231 S Geneva St Ithaca

Source: Henry St. John Local Historic District Nomination, Sara Johnson and Kristin Olson, Historic Ithaca, Inc., 2012.
Description: 
231 South Geneva Street is located on the northeast corner of South Geneva and Clinton streets, across the street from the former Henry Saint John school. The house is square in plan and was originally built ca. 1845, most likely as a front-gabled Greek Revival style house.
It has a hipped roof that extends around the south, east, and north sides of a central front-gabled section, slightly below its frieze level. Two cross-gable dormers extend north to south across the central front-gabled section. Roofs have overhanging eaves with exposed rafters and curved rafter tails. Walls are clad in stucco with large, sweeping trowel marks. The foundation is parged, and a band of vinyl siding covers the watertable.
Windows are primarily mix of 1/1 replacements, 9/1 wood sash, and single-light awning windows in the frieze band. Windows on the first story primarily appear singly and are evenly spaced, with some paired windows on the east façade. Windows are in the frieze level on the south, east, and west façades. The dormers have paired 9/1 windows. An interior chimney projects from the center section near its southwest corner.
The primary, west, façade features a stepped parapet wall covering what was the gable front of the original structure. The three-bay second story of the parapet has altered, shortened window openings in the north and south bays containing paired 1/1 replacement windows. The center bay contains a tripartite window composed of a narrow 9/1 window flanked by narrow 6/1 windows. A Greek Revival style paneled surround with sidelights flanks a modern door in the center of the first story. Paired concrete steps lead to the doorway from the north and south.
On the south façade, a secondary entrance is sheltered by a shed-roofed portico, supported by two pairs of Doric-style porch posts. Another entrance is located near the north corner of the east façade.
A gravel and grass driveway runs along the east side of the house.
Significance: 
Contributing. Architecturally Significant. Historically significant.
231 South Geneva Street is architecturally significant as an adaptation of a Greek Revival-style single-family residence into a multi-family residence. The building retains the door surround from its original Greek Revival style construction. Alterations in the 1870s and 1910s resulted in the current plan and exterior features, including overhanging eaves and rafter tails inspired by the Craftsman style, and a 1910s commercial-style parapet. The alteration of window openings on the west façade and the replacement of most windows impacts its architectural integrity.
231 South Geneva Street is historically significant for its association with the Mack family. Horace Mack purchased the property in 1841 from Daniel Tillotson, a business associate. Horace Mack was the twentieth village president, elected in 1851. He worked in the mercantile business independently and with other prominent village residents, including Jeremiah S. Beebe, Steven B. Munn, and Daniel T. Tillotson. Mack owned multiple properties in the Henry St. John district, operating some as rental properties. The house at 115 West Green Street was built for Mack prior to his village presidency. He occupied another of the “President’s Row” houses after selling 115 West Green Street. Mack held numerous other public positions, including village trustee, township supervisor, and county clerk. His son Horace and daughter-in-law Lucy also owned multiple properties in the district from the 1850s through the 1880s.
William S. and Leona Cronk owned the property from 1886-70. William Cronk was a carriage maker, partner in the firm of Cronk, Watkins & Co., located on West State Street. Cronk’s partner John L. Watkins lived across the street at 228 South Geneva Street.
In 1870, Caleb Earl purchased the property, most likely as a rental property. Earl owned and lived at 120 West Clinton Street, immediately east of 231 South Geneva Street. (The house located at120 West Clinton Street was moved to 115 West Clinton Street in 1995.) Caleb Earl was a mason. He moved to Ithaca from New Jersey in 1829. He built the Bloodgood House, no longer extant, that was located at the southeast corner of South Geneva and West Clinton streets. He also worked on the Episcopal Church, jail and courthouse, and the Wilgus Block. In the 1850s, he served as overseer of the poor.
During Earl’s ownership, the house was converted to a multi-family unit. The Ithaca Daily Journal reported in 1875 that the building, formerly a laundry, was “fitted up for families.” In 1923, the Earl family sold the property to Mariano and Caroline de Ycaza, who subdivided the property and built the apartment house at 227 South Geneva Street. Both 231 and 227 South Geneva Street were divided in multiple apartments. Mariano de Ycaza owned the 231 South Geneva Street lot until 1972.
Alterations: 
Though it appears that the building was originally a front-gabled Greek Revival-style house, the 1851 Bevans map of Ithaca indicates that it had already achieved its square plan by that time. The 1888 Sanborn company map shows the house as a large one-and-a-half-story square with a small porch on the northwest corner. The 1893 map is more detailed and indicates the presence of the projected roofline of the original house, which was one-and-a-half-stories, with the lower flanking one-story on the south, east, and north. The 1904 map indicates that the property was known as 229-231 South Geneva Street and contained tenements.
Between 1910 and 1919, the small one-story porch on the north façade appears to have been extended the full length of the façade and enclosed. The parapet was probably added to the west façade at that time. The false front, stepped parapet was a common feature of the automobile associated buildings that were being constructed nearby on Green and Cayuga streets during this time period. The heavy stucco wall treatment may also date from that period. The building does not appear to have had any subsequent additions.
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 Daily Journal, September 15, 1875 and December 23, 1891. 
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.