This two-and-a-half story dwelling has a slate roof with broad gable and large dormers on the north and south elevations. There is a tripartite window in the front gable and ornamental knee brackets adorn the eaves. The full-width front porch features battered posts and a flat roof. An exterior end chimney rises above the exterior south wall; a large cistern is located in the basement. The house is located on an elevated portion of the terraced lot, allowing ground level access to the basement from the side yard. The land rises steeply to the rear, then drops off sharply to Cornell's Mundy Wildflower Gardens and Fall Creek. To the north of the property is a steep hill, all that remains of a much larger mound which was quarried for gravel for many years in the late 19th and early 20th century.
This house was occupied by the McCurdy family from 1916 to 1974. According to an interview with Clarence and Adda McCurdy, they moved into the partially-completed house around Thanksgiving Day 1916. Professor McCurdy designed the house with the help of Challis Compton, who lived at 115 Halcyon Hill Road. McCurdy also supervised the building of the house. Compton is listed in the city directory as a carpenter, residing in Forest Home from 1915 to 1918. The hardwood framing for the house was sawn on a portable sawmill at Mr. McCurdy's father's farm in Pennsylvania, then shipped by rail to Ithaca.
Included in
Forest Home Historic District with USN 10906.000027. To access the Building-Structure Inventory form (sometimes referred to as the "Blue Form"), and from which some of the details above come, including the approximate year built, follow these
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