232 S Geneva St Ithaca

Street Address History:
Earlier street address 50 S Geneva St.
The city renumbered its streets in 1899 using the hundred block system (see Crandall City Engineering Map, 1899).

Source of Building Data: 1910 Sanborn Fire Insurance Atlas;
Multi-Family Construction: ; 
Roof of Main Structure: Non-combustible; 
Additional Sections: ; 
Outbuildings: ; 
Porches: Porch 1, wraparound front and left side (E, S), 1 story, non-combustible roof / Porch 2, right side (N), 1 story, non-combustible roof; 
Other: Bay 1, left side (S);

Source: Henry St. John Local Historic District Nomination, Sara Johnson and Kristin Olson, Historic Ithaca, Inc., 2012.
Description: 
232 South Geneva Street is located at the northwest corner of South Geneva and West Clinton Streets. It is a two-and-a-half-story house of frame construction built in 1873-74 in the Italianate style. The house has a compound rectangular plan, with a three bay wide by one bay deep front (east) extension on a wider rectangular section, a shallow wing wrapping around the northwest corner, and a shallow, on-story projection at the southwest corner. An enclosed, full-width, one-story porch extends across the east façade, and small single-bay porches are located on the west and north façades.
The low-pitched hipped roofs have deep, overhanging eaves with evenly spaced ornate single brackets and a wide cornice topped by dentils. The east extension has a center front facing. inverted-U shaped gable projecting through the roof from the cornice. A large square cupola is located in the center of the roof. It has a sloping hipped roof with bracketed overhanging eaves and two narrow round arch top windows on each side.
The stone ashlar foundation is tall, with regularly spaced basement windows. First and second story windows are generally 1/1, evenly spaced, and appear singly. Window casings have a row of dentils across the top capped by slightly pedimented crowns. One stained glass Queen Annestyle sash is located on the south façade.
An enclosed, one-story, full-width porch covers the east façade of the front extension. It has a shed roof built on top of a bracketed flat roof. A row of 1/1 sash forms the upper portion of the porch walls and the lower portion is clad in asbestos siding. The primary entrance is at the north corner of the porch. Modern doors are in front of the original recessed glazed Italianate-style double doors.
A secondary entrance is located on the north façade in the corner between the east extension and main section. It has a flat roof with brackets and a decorative porch post. Slightly west of this porch, the northwest wing steps out to the north.
The south façade has a one-story, shed-roof projecting bay near the west corner, the shed roof covering what may originally have been a flat roof. On the west façade, an enclosed porch covers an entrance at the corner of the northwest wind and the main section of the house. The porch has decorative posts and a bracketed hipped roof. A recently constructed shed roof projects from the west façade, covering the steps leading up to the porch. A narrow enclosed doorway projects from the northwest corner of the west façade, possible covering a basement-level entrance. The west portion of the property is covered by a paved driveway and small parking area.
Significance: 
Contributing. Architecturally significant.
232 South Geneva Street is architecturally significant as an example of a high-style Italianate residence. Though it has lost some integrity due to the addition of asbestos siding and the enclose east porch, it otherwise retains its original features including form and massing, ornate wood trim and brackets, and cupola.
232 South Geneva Street is located on the eastern sixth of Lot 31 of the lots laid out by Simeon DeWitt south of Green Street. The house was constructed in 1873-74 for Daniel Struble, a farmer who cultivated 100 acres of land. Struble purchased the property in 1869 and sold it in 1879. In 1874, the Ithaca Daily Journal noted that the house, with its high basement and cupola, was the “best wooden house in Ithaca.”
Alterations: 
It appears that the porches and south bay window were all added after 1888. The 1893 Sanborn company map indicates a porch wrapping around the southeast corner of the house, but no other porches. Between 1893 and 1898, the south bay and west and north porches were constructed (it is possible that they were already but not indicated on earlier maps). The wrap-around porch was shown on the 1961 Sanborn map, but was removed between 1961 and 1968.
Sources: 
Field Inventory of 232 South Geneva Street, 1968. Historic Ithaca, Inc., Ithaca, NY. 
Ithaca Daily Journal, June 6, 1873, July 14, 1873, December 24, 1874. 
Ithaca directories, 1864-1981. Historic Ithaca, Inc., Ithaca, NY. 
Levine, Jeffrey. Building-Structure Inventory Form for 232 South Geneva Street, Ithaca, NY: 1987. 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, NY. Deeds and survey maps, 1850-2010. Office of the Tompkins County Clerk, Ithaca, NY.