227 S Geneva St Ithaca

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

Description: 
227 South Geneva Street is located on a shallow lot on the east side of the street, slightly north of West Clinton Street and one lot south of the McGraw House assisted living facility. The broad two-and-a-half-story, pebble-dashed stucco-clad vernacular building was constructed ca.1924. It is rectangular in plan with an L-shaped recess at the northeast corner; a double deck open-sided porch fills this recess.

The medium-pitched, front-gabled roof has a pair of gable dormers on both the north and south sides. The deep, overhanging eaves are bracketed in the gable and have exposed rafter tails. Windows are 1/1 and appear singly, in pairs, and in groups of three, generally evenly spaced across the façades, with the same fenestration pattern on the first and second stories. On the west façade, a triple window is under the gable.

A deep, one-story, full-width, hipped roof porch covers the west, primary, façade. The porch is clad with the same pebble-dash stucco as the main body of the building. Shallow arches span the spaces between porch piers and a low solid balustrade runs between piers. Two separate, adjacent entry doors are located in the south corner of the west façade. The matching doors have three vertical lights of beveled glass. A small balcony with a simple slatted balustrade is located in the center of the porch roof.

A paved driveway runs along the north side of the house. The parking lots of 225.5 South Geneva Street and 120 West Clinton Street surround the east side of the property.

Significance: 
Contributing. Architecturally significant.

227 South Geneva Street is architecturally significant as an example of a purpose-built, multi-unit apartment building constructed during the last period of development of the district. The vernacular building incorporates design elements from the Craftsman style, including deep overhanging bracketed eaves and exposed rafters, as well as a deep, full-width front porch. Though larger than other houses built in the district in the 1920s and 30s, its materials and decorative elements are similar. The building retains a high level of architectural integrity and does not appear to have had any significant alterations since its construction.

The building was constructed for Mariano and Caroline de Ycaza, who purchased this lot and 231 South Geneva Street in 1923. The building was constructed as flat-style apartments. The building’s first city directory listing was in 1925, when three individuals and couples were listed at the address: Mariano and Caroline de Ycaza; Roy Snyder, the manager of Woolworths; and J. Nelson, a Cornell professor, with his wife Helen Spaeth. Mariano de Ycaza was the proprietor of Central Motor Company on South Cayuga Street that offered Hupmobile and Gray sales and service. Mariano de Ycaza owned the property until 1972, though he later lived at 231 South Geneva Street.

Sources: 
Ithaca directories, 1864-1981. Historic Ithaca, Inc., Ithaca, NY. 
Sanborn Map Company. Ithaca, NY fire insurance maps, 1888-1961.The History Center In Tompkins County, Ithaca, NY. 
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.