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There
aren't any official 'historical preservation districts' in
Trumansburg.
Instead the village retains a lot of its 19th
century structures and charm
simply because the folks who live here like it that way.
Perhaps
most emblematic of this attitude of enlightened conservatism are the
many
stone hitching posts that line the residential streets.
The
posts
are split out of the native siltstone and most of them retain the iron
rings through which many generations of reins once passed.
The lichen
growing on the side of the one at left is an indication of the high air
quality in this rural location.
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Residential
Neighborhoods
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The
"McLallen House" bed & breakfast is so-named for its location
on McLallen
Street. There are, however, several actual McLallen
homesteads still
standing in the village, including this one to the right.
The
"Mud
House" is made of adobe, which is quite unusual to find in
upstate
New York. It was built in 1848 by William McLallen, a son of
John
McLallen, one of the original settlers of Trumansburg.
William was
a business partner of Joseph Biggs, who built the house that has become
"McLallen House".
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Another
McLallen homestead. This one was built in 1832 in the
Federalist
style by another son of John McLallen. |
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This
Federalist style house was built by David McLallen, yet another son of
John (who had 13 children). Most of the north side of the
village
was once owned by the McLallen family. It was carved out of
the Treman
military grant tract and given to them in exchange for clearing the
land. |
Between
the 1850s and the 1870s many houses in the village were built in the
Italianate
Victorian style. Some, like McLallen House, were originally
clapboard
and some, like the one at right, are brick. All, however,
share the
shallowly pitched roof, wide eaves held up by ornate brackets and tall,
narrow windows. Many have cupolas and most have arched
doorways.
Note
the
siltstone foundation on this house, which is also used to make all the
sidewalks in the village.
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Another
example of the Italianate Victorian style. This house is
distinguished
the shallowly arched lintels over and small brackets under the
windows.
A sun porch and a bay window have been added to the southwest side of
the
house, but the house lacks a cupola. |
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In
addition to the Italianate homes, there are many gabled Victorians in
Trumansburg.
Most of them would likely be classified as "Folk Victorian" because
they
include elements of any of the different styles of the day.
The gingerbreading
under the eaves of the house at right recalls the Gothic Revival, but
the
shuttered central window brings to mind the Stick style.
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Some
rather pure expressions of Victorian architecture do exist in the
village.
This Second Empire house is the only one of its kind in
Trumansburg.
The scale of the windows and doors is enormous (9 or 10 feet
tall).
The builder had a sense of humor too. Note how the lintels on
the
ornamental windows on the porch roof match those that emerge from the
mansard
roof on the third floor. |
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The
Commercial District
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This
commerical block is all that is left of the historical part of the
"Lower
Village", so called because it is in the small valley carved by
Trumansburg
Creek. The buildings on the north side of Main Street burned
down
in 1921 and a flood in 1935.
The
building
with the tan bricks and the Romanesque -arched windows (fourth from the
right) was originally the Biggs
department
store. The ground floor now houses a laundrymat and thrift
store.
The second floor is residential and the third is storage. The
floors
above the storefronts in Trumansburg are often residences, which
contributes
to the vibrancy of the downtown.
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The front
of the Trumansburg Liquor Store includes large painted, enameled metal
panels. Hazelnut Kitchen, a
popular nouvelle cuisine restaurant, is next
door.
Before the opening of Hazelnut Kitchen in 2007 the space was occupied
by Simply Red
from 2003. It was called the The Store at Tremaine's
Village before that and Kostrub's before that; for many years it has
been
central to the social fabric of the
village. The place functioned as a sort of 'village wide
web' where you could visit to find out what was going on and who was
making
it happen.
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Perhaps
the contemporary social equivalent of the old diner is found at Gimme!
Coffee.
Between the opening of their doors at 7
a.m. and around
10 a.m. just about anybody you'd want to run into will stop in for a
cup
of joe. Of course, compared to the old diner the coffee's
more expensive,
but it tastes better. And you're a lot more likely to smell
patchouli
...
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June
and overcast. Go figure. |
