Post by Dave on May 29, 2010 17:22:48 GMT -5
Interesting web page article on Utica's "The Lower Genesee Street Historic District ... bounded by Seneca Street on the west, by Water Street on the north, by West Genesee and Division Streets on the east and by Liberty Street on the south."
URL is:
www.livingplaces.com/NY/Oneida_County/Utica_City/Lower_Genesee_Street_Historic_District.html
Some interesting items:
"The majority of the buildings in the district were constructed between 1830-1930 and are representative examples of the Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Romanesque and Neoclassical styles, including work by two prominent local architects, F. H. Gouge and G. Edward Cooper."
"The Genesee Turnpike, the Mohawk River, the Erie Canal, and several railroads made Utica an important transportation center during the nineteenth century. The Utica freight yards immediately north of the district were the largest east of the Mississippi in the 1930s and 1940s." (Wow! That's quite a claim, considering places like Boston and New York City. And even Albany, which was the stockyard capital of the east and was served by many rail cars.)
"The Commercial Travelers Building is built on elements of an 1815 masonry structure, The Ontario Branch Bank. In 1904, the structure was rebuilt to serve as the home of the Commercial Travelers Mutual Accident Association of America. Designed by Robert W. Gibson (Gibson Rd.?) (who also designed the Utica Savings Bank and the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany) and built by Ambrose B. Stannard, it is the only skeletal steel frame structure in the district."
"There were several Uticans who became active in transportation circles, the most significant being John Butterfield, entrepreneur in stagecoaches, packet boats, and railroads. Butterfield also created a transportation company at the Isthmus of Panama, the Overland Mail stagecoach line between St. Louis and San Diego, and the American Express Company."
"One of the most interesting structures in the Lower Genesee Street Historic District is Mechanics Hall at the northwest corner of Liberty and Hotel Streets. Designed by J. McGregor in 1836 with additions in the 1850s, it was the cultural, scientific, and educational center of Utica throughout the nineteenth century. Started in 1827, it was an early manifestation of an English and American intellectual and educational movement to provide instruction and encouragement in the practical arts. The institute sponsored manufacturing fairs, art exhibits, lectures, recitals, plays and operas. It encouraged the arts by awarding prizes and certificates and it served as the early home of Utica's public library and art museum. Most of the city's leading manufacturers, entrepreneurs, craftsmen and artists were members, including John Butterfield, Theodore S. Faxton, and Horatio Seymour."
More about manufacturing in the district and of course publishing. Utica was a printing and publishing center in the 1800s and early 1900s.
URL is:
www.livingplaces.com/NY/Oneida_County/Utica_City/Lower_Genesee_Street_Historic_District.html
Some interesting items:
"The majority of the buildings in the district were constructed between 1830-1930 and are representative examples of the Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Romanesque and Neoclassical styles, including work by two prominent local architects, F. H. Gouge and G. Edward Cooper."
"The Genesee Turnpike, the Mohawk River, the Erie Canal, and several railroads made Utica an important transportation center during the nineteenth century. The Utica freight yards immediately north of the district were the largest east of the Mississippi in the 1930s and 1940s." (Wow! That's quite a claim, considering places like Boston and New York City. And even Albany, which was the stockyard capital of the east and was served by many rail cars.)
"The Commercial Travelers Building is built on elements of an 1815 masonry structure, The Ontario Branch Bank. In 1904, the structure was rebuilt to serve as the home of the Commercial Travelers Mutual Accident Association of America. Designed by Robert W. Gibson (Gibson Rd.?) (who also designed the Utica Savings Bank and the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany) and built by Ambrose B. Stannard, it is the only skeletal steel frame structure in the district."
"There were several Uticans who became active in transportation circles, the most significant being John Butterfield, entrepreneur in stagecoaches, packet boats, and railroads. Butterfield also created a transportation company at the Isthmus of Panama, the Overland Mail stagecoach line between St. Louis and San Diego, and the American Express Company."
"One of the most interesting structures in the Lower Genesee Street Historic District is Mechanics Hall at the northwest corner of Liberty and Hotel Streets. Designed by J. McGregor in 1836 with additions in the 1850s, it was the cultural, scientific, and educational center of Utica throughout the nineteenth century. Started in 1827, it was an early manifestation of an English and American intellectual and educational movement to provide instruction and encouragement in the practical arts. The institute sponsored manufacturing fairs, art exhibits, lectures, recitals, plays and operas. It encouraged the arts by awarding prizes and certificates and it served as the early home of Utica's public library and art museum. Most of the city's leading manufacturers, entrepreneurs, craftsmen and artists were members, including John Butterfield, Theodore S. Faxton, and Horatio Seymour."
More about manufacturing in the district and of course publishing. Utica was a printing and publishing center in the 1800s and early 1900s.