125 Sunset Dr Ithaca

Homes of the Western Slope of Cayuga Heights, New York. By Patricia Longoria, Deputy Historian, Village of Cayuga Heights, July 2017
Prepared in conjunction with Sunset Park Walk and Talk,  July 8, 2017

This document, from the Village of Cayuga Heights History Project, includes many photographs of the ten selected buildings, descriptions of the residents for whom they were built, and a map that indicates the route that was taken.

Introduction
"By 1928, developer Jared T. Newman (1855-1937) had laid out what he called the Western Slope section of Cayuga Heights on the hillside above a sand and gravel pit. The section had sweeping views of Cayuga Lake and the Inlet Valley. In his “Cayuga Heights Notes” advertisement in the October 21, 1929 Ithaca Journal, Newman wrote that most of the “outstanding home sites” had been snapped up, and construction had begun on homes on the choicest view lots. Deeds for these Western Slope homes included easements that protected the views from obstruction by buildings and plantings on other lots.
  Several local architects chose to build homes for their families in the Western Slope section, perhaps an indication of just how aesthetically pleasing the site is.
  Ever the consummate promoter, Newman wrote in 1934 that he judged 'the conversion of this sand bank into the present Sunset Drive as the best piece of work I have done in the Heights development.'
  The Newman family’s donation of Sunset Park to the Village of Cayuga Heights as a public site made the majestic views of Tompkins County accessible to residents and visitors in perpetuity."

Buildings on the Walking Tour

From the Village of Cayuga Heights History Project.