1940, 83 Main St. had become Lake Placid Hardware, sans steeple but with steeple annex still intact.

45

In April 2004, the outline of St. Agnes was still identifiable in the structure at 83 Main St. — but just barely.

46

A new owner had utterly transformed 83 Main St. by the time this photo was taken in September 2006.

47

89 (2491) Hart-Beattie Building (1980s)

Recently constructed (1980s) for Nancy Hart Beattie. Full apartment downstairs with lakefront. Office upstairs used by Beattie’s father, Dr. George Hart, for some years after his retirement. July 2006: Bookstore Plus October 1988: Bookstore Plus

48

An early undated photograph of the Guild Block, 91-93 Main St., with the 95 Main St. house visible behind it.

49

91-93 Main St. in September 2006

50

91-93 (2495) Guild Block (1916)

This handsome building was erected by Forrest H. Guild in 1916 and was occupied by his exclusive men’s store for a good many years. The house in the rear, on Mirror Lake, was also built by Forrest H. Guild; it was occupied by a book shop for years. This is one of the most architecturally elaborate — and best preserved — commercial buildings on Main Street. The building is very much a product of its time, neoclassical in design and constructed of contemporary manufactured materials: “patent stone,” fabricated metal cornice work, and copper storefronts. The structure is symmetrical in composition, and each part or feature is rationally articulated. The decorative features of the building are fundamentally an elaboration of function: quoins to knit together the corners of the building, dentils to “support” the cornice that finishes off the top of the wall, and so forth. The building possesses a real integrity of design that enhances its already apparent architectural value. Notable features: “Patent stone” construction with brick façade and “stone” quoins. Substantial metal cornice with dentils. Tripartite second-floor windows with cornices and caps. Copper storefront, stepping back from the street. Tin ceilings on first floor in excellent condition. Multi-story wooden porch overlooking the lake. Changes: Second storefront added and original door moved back on an angle. South (exterior) stair addition. Center block of cornice may have been altered. Base of storefront and signboards altered. July 2006: With Pipe and Book October 1988: Julia’s; With Pipe and Book

51

95 (18 Grace Way) House behind the Guild Block (1915)

Built by Forrest H. Guild; completed the year before the business block. This building was originally a two-story gable-roof structure, to which a third story was subsequently added; it appears in this photo to be a two-story house because its first story is at lake side, below grade as viewed from the street side. It was originally both boathouse and residence. The windows have been altered, a bay overlooking the lake removed, and the building apparently re-sided in its entirety. The resulting structure bears some relationship in form to the original, but is nondescript in character. Currently — and, probably, originally — a residence, the structure was occupied for many years by a book shop, a rare commercial use of a Main Street “back” building. July 2006: UNK October 1988: Shehadi residence

52

97 Main St., September 2006

53

97 (2501) Shea Building (built 1900), carriage house (same), and residence (14 Grace Way; built 1908 to 1917)

The Shea Building was erected by James Shea 1900, four years after he had started the Shea’s Market business (May 12, 1896). The residence to the rear was built between 1908 & 1917. (Shea’s Market remained in the family until very late in the 20th century.) Notable features: Bracketed cornices at first and second floors. Early carriage barn with hipped roof and lantern. Changes: Second story replaced after 1934 [fire] with shallower gable roof, and a two-story addition was made to the front. Stair addition on south side, and passage addition north side. Large signboard added above first-floor cornice. The fire of 1933: A front-page story in the Dec. 15, 1933 Lake Placid News described the fire that occurred on Saturday night, about 11 p.m., Dec. 9. Four tenants in the upstairs apartment (Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Ormsby, Mrs. Paul Ormsby, and a nine-month-old infant) were pulled out of the building by firefighters. The temperature that night was 12 below zero Fahrenheit. “It is believed that the ammonia refrigerating system with storage tank on the second floor fed the flames,” read the News story. “The building is a complete loss, the entire structure being gutted.” After the fire, while rebuilding was underway, Shea’s Market relocated to the empty A&P storefront in the Devlin Block, 137 Main St. The old store was reopened on May 24, 1934, according to a story in the next day’s LPN: “The new structure was erected on the site of the old Shea’s market. … The building was partly destroyed by fire on the night of December 9 last year. Reconstruction was started almost immediately under the direction of George Thew, local contractor.” July 2006: The Market (gift shop) October 1988: The Market

54

The carriage house behind 97 Main St., September 2006

55

The residence behind 97 Main St., whose own street address is now 14 Grace Way, September 2006

56

99-101 (2505-09) Commercial (pre-1908)

Built for John Shea before 1908; now owned by the James Shea family. Tremble & Mooney operated a grocery store in this building for many of the early years. This is one of the best-preserved structures on Main Street. The simplified Italianate building retains its original form and all original exterior features except the storefronts, of which replacement has not compromised the architectural value of the building. Both in scale and architectural character, this building contributes very positively to the street. Notable features: Bracketed cornices at first and second floors (partly obscured by the first-floor signs). Rear enclosed porches. Changes: The northern one-story section appears to be the original structure, to which the two-story section was added. Rear porches added. Main storefront door divided into two entrances. Original wooden storefronts replaced by copper-framed windows, stucco bases.

July 2006: Bakery store; Mirror Lake Liquor Store; Eliza Hugh October 1988: Alpine Floral; Mirror Lake Liquor Store; Volmrich (jeweler)

57

99½ (10 Grace Way) Carriage/boathouse (pre-1917)

The simple, two-story clapboard residence to the rear of the building at 99-101 Main St. appears to have been a boathouse and/or carriage house with living quarters above, and still has garages on the first level. At least the eastern wing of the building was in existence by 1917 and has not been substantially altered. The building is a simple, late Victorian vernacular structure in good condition.

58

103-05 Main St., September 2006

59

103-105 (2511) Masonic Building (1916)

The former Masonic Temple, completed in 1916, was designed by Lake Placid architect: Floyd Brewster, who also designed the Bank of Lake Placid. The original cost of the building was about $30,000. The Masonic Temple rooms were on the upper floor. The Lake Placid Post Office was in this building for 20 years, from 1916 until 1936. One of the most architecturally significant structures on Main Street, the Masonic Building survives substantially unaltered. Neoclassical in design, the building is symmetrical with a prominent center entrance surrounded by a stone architrave with a “twisted” band of stone in relief and a keystone. The first-floor cornice has a frieze decorated with a wave pattern. The central section of the upper floors is recessed behind fluted Ionic attached columns, and the window spandrels are also decorated stone: triglyphs and metopes at the second floor, and panels with Masonic emblems and the number “1” at the third floor. The narrower second-floor windows have stone lintels decorated with the Masonic emblem. The surmounting attic and cornice have been altered and covered with aluminum, detracting somewhat from an otherwise exemplary building of its era. Notable features: Decorative stonework; prismatic glass storefront transoms. Note: Masonic meeting rooms on second floor not available to inspection. Changes: Original cornice removed, attic altered, 1946. Wood passageway added to north side. Minor storefront alterations, including partial replacement of copper window frames with aluminum. July 2006: Adirondack Trading Co.; Antiques October 1988: Antique Center; Knit Shop

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The Episcopal Parish House, 107 Main St., in a 1901 photo

61

107 (2515) St. Eustace Parish House (1901)

Built in 1901 by the Rev. William W. Moir (d. 1902) as a Parish House for St. Eustace Episcopal Church. The Parish Hall’s gymnasium, lecture, meeting and dance hall, bowling alleys, game rooms and boathouse provided a social center for the young people of the village for years. The building was sold to George Stevens in 1915, who converted it for business uses.

The building is of Classical Revival design, originally consisting of a three-bay façade with four pilasters, entablature and full pediment with a fanlight window. The original center entrance had a small gable porch with columns, since replaced by the first-floor extension. Although the original design has been compromised by the addition and replacement of the second-floor windows, the building retains much of its original character and is a notable and memorable contribution to the street. It possesses both historical and architectural significance. Notable features: Largely original upper façade with pilasters, complete pediment with fanlight. Changes: Second floor of façade: windows have been replaced, and two middle pilasters chopped off. One-story addition on the front, bringing the first floor out to the street line, probably ca. 1915. The storefront has since been altered. Passage addition on north side. July 2006: Imagination Station October 1988: Village Emporium

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111 Main St. — above, ca. 1944. Below, July 2006.

111 (2517) (b. between 1917 and 1925)

A small, utilitarian commercial structure, similar to the Leggo Block and others at the north end of Main Street. These buildings (15, 17, 21 and 111) are all probably contemporary and by the same designer or builder. A small wooden building is shown beside the Parish Hall (107 Main St.) in photos of 1901. The present building at 111 Main St., built between 1917 and 1925, may incorporate this. No. 111, despite its modest size, contributes positively to this section of the streetscape by carrying on the street wall and the variety of the row. The storefront, especially with its lovely ribbed glass, is a good example of commercial fronts of its era. Notable features: Copper-framed original storefront with ribbed prismatic glass transoms. Changes: Signboard panel covered with board siding [removed since]. Entrance to side hall infilled. Storefront door and surround altered. July 2006: Summer Antiques October 1988: The Summit Shop

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113 (2519) (1917-18)

This structure was built in 1917 and 1918. The telephone company moved its switchboard to this building from 33 Main St. (2435 Main St.) in 1919. The tallest of the row of historic buildings between the Wanda and the Guild Block, this is a building of unusual and eclectic design. Basically neoclassical, it has three recessed brick arches on the upper stories with stucco panels, brick circles inside the arches, and wrought-iron balconies on the third floor. The piers of the arches have a triangular pattern of dark brick, and the first floor has a decorative cast-stone cornice. With its original windows and storefront, the building must have been quite distinctive and interesting. Now it appears muddled. Nevertheless, it contributes positively to the streetscape and retains much of its original architectural character. Notable features: A portion of the original storefront remains at the southwest corner of the building: a copper frame and cornice with black glass base and prismatic glass transom, with cast-stone piers at the corner of the building. Cast-stone cornices. Wrought-iron balconies. Wood porches on rear. Stair structure on south side, probably original. Changes: First-floor storefront altered. Second- and third-floor windows replaced and partially infilled with board siding.

July 2006: Fortunes of Time 1990: Hooty Owl (A Country Store); Lake Placid Casuals

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The Happy Hour Theater, 117-110 Main St.., in the early 1920s

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117-119 (2523) Happy Hour Theater/Wanda Building (1912/late 1920s)

The Happy Hour Theater, Lake Placid’s first cinema house, stands as the core of the Wanda apartment building. It was three stories high, simple, elegant, with a hipped roof, built in 1912 by Rufus Walton and Arthur Adams. The Women’s Club had community rooms on the floor below street level. The Happy Hour was bought by the company that built the larger, more modern Palace Theater, a few blocks up Main Street, in 1926. The theater was closed after the Palace was opened, at which time the building was enlarged and became the Wanda Apartments and shops. A fourth story was added, with a flat rather than a hipped roof. (Other historians have claimed that the building was expanded to the south at this time as well, but period photographs do not bear this out.) The architecture of the building is now plain, almost severe: brick piers at the base, large simple windows with steel lintels, and brick facing unrelieved by any detail except a copper cornice at the first floor and a simple paneled wooden cornice at the roof. While architecturally plain, the building contributes positively to the street with its considerable bulk and street wall. Notable features: Metal awning over apartment entry. Copper storefront windows and cornice, with transoms probably extant behind the current signboards. Changes: A fourth floor was added in the late 1920s, at which time the street façade was probably refaced to form a unified elevation. Since then, the storefronts have been altered, probably in 1942, and the bases and transoms altered again recently. July 2006: 2 Harts; UNK; Newman’s News October 1988: UNK

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Alpine Mall (121-123) to 137 Main

The Alpine Mall, south of the Wanda, is a group of small businesses in a building of late construction. The date and circumstances of its construction are unknown; it was built by 1988. LM has seen no records of what buildings stood there before; old photos show up to the Noble Block from the south, and then northward from the Happy Hour. The group of buildings from 137 Main (Goldberries restaurant) to the Alpine Mall has been designed or re-designed with a pretense of “Alpine-style” architecture, so that although they maintain the wall of the street as a group, they reflect negatively on the genuine architectural character of other sections of Main Street.

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125-127 (2533) Noble Block (ca. 1890)

The first drug store in town was reportedly located here, operated by Herbert Towne. Freedom Noble, who came to Lake Placid around 1889, worked for Towne; by 1895, the business was known as the “Noble Bros.” pharmacy. The Noble Block was the first home of the Bank of Lake Placid, May 4, 1909. Henry van Hoevenberg set up his Adirondack Electric shop in the basement of the Noble Block in 1917 after parting ways with the Lake Placid Club. The structure at 125-127 can be seen in a 1908 photo as a gable-roofed building with a small extension on the north (No. 125). The north portion was enlarged after 1945, and the strange roofline of the main building presumably reflects the original gable roof of the 127 Main building. The original form and detail of the building has been completely lost due to alterations and refacing, so that its

architectural value in its present state is nil. Changes: Northern (one-story) section enlarged after 1945. Exterior and roofline significantly altered. The rear of the building used to overlook Mirror Lake, but is now cut off by a wing of the Golden Arrow Motel. July 2006: Beglin’s Jewelers

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131 (2537) Garage De Luxe (1914-15)

The Lake Placid News of Sept. 11, 1914, said that a three-story garage was being built between the Bank of Lake Placid and the Town Clock Livery by John McElroy and architect Max H. Westhoff of Saranac Lake. It was to be built of concrete block and “strictly fireproof.” The property had been bought from Prime Brothers. Completed in 1915, the Garage De Luxe had a capacity 100 cars. In 1937, the garage was taken over by Joseph B. Williams, who also ran the garage at 90 Main St. The original character of the brick-front Garage De Luxe building has been completely lost due to subsequent alterations in the 1950s, as with the Noble Block next door.

July 2006: The Fallen Arch

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137 (2541) Town Clock Livery (1903)/Devlin Block (1927)/restaurant (modern)

The Town Clock Livery, built in 1903 by Noel Feldstein, was a two-story frame building with a clock tower projecting from the northwest corner. It burned on July 28, 1926. (In newspaper articles on a 1939 fire, mention was made that

another fire had occurred here in 1923, but no reference to such a fire could be found in contemporary newspapers.) Something was built in its place the following year, but it can’t be determined from newspaper accounts whether it was the old Town Clock Livery building that was rebuilt, or a new building. Two comparison photos — one of the Town Clock Livery, the other of the new building — are difficult to compare. In any case, the new/rebuilt building south of the Garage De Luxe — a two-story, flat-top roofed structure — was called the Devlin Block after its owner, Verne Devlin. It had upstairs apartments and commercial space at street level. For a time, the Devlin Block housed the “uptown” A&P grocery before providing a temporary home to Shea’s Market in 1933 and 1934, when its own home was being rebuilt after a December 1932 fire. The Devlin Block itself burned in a massive fire in January 1939.

The present restaurant building on the site of the Town Clock Livery and the Devlin Block bears no resemblance to either of the two earlier structures.

July 2006: Goldberries restaurant (since redesigned) March 1990: Country Kitchen restaurant

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The Town Clock Livery, 137 Main St. Photo at left, date unknown. At right, detail from a colorized, panoramic photograph

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141 (unk) Golden Arrow Motel (UNK)

This is a relatively new motel; construction date unknown.

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153 (2565) Dr. George Hart Building (1948)

MM: Built by Dr. Samuel Volpert and completed in 1948, known to many as the Dr. George Hart building, where he had his office in town. Now owned by Golden Arrow Motel complex. This building has architectural values. Note: This building was significantly altered in 2007 and no longer has the appearance shown here. July 2006: Lake Placid Clock & Watch; Lumiere Bistro; Where’d You Get That Hat

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157 (2573) restaurant (ca. 1950)

Built by William D’Amico as a restaurant circa 1950. July 2006: Black Bear restaurant October 1988: Lum’s restaurant

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157½ (2575) James D’Amico residence (1930s)

The residence behind 157 Main St. (2573 Main St.) was built ca. 1930 for James D’Amico. Although not designed in the Shingle Style, per se, this shingled cottage has a very steep roof, upturned eaves, and an orderly shingle pattern of alternating wide and narrow bands. The structure is not exceptional, but it is architecturally interesting and retains much of its historic fabric and character. Notable features: Shingle pattern at eaves and curved eave on main roof. Changes: Rear addition, 1939. Dormers may be added. Connecting wing between house and former garage added.

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159 (2577) Rufus Walton cottage/Northwood(s) Inn (b. between 1900 and 1908);

replaced by Favor Smith building (ca. 1960?) The small office building now standing at this address was built by Favor Smith (ca. 1960?) on the site of “a large old boarding house” (Mary MacKenzie). Interestingly enough, the “boarding house” was called “Northwood Inn” (singular) in the Lake Placid News, “Northwoods Inn” (plural) in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Neither name, apparently, caused anyone to confuse the small lakeshore hotel next to the Adirondack Community Church with the larger hotel just to the north on the opposite side of Main Street which, since its opening in 1897, had been called the Northwoods Inn. Once the Old Northwoods owner had built the new Lake Placid–Marcy, in 1927, adjacent to the old inn, the earlier structure was referred to only as “the south wing of the Marcy.” The (new) Northwood[s] Inn was first built sometime between 1900 and 1908 as the cottage of Rufus Walton. The white, two-story frame house standing next to the old Methodist-Episcopal church does not appear in a panoramic photo of the village taken in 1900 by Chester D. Moses, but it does appear in a 1912 panoramic photo by Henry M. Beach. Walton is known to have rented the cottage to Dr. Clarence V. Bumstead in 1908. It’s not certain when the Walton cottage was first operated as a small hotel. The first definite reference in the Lake Placid News to the Northwood Inn dates from 1934, in Dr. Bumstead’s obituary, which says that the cottage Bumstead had leased from Rufus Walton in 1908 was “now known as the Northwood Inn.” A December 1941 News article said that the Northwood Inn, at Main Street and Parkside Drive,2 had been leased to William D’Amico,3 son of owner James D’Amico.4 Lake Placid newspaper briefs and ads also referred to the well-known grill — and perhaps even better-known cocktail lounge — at the Northwood Inn. Small classified ads in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise claimed, “The T.V. is perfect at the Northwoods Inn.” When the “new” Northwoods Inn was demolished (sometime in the 1960s?) so that Favor Smith could have the small building currently standing at 159 Main built, the “Northwoods Inn” moniker was once again considered available for re-use. At some point after contractor Gregory Ruppert and corporate lawyer Barry C. Maloney bought the Marcy, in the fall of 1986, they renamed it the Northwoods Inn.

2 Multiple help-wanted ads and liquor-license legals gave the Northwood Inn address as 159 Main St. 3 William D’Amico built a restaurant at 157 Main St. in 1950, which operates today as the Black Bear restaurant. 4 James D’Amico had built a lakeside home nearby (157½ Main St.) in the 1930s.

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Rufus Walton cottage, 159 Main St., north of the Methodist Episcopal Church, from a larger 1912 photo by Henry M. Beach

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159 Main St., September 2006 — Note that this building was significantly altered in 2007-08.

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161 (2583) [Methodist Episcopal Church (1888)]

Adirondack Community Church (1925; 1958) The Adirondack Community Church building was designed in 1922 by architect Joseph Hudnut5 and William Distin. The building was used by the congregation as early as 1925. The nearly completed church building (sans steeple) was dedicated on Sept. 4, 1927. A wooden Methodist-Episcopal church was built on this site in 1888, and appears in several of the earliest photographs of Main Street. It was the second house of worship within the borders of what would become the village of Lake Placid, following the Adirondack Baptist Church, built in 1882 (and since demolished). The old wooden church was purchased by one Dura W. Jenney and, in 1923, was towed down Main Street to its present site at 3 School Street opposite the Skating Oval. It became a restaurant, was altered considerably over the years, and is today a nightclub. Architect William Distin either supervised the construction of the Hudnut design for the new church, or may have changed the design. The tower of the church was dedicated as “The Ministers Tower” in 1935, and may not have been completed until that date. The tower was still scaffolded during most of the construction period of the post office across the street. The walls of the church and tower are constructed of green granite from an Au Sable Forks quarry, laid in a random ashlar pattern. The roofs of the structure and the octagonal spire are unusual and very heavy multi-colored slate shingles of random sizes and shapes. The building has external corner buttresses, Gothic-arched windows with limestone frames, trefoil windows in the tower, and limestone scuppers. Both the exterior and the interior of the church are unaltered. The interior is distinguished by Gothic-arched wood roof trusses, stained-glass windows, original chandeliers and an oak-paneled choir. In Anglican fashion, it is conservative and somber in character. The church possesses a strong picturesque massing, but an unusual, self-effacing siting in that it is set slightly below street level (rather than elevated), and that the usual principal façade (the gable front) is perpendicular to, rather than facing, the street. The churchyard is entered through a stone and iron gateway.

5 At the time Hudnut designed the Adirondack Community Church, he was professor of church architecture at Columbia University [Adirondack Record, July 28, 1922]. In 1933, Joseph Hudnut became head of Columbia’s School of Architecture, leaving in 1935 to become the first dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

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The parish hall, known as Erdman Hall, is a brick and stucco Tudor Revival structure running perpendicular to the west end of the church. It is apparently unaltered and barely noticeable from the street. The considerable architectural character, the excellent state of preservation, and the surrounding garden all contribute to making this building complex one of the most significant assets of Main Street. Siting: The building sits a little below street level on the shore of, and visible from, Mirror Lake. It is surrounded by lawns and gardens. The south garden and lawn provide a peaceful interlude on Main Street; they contain a monument to Lake Placid’s World War I veterans. The building is a highly notable structure on the street, but its prominence is diminished by its position, sitting back from the street and away from the main traffic. The view of this building from Main Street was greatly improved early in the summer of 2006 when the great old pine tree standing in front of the church was removed due to infestation. The tree had been the first outdoor Christmas tree to be decorated with electric lights in Lake Placid in the early 1920s. Changes: A parish hall was constructed on the north in 1958. Newspaper references: LPN, Aug. 25, 1922 — Joseph Hudnut meets with “Adirondack Temple” committee to go over plans, which should be finished soon. LPN, Sept. 1, 1922 — Front-page story refers to Hudnut’s “associate, Mr. Manhart” (no first name). LPN, Sept. 28, 1923 — Actual work started on the building this week, when building committee rejects all contractors’ bids and decides to put the building up itself. Wallace MacFarlane, of Upper Jay, was hired as construction supervisor; he had previously built the new Lake Placid Central School. Reference made to church congregation being homeless for the time being. LPN, Nov. 2, 1923, page 2 — Story on the old church building’s move to School Street. Wings to be added to either side of the front of the old building, and dormers. Upstairs, 10 bedrooms. Restaurant to seat 102 people, with on-premise bakery. Downstairs (basement) conceived as automobile showroom. LPN, Sept. 2, 1927 — Front-page article on church dedication ceremonies, scheduled for Sept. 4.

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The old Methodist Episcopal church building, 161 Main St.

81

Another shot of the old Methodist Episcopal church building, 161 Main St.

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The “new” 1925 sanctuary at the Adirondack Community Church, 161 Main St.

83

The 1958 fellowship hall at Adirondack Community Church, 161 Main St.

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161 (2583) side World War I memorial (1929)

In a quiet little garden overlooking Mirror Lake, on the Adirondack Community Church grounds, stands a lovely stone monument to the Lake Placid men who died in World War I. The September 6, 1929 issue of the Lake Placid News described the dedication ceremony for this monument: “Under Adirondack skies of smiling September blue, 2,000 men, women and children gathered on the plot of ground below the Adirondack Community Church to witness and take part in the impressive exercises dedicating the William S. Benson memorial cross as a gift to the Lake Placid Post of the American Legion in honor of the memory of the eight men from Lake Placid who gave their lives for their country in the Great War.” The monument was a gift of William S. Banson, a 30-year Placid summer resident from Passaic, N.J. The monument was dedicated to the memory of Mervin E. Bennett, Alfred C. Costello, David M. Dwyer, Cecil T. Ernenwein, Albert E. Foley, John Toohey, Edward J. Wilkins, and Harold L. Wilkins. Inscribed above these men’s names on the monument is the simple legend, “Their Name Liveth for Evermore.”

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201 (2591) Lake Placid Post Office (1936)

This first formal post office building in Lake Placid was completed in 1936, and the staff moved in on Sept. 20. The building is included in a National Register of Historic Places Multiple-Resource District composed of New York state post offices built between 1858 and 1943. It was designed by Louis A. Simon, supervising architect for the U.S. Treasury, and built by McDonald Construction Co., St. Louis, Missouri, Neal A. Melick, Supervising Engineer. The post office in Lake Placid had been located in different commercial buildings on Main Street until the building of this first public post office structure. In common with other federal post offices of the period and region, this is a one-story brick neoclassical building. Although fundamentally conservative in design and possessing a very academic entry, this building steps into the 1930s with a stylized and stripped-down entablature. This consists of a frieze of very abstracted tryglyphs and metopes, an absolutely flat attic section with plain stone medallions, and a delightful fluted stone coping to finish off the building. Siting: Situated on the point of land formed by the intersection of Main Street and Parkside Drive, adjacent to the old firehouse and the Adirondack Community Church. This is a significant location and building on the street; it is seen on a frontal axis when traveling east along Main Street. Notable features: Stone detailing. Lobby with original marble paneling and post office boxes. Changes: Loading docks added on south side. Windows have been replaced with aluminum units.

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209 (unk) Lake Placid Firehouse (1912)

Erected in 1912 as the village firehouse, the building remained in that use until sold by the village in the 1980s (as seen at left). It now houses a ski shop, and the signage on the building detracts from its architectural value. The building is a simple structure, with a modicum of brick detailing on the front (quoins and paneled piers), that retains its integrity. Its most distinguishing feature is the hose tower, which is intact and visible from a considerable distance along Main Street. Notable feature: Siren and hose-drying tower. Changes: One-story concrete block south addition, after 1945. Firehouse doors replaced by storefronts. Cornice altered. July 2006: Cunningham’s Ski Barn October 1988: Cunningham’s Ski Barn

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Former Lake Placid firehouse, 209 Main St., September 2006

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213 (n/a) Restaurant (former garage, filling station) (b. post-WW2))

At this address, there was formerly a small garage and filling station that had been converted into a restaurant, built after 1948. A new restaurant building (2004-05), located between the former firehouse and the Adirondack Inn, now stands on the site. July 2006: Torn down to make way for Nicola’s On Main and Grill 211 restaurant October 1988: Golden Swan Chinese restaurant

215 (n/a) Private residence (orig. early 1900s)

At this address was a private home, believed built early 1900s, which had been altered and enlarged. Like the building to the north, it was demolished in 2004 to make way for a new pair of restaurants. July 2006: Torn down to make way for Nicola’s On Main and Grill 211 restaurant October 1988: Big O Donut Café

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Nicola’s on Main and Grill 211, September 2006, took the place of the buildings formerly located at 213 and 215 Main St.

90

217 (2625) Adirondack Inn (post-WW2)

The Adirondack Inn, built after 1948.

91

221 (unk) restaurant (post-WW2)

A restaurant, built after 1948.

July 2006: Jack Frost’s October 1988: Adirondack Cafe

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223 (2647) Cobbler’s Shop (b. 1910-20)

This structure, built ca. 1910 to 1920, was originally a two-story, L-shaped house. Much of the original form of the house is still evident, but the front façade as well as the scale of the house have been obliterated by the shop addition, which has no inherent architectural value. Changes: All but two of the windows of the house replaced. The house has been sided with asbestos shingles. An addition has been built onto the rear, a one-story addition on the north, and a large shop addition on front. Dormers probably added.

July 2006: After cobbler Salvatore Bimonte died in early 2006, his son put the building on the market. October 1988: Bimonte house; Cobbler’s Shop

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229 (2653) Fireside Steak House (b. post-WW2)

Relatively new; built after 1948.

July 2006: Fireside Steak House October 1988: Fireside Steak House

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233 (parking lot) Majestic Hotel & Restaurant (b. by 1916)

Former site of the Majestic Hotel & Restaurant, operated by Goodman Kelleher. Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” featured Kelleher on Jan. 10, 1936, as “The Cook’s Cook,” as he had been cooking his help’s breakfast every morning for 20 years. Kelleher died in 1953.

95

One early incarnation of the Majestic Hotel and Restaurant, 233 Main St.

96

Another early incarnation of the Majestic Hotel and Restaurant, 233 Main St.

97

237 (2663) Prime Building (b. pre-1916)

The Prime Building was built before 1916. Papaw’s Grocery moved into this building in 1916 and occupied it for many years. An opera hall was said to have existed on the second floor, but no documentation of this use has been found. Neither have any early photographs been found to indicate the original architecture of the building. The exterior of the building has been completely altered in recent years so that the original character is no longer apparent. Note: The Prime and Berg buildings (adjacent to the south) stand on the site of a very early double building which appears on a 1903 map of Main Street. July 2006: Hockey Plus; Hunan Oshaka Japanese restaurant October 1988: Woodshed Restaurant

98

239-241 (2665) Berg Building (1926)

The Berg Building, built in 1926 for Louis Berg, is the only commercial building on this block of Main Street that has not been drastically altered. Its historic character stands out from its neighbors and contributes positively to the street. The disproportionate height of this small structure gives it a strong presence despite its size. The façade is unusual in its eclecticism and in that the entire second-floor fenestration consists of a single-bay window. The detailing is very conservative for a commercial structure of this date, but gives the building notable character and visual interest. Notable features: Second-floor bay window with fanlight above. Virtually complete original wood storefront. Changes: Rear section probably added.

July 2006: Tradewind gifts, ammo October 1998: Conway building; Tradewinds

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243 (2669) (late 1920s, early 1930s)

This was originally a one-story commercial building similar in design to several structures on upper Main Street that were built around 1920 (No.s 9-11, 15, 17-19, 21, 111, and possibly 55-57 and 71-73). The storefront has brick piers (now hidden) with a simple cornice, and recessed brick panels above in what would have been the parapet wall. Although the original storefront might be retrieved, the second-story addition is completely at odds (in form, scale, materials and detail) with the historic character of the building. Therefore, the architectural importance of the building today is debatable; likewise, its contribution to the streetscape. Changes: An entire second floor has been added, ca. 1987. Storefront completely altered. North elevation stuccoed.

July 2006: Terry Robard’s Wine & Spirits October 1988: Bertrand’s Wine & Spirits

100

245 (2673) Weeks Store (pre-1915)

This building was erected in the early 1900s. A “school and candy” store owned by the Weeks family, fondly remembered by old-timers, moved into this building around 1915. No early photographs of the building have been found, and the alterations of later years have made the original architectural character indiscernible. Changes: Roof altered, building completely resided, at least some windows altered. July 2006: Aniello’s Pasta & Pizza October 1988: “Cure the Blues” restaurant

101

249 (2679) Central Garage (1978)

The old filling station on this site was torn down in 1978 to make way for the building that stands here now.

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301 (2693) North Elba Town Hall (built 1903; burned 1915; rebuilt 1916)

The first formal Town Hall was completed on this site in 1903. It was called “The Tin Playhouse” for two reasons: because it was sheathed in tin (a fact that greatly contributed to its demise), and because the “Opera House” theatrical space was located in one of its upper floors. The 1903 building burned down in 1915. The present replacement building was completed in June 1916, designed by architect Floyd Brewster of Lake Placid. This building is a straightforward neoclassical design with six brick pilasters sitting on a basement story and surmounted by a full entablature. A second, matching façade facing Mirror Lake Drive is of matching design. The building is deliberately monumental, a character enhanced by the tower. The offices of the local staff for the 1932 Olympic Winter Games were housed here. The interior was completely gutted in 1977-78 and rebuilt to serve again as offices for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. Other changes included replacement of windows and spandrel panels with aluminum units, alteration of the front entrance, addition of a porch, and removal of the front stairs. The result is a modern, efficient building with the outside intact and maintaining its period values. A new dome and clock tower, in character with the existing architecture, replaced the old, deteriorated dome in 1986. Despite the replacement of the windows, the building substantially retains its original architectural integrity (on the exterior). It is important, then, on several fronts: historical, architectural, urban and cultural. Siting: On the southeast corner of Main Street and Mirror Lake Drive, overlooking the Sheffield Speed Skating Oval, the North Elba Town Hall is one of three major public structures (along with the Oval and the High School across the street) on this section of Main Street. It is a highly prominent structure on the street. Notable features: Clock tower, massive metal cornices with dentils, and compatible neoclassical entry porch.

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The first North Elba Town Hall, 301 Main St., in 1910

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The second-floor theater in the old Town Hall

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The old Town Hall immediately after the fire of February 11, 1915

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Above left, the new Town hall, 301 Main St., in February 1932. Above right, September 2006

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