Griffin Block

Jacob Rothschild, Boston Variety Store

Auburnian Steam Press, Auburn, NY

Lehigh Valley City Ticket Office (Paul S Millspaugh Division Passenger Agent, William A Ross Ticket Agent) 

United States Express Co, John W Bates Agent 

Simeon Smith, Lawyer 

Frank D Woodford, General Agent Manhattan Life Ins Co of New York, Fire and Accident Insurance

Ithaca, NY

George Griffin, Merchant Tailor 

White, Sullivan & Salter (James M White, John J Sullivan and Thomas J Salter), Barbers 

Dr Charles P Beaman, Physician and Surgeon

Norton Printing Co, Ithaca, NY

Multi-Family Construction: ; 

Roof of Main Structure: Non-combustible; 

Additional Sections: ; 

Porches: ; 

Outbuildings: ; 

Other: Sanborn 1910 assigns three addresses to the structure at the corner of E State St and N Aurora: #224 E State St, #102 N Aurora, and #104 N Aurora St / There is access to #106 N Aurora on floors 2, 3, 4 / based on 2021 observation #104 N Aurora St is a door to stairs leading to the upper floors;; 

 

The Directory Co, Charles G Smith Manager, Grocers 

Mrs Minnie M Andrews, Corsets 

Irving R Stevens, General Manager Home Life Ins Co 

Sullivan & Salter (John J Sullivan and Thomas Salter), Barbers

Norton Printing Co, Ithaca, NY

Goodie Shop, Marcus N. Chacona Proprietor, Confectionery 

Cornell Barber Shop, Walker B. Allen Proprietor 

George W. Sharpe, Real estate, Insurance and Mortgage Loans 

Underwood Typewriter Co., Samuel J. Schaeffer Branch Manager

H. A. Manning Co, Schenectady, NY

Browning King & Co, Joseph F Sullivan Manager, Clothiers 

Cornell Barber Shop (Charles T Srnka and Grant H Yentzer)

H. A. Manning Co, Schenectady, NY

224 East State St., 104-106 North Aurora St. Historic name: Griffin Block 

"Four-story, three-bay wide, ten-bay deep, red brick Italianate-style commercial building located at the comer of  Aurora Street; State Street facade has restored cast iron storefront (1974) with three bays delineated by cast iron supports with Corinthian capitals and fanlight transom windows in each bay; recessed entrance in center bay flanked by single-light display windows in side bays; second and third stories retain a two-story, three-sided, stamped metal bay window with historic one-over-one sash; pressed metal spandrel panels between second- and third-story windows; this feature was probably added in the early twentieth century; fourth story retains original three segmentally arched windows with cast iron window hoods and sills and one-over-one sash. Aurora Street facade contains a single-light display window with scroll brackets above sidewalk basement access with a decorative cast and wrought iron handrail; two entrances to altered storefront with display windows flanked by stone piers in three northernmost bays; Aurora Street upper story facade retains segmental arched windows with cast iron window hoods and sills and historic one-over-one sash; brick entablature consists of frieze with recessed lozenges between paired corbelled brackets capped by dentil course and plain frieze. Built 1872; restored 1974. 

Architect: A.B. Dale 

Builder: Jerry Smith for William H. Griffin 

Historical note: The cast iron street-level facade and brick cornice are original elements of the 1872 design; the bay window was added in 1904; the Browning, King clothing store occupied the storefront from the 1930s until the 1970s; the interior of the first story was restored in 1974 to resemble the Goodie Shop, a sweets shop on the site in the 1920s. The basement has traditionally housed a barber shop since the turn of the twentieth century."

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Ithaca Downtown Historic District, December 18, 2004

"The Griffin Block (1869-70, A. B. Dale) also exemplifies the Italianate style and has cast-iron components. Its original owner was a dry goods merchant. After a renovation in 1974, the plaster detailing inside retains the lavish appearance of its 1920s occupant, a candy store called the Goodie Shop. The basement has housed a barbershop since around 1900. "

Historic Ithaca, DeWitt Park Historic District and Downtown Ithaca: An Architectural Walking Tour, 24. http://www.historicithaca.org/

"A tractor-trailer carrying a load of cars crashed into Simeon’s Bistro on The Commons just after 4 p.m. June 20. The vehicle crashed into the corner of the building, located at the intersection of North Aurora Street and East State Street, while attempting the right-hand turn onto Aurora."

"Truck crashes into Commons restaurant" June 20, 2014 The Ithacan

This building was renovated in 2015-2016 after truck accident on June 20, 2014.

"Simeon's marks its grand reopening with ceremonies starting at 10:30 a.m. today (Sept. 29). The restaurant at 224 E. State St., just off the Ithaca Commons, has been welcoming guests during a "soft opening" since late August.

Owners Dean Zervos and Rich Avery are using the grand opening ceremony to mark the completion of the extensive renovations and rebuilding they've undertaken in the last two years, according to a report in the Central New York Business Journal.

Simeon's occupied an Italianate building erected in 1871. The building housed a soda and candy shop starting in the 1920s, then spent 40 years as a men's clothing store. It opened as a bar called Simeon's in 1975, and became a full-service restaurant in 1986. Zervos and Avery took over in 2007.

They have tried to maintain as much of the look of the original as possible, given the exensive damage. One key change is the creation of a raw bar space in the rear called Simeon's Oyster Room. Other new features are a redesigned bar, with a raised dining area, and the addition of a second-floor dining room."

"Simeon's in Ithaca celebrates reopening two years after tragic crash" Sep. 29, 2016 Syracuse