125 W Green St Ithaca

   "125 West Green Street ... is one of a series of houses along West Green Street that mark the transition from Ithaca’s commercial core to the primarily residential neighborhood of the Henry St. John district south of Green Street. It is a two-story house of brick construction, built in 1869 in the Italianate style.  ...
   125 West Green Street is architecturally significant as an excellent example of a substantial brick Italianate style residence, one the few brick residences in the district and in the flats of Ithaca. It has a high level of integrity and retains nearly all of its original exterior features.
   125 West Green Street is historically significant for its association with a series of prominent Ithacans: Albert Philips, William O. Wyckoff, and Clement T. Stephens. Albert H. Philips, a tailor and purveyor of men’s clothing, purchased the lot from Sarah Beebe in 1868. The existing house was constructed in 1869, replacing an earlier structure on the same lot that appears on the 1851 and 1853 maps of Ithaca, as well as in the 1866 Atlas of Tompkins County. The Ithaca Journal and Ithaca Democrat reported on the progress of the house beginning in April 1869, when it was noted that construction had begun on Albert Philips’ “fine brick house.” The mason for the house was Caleb Earl (who lived at 120 West Clinton Street), the carpentry work was by Hyatt & Oltz, and the marble mantels were made by H.G. Goodrich. Philips moved into the house in December 1869.[Ithaca Journal, April 20, 1869.]
   Philips’ store, Philips & Son, was located on East State Street from the early 1860s through 1879. His son Albert H. Philips was his partner in the business until the elder Philips’ death in 1879 and the bankruptcy of the business that same year.
   In July 1872, Philips sold the property to William O. Wyckoff. Wyckoff was the official stenographer of the sixth judicial district, and this role is reported to have led to his 1877 purchase of early Remington typewriters to hasten the transcription of court notes. He opened a sales and repair office for Remington typewriters and a business called the Phonographic Institute that provided instruction in spelling, grammar, manuscript copying, and dictation. An 1878 advertisement in the Ithaca directory proclaimed “The Bell Telephone!” and “Magnetto calls” were available to the public at the Phonographic Institute. In the late 1870s Wyckoff purchased the Ilion, New York, Remington production facility in partnership with Clarence W. Seamans and Henry H. Benedict. The partners later purchased the rights to sell the typewriters worldwide, opened a sales office at 327 Broadway in New York City, and opened braches of the Phonographic Institute in other cities. The popularization of the typewriter led to the expansion of secretarial schools and secretarial work, which became a socially acceptable occupation for women.[Sisler, Enterprising Families, 87-88].
   During Wyckoff’s ownership, the lot was enlarged by the purchase of small sections of William S. Cowles’ lot to the east and Mary Newman’s lot to the south. Wyckoff also owned 222 South Geneva Street from 1870 to 1890. William O. Wyckoff’s son Edward G. Wyckoff worked as the central New York manager of Wyckoff, Seamans, Benedict. He was a partner in the Cornell Heights Land Co., which owned and subdivided the area north of the Cornell campus across Fall Creek gorge for development beginning in 1897. Cornell Heights is now a designated local, State, and National Register Historic District.
   In June 1897, Edward G. Wyckoff, as executor of his father’s estate, sold 125 West Green Street to Clement T. Stephens for $7,250. Stephens owned an agricultural warehouse on West State Street and in the late 1890s was a partner in Stephens & Masters, a hardware store at the corner of State and Aurora streets. He previously owned and lived at 213 South Albany Street, which he sold in March 1897 for $2,750. Though the Stephens family retained ownership of the property through 1938, it appears that they later rented the house to tenants. In 1938, the house was purchased by Vincenzo Macera, owner of the Oriental Hotel....

Sources: 
Bevans, John. 1851 Map of Ithaca, Tompkins Co., N.Y. New York: John Bevans, 1851. The History Center In Tompkins County, Ithaca, NY. 
Ithaca Journal, April 20, May 18, and November 30, 1869. 
Ithaca Democrat, December 16, 1869. 
Sanborn Map Company. Ithaca, NY fire insurance maps, 1888-1961.The History Center In Tompkins County, Ithaca, NY. 
Sisler, Carol U. Enterprising Families, Ithaca, New York: Their Houses and Businesses. Ithaca, NY: Enterprise Publishing, 1986. 
Tompkins County Department of Assessment. Tompkins County tax assessment photographs, 1954. Historic Ithaca, Inc., Ithaca, NY. 
Tompkins County, NY. Deeds and survey maps, 1850-2010. Office of the Tompkins County Clerk, Ithaca, NY."

Henry St. John Local Historic District Nomination, Sara Johnson and Kristen Olson, Historic Ithaca, Inc., 2012.