village of monticello, new york -...

NYS Route 42/Broad\\Tay

Village of Monticello, New York

Historic Resource Contextual Analysis

Prepared by: AKRF Engineering, PC

August 31. 2000

NYS Route 42/Broadway Monticello, NY

A. INTRODUCTION

The New York State Department ofTransportation (NYSDOT), in coordination with the Village of Monticello, is planning roadway and sidewalk rehabilitation for a 0.5 mile portion ofNYS Route 42 known as Broadway between Pleasant and Jefferson Streets, in downtown Monticello, (Sullivan County), New York (Figure 1). Broadway is the village's downtown shopping district; but it also serves a regional function as a through street for motorists with origins and destinations outside the downtown. Monticello is the Sullivan County seat and several county government and related service uses are located on Broadway or on adjacent streets.

Broadway currently consists of four travel lanes plus curbside parking lanes on each side. Total roadway (curb-to-curb) width varies from 16 meters to 20 meters (approximately 53 feet to 66 feet). Broadway is flanked with wide sidewalks of variable widths, materials, and condition. The sidewalk cross slopes vary considerably with very steep slopes in many areas.

The objectives of the proposed project are:

• To improve pedestrian access and safety across Broadway. • To provide better traffic safety and more efficient traffic flow in the downtown area while

slowing traffic sufficiently to allow Broadway to serve its commercial base. • To enhance pedestrian access and safety to adjacent retail and commercial developments. • To restore the existing pavement to provide a satisfactory riding surface and to inhibit its

deterioration.

The proposed improvements would be entirely funded through state funds and is thus subject to the New York State Historic Preservation Act (Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law, Section 14.09). This contextual analysis of cultural resources was prepared by AKRF Engineering, PC on behalf of the Village of Monticello and the NYSDOT.

B. METHODOLOGY

AKRF Engineering, PC, conducted historic research and field investigations to prepare this contextual analysis. Resources of the Sullivan County Historic Society were used as were historic Sanborn insurance maps and published documents on the history of Monticello and Sullivan County. A partial bibliography of resources consulted for this contextual analysis is provided at the end of this report.

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Project Location

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NYS Route 42/Broadway, Monticello, NY

C. CONTEXTUAL HISTORY

Monticello was founded in 1804 by the brothers John Patterson Jones and Samuel Frisbee Jones of Columbia County, New York, the sons of a Revolutionary War veteran. Samuel, a surveyor, had a financial stake in the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike Company, which had been chartered by New York State in 1801 to build an overland route from the Hudson River to the Delaware River. He explored the area west of the Mamakating valley for a feasible route in 1802, and through his work came to the conclusion that the road would likely precipitate the formation of a new county out of the south-eastern section of Ulster County. The brothers soon bought two large lots on the proposed route, believing that it could be an ideal location for the capital of a new county. With Samuel occupied in working on the turnpike, it fell to John P. Jones to commence with village improvements. He quickly brought in a party of workmen and completed a saw mill. The location of the settlement, named Monticello after President Thomas Jefferson's Virginia estate, was on a plateau, overlooking rolling hills and mountains in every direction.

The route of the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike was not finalized until the spring of 1804. Albion (now Thompsonville), a flourishing settlement founded by Judge Thompson of Ulster County, anticipated little competition for the route from the Jones brothers and their saw mill. However, Samuel's influence with the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike Company and its directors overcame the brother's status as newcomers in the area and the road was built through Monticello. The Turnpike was generally laid out along the ways of Colonial roads and ancient Native American trails and followed approximately the same route as today's Route 17B, with fewer curves and without regard to grade, going straight over hills and valleys. Through Monticello, the Turnpike route was Main Street, later renamed Broadway and ultimately NYS Route42.

The Turnpike was an integral player in the blossoming westward expansion in young America. Indeed, says one historian, it "was one of the arteries through which the red blood of the growing nation flowed with ever-increasing life and power."* The Turnpike was among the first great roads built largely into the wilderness, causing settlement instead of following it. Stage coach lines taverns and related staging businesses were soon established along its entire 130-mile route, Monticello's position astride this great artery was a stimulus for its early nineteenth century growth; and her young industries of tanning and lodging were closely tied to the business opportunities brought by the Turnpike.

Shortly after the Turnpike's construction, the Jones brothers marked out the lines of the principal streets and public square on the forest trees. John completed the village's first house in December 1804 in the vicinity of the current intersection of Jones Street and Broadway (this house was demolished in the 1940s). Other lots were advertised in the newspapers of surrounding counties. They were given free to mechanics and others who would agree to build and settle on them. The village's first school was opened in a log-house built by a free black in 1807.**

In response to the application of Monticello founder Samuel F. Jones (and despite some opposition from the citizens of Ulster County), the New York State Legislature passed an act

* **

(Benton, 2)

(Quinlan, 107)

2


forming the county of Sullivan in March 1809, after the first application had failed to pass one year earlier. The County was named after General John Sullivan, a Revolutionary War veteran. A new county needed a county seat, and despite lobbying from Liberty and Thompsonville, Monticello's earlier victory in wiiming the turnpike route secured it the coveted county seat as well. Action by Samuel F. Jones and even Governor Tompkins in the State Legislature on Monticello's behalf convinced legislators to put the new county's government on the "great thoroughfare from the Hudson to the Delaware." County population at the time of formation was 6,108; ten years earlier the same lands had held only 3,222.*

Soon after Sullivan was organized as a county, David Hammond built the first part of what became the Mansion House, later the Monticello Inn. By the 1870s this building, with subsequent expansions, had become the largest hotel building in all of Sullivan, Orange, Ulster, and Delaware counties. It supported a thriving stage coach business and gave Monticello its initial status as a resort destination-a status which would be continued by the largely Jewishowned and operated Catskill resorts in most of the twentieth century.**

In 1811 a post route went into operation from Newburgh to Ithaca, by way of Monticello, Binghamton and Oswego, and a post office was established at Monticello. Samuel F. Jones was the first postmaster.*** New stores and dwellings were put up by Monticellans Henry Reed, David Goodrich, and Clinton Barnes. Curtis Lindley added a temporary courtroom to his tavern house, along with a dining and sitting room. The first wooden courthouse would not be completed until 1814 because of construction problems exacerbated in part by intra-county grudges resulting from the Legislature's decision to choose Monticello as the county seat. At this time there were twenty dwellings in Monticello in addition to several stores and shops, the school-house, and court house.****

The Reverend Daniel C. Hopkins organized the Presbyterian Church ofMonticello in 1810, the village's first. The first church building was built in 1828 at its present location immediately to the east of the county court house, on a lot donated by the Jones Brothers.*****

In 1820, Sullivan County, with a population 8,900, was divided into seven towns. Monticello was organized into the town of Thompson, a small victory for the twice defeated arch-rival to the east. In terms of population, Bloomingburgh in the town of Mamakating was the only settlement close to Monticello's size. Monticello's first newspaper, the Republican Watchman, was established in 1826. Until its demise in the 1980s, it was the oldest established business in Monticello. The village's other major newspaper was the Sullivan County Republican. The Republican had an office in Waller Hall and supported Republican candidates. The Watchman was the Democratic paper and maintained an office in the Masonic Temple on the courthouse park. Both papers typically published on Fridays. Many other short-lived newspapers were published in Monticello, particularly between 1890 and 1950. Among these were editions aimed

* (Quinlan 99-100)

** (Quinlan, 107)

*** **** *****

(Quinlan, 110-11)

(Quinlan I 00, I 08)

(Sesquicentennial Journal)

3


at the burgeoning numbers of ethnic, religious, and political groups which continued to emerge in Monticello.*

The slowly growing settlement was incorporated as a village in April 1830, with a population of about 350 inhabitants. At the time ofMonticello's incorporation there were only two hotels, one of them the Mansion House. Other businesses included a small number of merchants, milliners, lawyers, physicians, shoemakers, blacksmiths, and other mechanics. Main Street, as Broadway was then known, was rubble-strewn and without sidewalks, as well as overrun with farm animals. Houses, reported the local newspaper, were generally unpainted wooden structures leased from absentee owners.

Sidewalk construction and other physical improvements, combined with stricter village by-law enforcement, commenced in 1842 largely on the efforts of prominent community leader Archibald C. Niven (who later constructed the still extant commercial building at 200 Broadway near Jones Street). Well-attended lectures on historical, scientific, and economic subjects were delivered by village residents. Monticello's increasing cultural literacy translated into a renewed interest in architecture and development, with the sale and renovation of older structures to new residents. New construction began to transform the rural outpost into an attractive village. ••

The Methodist church in Monticello was originally built in 1843, during a long period of Methodist prominence over Sullivan County's religious life. Methodists had first worshiped in Monticello as early as 1806 in various private homes, and were allowed to congregate in the courthouse from 1822 until1844 through the influence of Deputy Sheriff Benjamin Gray. The new church was situated on Main Street, and stands today somewhat altered since its original construction. The brick Italianate parsonage (now 255 Broadway) was built immediately to the east ofthe Methodist Church in 1872 through a donation by Mrs. Hannah Hammond. •••

In January 1844, on a bitterly cold winter afternoon, the court house, the County Clerk's office, and the Presbyterian church were destroyed by fire. Only sustained efforts by the populace prevented the disastrous conflagration from consuming the rest of the village. After the fire, efforts were again made to undermine Monticello's position as county seat by rebuilding the county buildings elsewhere in Sullivan County. Several Sullivan County villages made application to the State Legislature for removal of the county buildings to their municipalities' sites. The animosity towards Monticello seems to have been exacerbated by a perception that the merchants and hoteliers of the county seat were becoming wealthy from "a rich harvest of jurors, witnesses and other who were compelled to patronize them." The village of Liberty agitated for its interests, but the State Legislature opted for continuity in directing the rebuilding of the county buildings in Monticello, which was closer to the geographical center of the county and the center of population. •••• The new stone courthouse was designed by Monticello resident T.M. Niven and cost $6,500 to construct. It was finished in November 1845.***** This brick and masonry courthouse was built in a Greek Revival style and had a slender frame cupola. The

* (Monticello: Its History ... , 47)

** (Quinlan, 200-201)

*** **** *****

(Sesquicentennial Journal)

(Quinlan, 139-147)

(Quinlan, 150-151)

4


Presbyterian Church adjacent to the county courthouse on the north side of Main Street was also rebuilt by the end of 1844.

Sullivan County grew rapidly between 1845 and 1855, more than doubling its population. Three factors primarily influenced the county's mid-nineteenth century growth: the construction of transportation infrastructure in the form of the Delaware and Hudson Canal and the New York and Erie Railroad, the emergence of the tanning industry, and the rise in Irish and German immigrants.* As the county seat and population center, Monticello's fortunes naturally rose in concert with those of the county.

Monticello was without a bank until1850, when Frederick M. St. John, a former junior clerk in his brother's store who had come to amass a considerable personal fortune, singlehandedly opened the Sullivan County Bank with capital of just over $50,000. A mere merchant, he was soon challenged in the banking business by a consortium of wealthy landowners who subscribed to stock of the Union Bank of Sullivan County. Archibald C. Niven, a prominent Monticello lawyer and a one term U.S. Congressman, was installed as the first president. The Union Bank was reorganized as a National Bank in 1865 and drove the Sullivan County Bank out ofbusiness within two years. The National Bank, later known as the National Union Bank, would find a longtime home at the corner of Broadway and Bank Streets adjacent to the courthouse park. ••

The 143rd New York Volunteer Infantry regiment was organized at Monticello in August 1862 in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call to arms. The regiment left Monticello in 1862, participated at Richmond in June 1863, and the siege of Atlanta in Septemer 1864 (including Sherman's march to the sea). Tanneries flourished in the period from 1840 to 1870, and were particularly helped by the war demand. James Eldridge Quinlan, owner and editor of the Republican Watchman from 1838 to 1874, writes convincingly that the "Civil War was won with the boots tanned in Sullivan County."

Responding in part to the influx of immigrants from Catholic Ireland, St. Peter's Roman Catholic church in Monticello was organized in 1864. In 1898, under Rev. J. F. Reywood, the church opened its "imposing new edifice" on the corner of Broadway and Liberty Streets. The structure, which seats 800 parishioners, exists to this day.•••

The Monticello and Port Jervis Railroad Company was formed to include the village in the economic potential of the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad. The latter concern was completed in 1873 and traversed Sullivan County but did not go through Monticello. (Quinlan, 220-222) The Monticello & Port Jervis Railroad was completed in 1871 and connected with the Erie Railroad at Port Jervis. Monticello was the northern terminus. The historic railroad station, no longer extant, was located some distance south ofBroadway on St. John Street. Monticello's first telegraph line was constructed to Fallsburgh by the Midland Company in 1871.

A fire in August 1871 burned the Mansion House. Three years later, in April1874, a fire started in the barns of the Exchange Hotel which was located to the east of the Mansion House near the site oftoday's EconoLodge motel. The Exchange Hotel and George Hindley's Saloon, Kent's barber shop, the Republican Watchman printing plant, Billing's Flour and Feed store, and Curley's Hotel were destroyed.

* (Quinlan, 162)

** (Quinlan, 107, 203; Sesquicentennial Journal)

*** (Monticello: Its History ... , 9)

5


Monticello entered the twentieth century secure in its position in the regional economy and confident in the future. The village published a pamphlet showcasing its various businesses, hotels, public buildings and amenities which was apparently distributed to visitors in the surrounding resort areas. Monticello's Main Street was noted as being eight rods (132 feet) wide, curbed and boasting a "splendid shale roadbed." The sidewalks throughout the town were bluestone and lined with "grand old maple shade trees." The streets were described as being "brilliantly illuminated by large incandescent lights placed 50 yards apart." • The writers extolled Monticello's "many metropolitan advantages [including] ... marvelously pure and health-giving air, always cool nights, cultured people, pleasant society, good stores, first-class hotels, excellent summer train service, fishing and hunting, good roads, an excellent fire department, etc., ••

The park in front of the county courthouse is described as "a fitting gem to adorn a beautiful resort ... shaded by stately maples and flagged diagonally." The diagonal row of maples still exists today, although the walk has been reconfigured. Also lost in the last century were the band stand (which was located in the center of the park), numerous settees (benches), and a "pretty bronze fountain" which was located along Broadway. Bordering the park were the county buildings, Presbyterian Church, Masonic Temple, National Union Bank, Hotel Rockwell, Mansion House, and the post office.***

Among Monticello's more prosperous hotels of the time were the Hotel Rockwell, the Mansion House (later the Monticello Inn), Frank Leslie, Park View Hotel, and Radcliff Park House. The hotels often promoted their nearby liveries, or stables, which provided horse care and drivers "to all trains."**** Today only the former Mansion House continues to operate as a lodging establishment.

The event most affecting today's surviving historic landscape was the disastrous fire of August 1909 which consumed much of the northern side of Broadway west of the Court House. Following the 1909 fire, Main Street was renamed Broadway. The fire started in the Murray Electric Light and Power Generating plant in the rear of the Palatine Hotel on Landfield A venue. The fire spread quickly throughout the area. Landfield Avenue burned up to North Street and both sides of Broadway were consumed from the former Carlton Hotel up to Bank Street and across the street starting at the former Village Offices located at Prince Street and Broadway up to and including both sides of St. John Street for a short distance. Seventy-four buildings burnt for a million dollar loss.••••• Yet another fire, this one in 1919, destroyed twenty-two buildings on the north side of Broadway near Liberty Street.

The reconstruction of area roads, most notably Route 17, in accordance with Governor AI Smith's emphasis on progressive road building brought new prosperity to the area. The new accessibility of Sullivan County and Monticello from New York City gave rise to a summer tourist industry which thrived well into the 1960s. By the 1930s Sullivan County had 500 hotels and boasted a thriving egg farm industry. Twelve steam laundries serviced the huge resort

* **

(Monticello, 3)

(Monticello, 13)

*** (Monticello, 7)

**** (Monticello, 22, 24, 26, 30, 58)

***** (Broadway Revitalization Study, 5)

6


population. As the county seat, Monticello continued as the center of culture and commerce well into the latter half of the twentieth century. The resort business was so good that during the summer months applicants at Monticello's employment office, the County's only one, were down to a "precious few."* Cissie Blumberg, a resort operator, notes that with each hotel hosting its own band and some other form of entertainment on almost every summer evening, it was "an unprecedented opportunity for the show business world to find work." ••

The long and sustained popularity of Monticello and Sullivan County as a resort haven had the effect of fostering a strikingly urban and urbane aura for such a seemingly remote town. The thousands ofNew York City visitors, combined with hotel staffs composed largely of college students on summer break, inspired a cultural scene decidedly out of step with what could be expected in sparsely populated Sullivan county. Skliar's resort hotel, in Monticello, was particularly noted for its intellectual undertakings which included chamber music festivals, artists in residence, literary lectures and avant garde entertainme~t. •••

The Sullivan County resorts were most famous as an incubator of comedic talent. So many Jewish comics springboarded to fame in the area that it earned the moniker of"Borscht Belt." In a time when one's ethnicity often worked against show business success, many American show business icons got their start in the hills around Monticello. Among these were Red Buttons, Alan King, Jackie Mason, Milton Berle, Buddy Hackett, Bette Midler, Robert Klein, Robert Guillaume, Orson Bean, Melba Moore, Richard Belzer, Steven Landesberg, Freddie Roman, Jerry Lewis, and Billy Crystal.••••

Monticello was a conduit of culture and talent far exceeding typical small town expectations. Because the hotel shows typically ended by ten in the evening, the village became the focus of late night visits from hotel guests intent on prolonging their evenings in the nearest urban setting. Clubs, restaurants, movies and catering halls thrived in Monticello during these midcentury decades. Among these was the Rainbow Gardens, where Sadie Bands and Roy Gobey "reigned in midnight splendor".*****

In 1948, author Norman Mailer and singer Kenneth Spencer appeared before an audience of a thousand people in a Monticello movie theater. The event was a fund-raiser for Third-party presidential candidate Henry Wallace, who ended up polling eleven percent of the November vote in Sullivan County, remarkable for a liberal candidate in a rural county:••••• During the McCarthy years, when performers of all ethnicities were blacklisted in the cities based on their known or suspected political views, they continued to find work in the Catskills. •••••••

But Monticellans were not always welcoming to alternative viewpoints, particularly during the contentious 1960s when a Sullivan County organization, the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, decided to host Dr. Benjamin Spack for an anti-war speech. Because of threats of

* **

(Blumberg 81)

(Blumberg, 188)

*** **** ***** ******

(Blumberg 101)

(Blumberg 181, 188)

(Blumberg 189)

(Blumberg 168)

******* (Blumberg 188)

7


violence and withdrawal of patronage, the group was unable to secure a private meeting hall in Monticello. After appearing before the County board in an attempt to secure the use of a public building, the group was again denied in a meeting marked by vicious debates and contentious rants. Monticello's conservatives prevailed as the meeting was eventually held at a restaurant in Rock Hill, a small Sullivan County village.

Just a few years later in 1969 Sullivan County would again face the growing generational and political divide tearing America when it hosted, to its surprise, the most famous music festival in American history. The Woodstock Arts and Music Festival, held on a rainy August weekend in tiny Bethel only ten miles to the west of downtown Monticello, resulted in epic traffic jams and hundreds of thousands of visitors. Monticello endured with a smile, and many residents still speak of the increased respect gained for America's young people through direct interaction with them. However, the political fallout resulting from the unplanned and often tense traffic and human situation resulted in heavy losses for the sitting Sullivan county supervisors at the next election.

Sports and amusement facilities added to Monticello's lure. The Monticello Amusement Park, once located at the northwest end of Wheeler Street, burned down at the height of the 1932 summer season. Monticello Raceway, at the western edge of town on what is now Route 17B, held its inaugural event in June 1958. The arena had a capacity of 15,000.

The Quickway, or new Route 17, was completed as a limited access expressway by the mid-1960's. While providing many local construction jobs, the Quickway was isolated from old Route 17's businesses and did not improve the economic condition of Sullivan County. Furthermore, similar freeway construction was happening everywhere, opening up new vacation areas in the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks within range of the New York City weekend traveler.

Because of Monticello's intimate relationship with the surrounding resort industry, it was inevitable that the decline in tourism would force a similar decline in the village's fortunes. The hotel business began to dry up in the 1970s. Cissie Blumberg, the hotelier, offers several reasons why. First, women and children were the base of the original tourist population for the hotels, and were joined by their working husbands on weekends. The standardization of full-time women's work meant that a full summer in the country became unrealistic. Next, the standardization of air conditioning made cities more bearable. Suburban relocation gave people local beach clubs, pools, and day camps, reducing demand for Sullivan County's charms. Lower airline fares and increasing middle-class travel options meant the resorts were competing with the Caribbean, Europe, and the American South and Southwest. The increasing ability of Jews to visit non-Jewish areas reduced the target population; similarly, the Catskill hoteliers did not respond quickly enough to non-Jewish clientele who may have developed an interest in vacationing in the area. Recessions and business cycles shut down increasing numbers of the many family-owned hotels, which could not survive as well as corporate-owned resorts. Finally, the establishment of a giant gambling resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey further depleted the potential target population of travelers. •

Monticello, while still maintaining a reasonably busy commercial street and pedestrian life, has never fully recovered from the fatal swoon of the resort industry. In recent years many of the defunct bungalow colonies and resorts have been transformed into Hasidic summer camps and

* (Blumberg 265-66)

8


collectives. The remaining restaurants and theaters are somewhat moribund, while family businesses continue to give way to more homogenized franchise choices.

Broadway, Monticello's main street, is unusual in its rural context because of its width and the number of buildings that line it. Only a few residential streets branch out to the north and south. The grandiosity of Broadway is explained by the fact that it served as the unofficial downtown for the thousands of summer visitors to the nearby resorts for decades.

Today, Monticello's business district extends for about a mile down Broadway within the halfmile project study area many older buildings recall a more bustling past as a center for commercial and resort activity.

Broadway itself is a wide asphalt expanse throughout the downtown. Traffic, while not overwhelming, is steady and pedestrians can only cross safely at the lights. The asphalt sidewalks on much of the north side of the street increase the apparent width of the featureless street even more. Evidence of the original granite curbs still exist in some places. Wooden telephone poles strung with wiring and "cobra-head" streetlights detract from Broadway's character. Street trees and grassy areas between sidewalk and street are poorly defined and maintained. On the south side of Broadway, the area in front of the Methodist church and the several buildings to the east recall part of a former residential aesthetic. The grassy embankment, narrow sidewalk, and extensive vegetation complete the area in a way the north side lacks.

D. PROPOSED MONTICELLO HISTORIC DISTRICT

Monticello, while boasting a rich cultural and political history, has been repeatedly devastated by fire. This has obviously reduced the historic integrity of some of its buildings. Nevertheless, structures were often rebuilt by the same owners in the same locations. In Monticello, the village's relationship with fire must be taken into account in assessing the importance of its buildings. While not all original, many were faithful reproductions that replaced original buildings lost by fire only months earlier and thus have a greater connection with the past than some construction dates might indicate.

Furthermore, simple apathy and neglect has also robbed the village of its historic patrimony. Most notoriously, the village's first house (built by John P. Patterson) was demolished in the 1950s for the construction of the new building of the Sullivan County Trust Company.

In any case, enough historic fabric exists to support the designation of a national historic district (Figure 2). The proposed borders of this district would extend from the eastern edge of 200 Broadway, then follow a line north and west to include the oldest part of the Monticello Inn and the Presbyterian Church. The boundary would then head west to include the County Court House, and all of 11 Bank Street, before running due south until it turns west at midblock, to the western edge of338 Broadway, to include every parcel fronting on Broadway between these two points. This portion of the district generally covers on area starting east of Jones Street extending to the west of Liberty Street. The boundary is then drawn across Broadway to the south, and includes the roadbed and the sidewalk on the southern side back east to the point of beginning, including 241 to 255 Broadway and the Methodist Episcopal Church in their entirety.

9

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Proposed Monticello Downtown Historic District

0 Contributing Features Within Proposed Historic District

0 Significant Features Outside of Proposed Historic District

SIGNIFICANT FEATURES OUTSIDE OF PROPOSED HISTORIC DISTRICT: A Village Hall B Former Curley's Hotel (182 Broadway) C Stephen W. Royce House (186 Broadway) D Wrought -Iron Sidewalk Arch E Civil War Statue at Joe's Park F Kaplan's Deli G 195 Broadway H 191 Braodway

Monticello Library (187 Broadway)

Monticello, N ¥

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18 Former Carlton Hotel (256 Broadway) 19 Crain Building (264 Broadway) 20 270 Broadway 21 Former Rialto Theatre (272-274 Broadway 22 Cohen Building (284-286 Broadway) 23 Gusar's Drug Store (290 Broadway) 24 Bogner Building (292 Broadway) 25 300 Broadway 26 302 Broadway 27 St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church 28 Monticello Post Office/Former Village Hall (324 Broadway) 29 Broadway Theatre (336 Broadway) 30 Methodist Episcopal Church 31 Methodist Episcopal Church Rectory (255 Broadway) 32 253 Broadway 33 245 Broadway 34 241 Broadway

Figure2


PLEASANT TO JONES STREET, NORTH SIDE OF BROADWAY

A. C. NIVEN BUILDING (200 BROADWAY)

At the eastern extreme of the proposed historic district, on the north side ofBroadway, stands 200 Broadway (A. C. Niven Building), a three-story brick building (Figure 3a). This structure was built by Archibald C. Niven after the fire of 1872 which devastated the immediate area, including the adjacent Mansion House, and replaced a former frame store building which occupied the site. "One of the pioneer general stores of Monticello," the building had a number of merchant tenants, including Nathan S. Hamilton, Abraham Olmsted, W. H. Cady & Co., and Andrew Dunn. Niven himself was a founder ofMonticello's Union Bank and a one-term United States Congressman. The upper floors were used as law offices, consecutively occupied by A. C. Niven, Thornton A. Niven, William B. Niven, and Frank Mapledoram.* Dunn's variety store operated out of the building in the years around the tum of the century.**

Today the building's exterior (excepting the ground floor) is significantly intact, with period windows and cornice detailing, as well as its original brick facade. The original first floor storefronts have been replaced. Trotter's Bar, which occupies the first-floor, is named for Monticello's association with the raceway just west of the village on Route 17B. The Niven Building is an example ofMonticello's commercial past and an example of the former scale and street wall that defined the Village's character. Its association with important local figures and events enhances its role as one ofMonticello's most historic and valuable commercial buildings.

FORMER MANSION HOUSE (202 BROADWAY)

The Monticello Inn/Heritage Inn (former Mansion House) is adjacent to the Niven building and stands on a site which has been used for lodging since 1809 when the first Mansion House was built by David Hammond (Figure 3a). Early owners of the hotel were Stephen Hamilton (Hammond's son-in-law), John C. Holley, William Crandall, and Solomon W. Royce. The original building was the village's finest hotel for the duration of the nineteenth century and used in the earliest days of the town of Thompson as a polling place. ••• The Mansion House prospered because of its location on the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike and later, its adjacent livery business which transported visitors to and from the train station. For a time in the second half of the nineteenth century the Mansion House was the largest hotel building in all of Sullivan, Orange, Ulster and Delaware Counties:···

The first Mansion House was destroyed by fire in 1871 and rebuilt, only to be heavily damaged by the epic 1909 fire. Repaired again, it was modernized and expanded as the Monticello Inn in 1930. The Monticello Inn took advantage of the construction of NY Route 17. The hotel continued to serve as the principal fine lodging establishment in Monticello until the decline of recent years. A recent renovation has again somewhat transformed the appearance of the building and finds it renamed the Heritage Inn. A frame structure throughout its history, today's surviving building still exhibits some original 1910 detailing, as well as porches and balconies which reconstructed the look of the original, pre-1872 Mansion House.

* (Curley, 51)

** (Monticello, 32)

*** ****

(Curley, 51)

(Quinlan 107)

10

4•00

Q 222 Broadway

National Union Bank

Sullivan County Courthouse

0 5 Bank Street Masonic Hall

0 0

Presbyterian Church

Jones Park (Including Guardhouse and Civil War Monument

0 Contributing Feature to the Proposed Monticello Historic District

0

G I I Bank Street

e 202 Broadway Heritage Inn

(Former Mansion House)

0 200 Broadway

A.C. Niven Building

t Eastern End of

Proposed Historic District

Detail Presbyterian

NYS Route 42 Church Proposed Monticello Historic District Reconstruction North Side of Broadway

========================================~==================================~~~~~~~ Figure3a

Monticello, NY


The site of the Mansion House is significant because of its status as the village's first real lodging establishment and thus the precursor to the spectacular hotel resort industry of most of the twentieth century. It is on the original path of the Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike. The Mansion House's importance to Monticello and Sullivan County history is reinforced by its historic use as the lodging of choice for high-profile visitors and important meetings for nearly two centuries. Finally, the existence of a premier staging and livery business on the site for almost the entire period, so important in the times of rough roads and rugged travel, lends the site importance in Monticello's development from a clearing in the woods to a considerable town.

JONES TO BANK STREET, NORTH SIDE OF BROADWAY

JONES PARK (INCLUDING GUARDHOUSE AND CIVIL WAR MONUMENT)

The oldest man-made feature in Monticello, Jones Park was planned and cleared under the supervision of the founding Jones brothers, who cut through "thick growths of Rhododendron to make way for the village square.,. Crossed diagonal pathways and mature oak trees evoke the original "asterisk" layout which intersected in a bandstand no longer extant. The park was named Maple Park in the 1890's and renamed Jones Park in 1930 (Figure 3a).

The Civil War Monument was installed in 1893 by the "original" Ladies Sullivan County Soldiers and Sailors Monuments Association. (A competing, incorporated association would later install a second Civil War Monument at Jefferson Street.) The monument was originally opposite the walk leading to the courthouse but was moved to the comer of Bank Street and Broadway when the Court House was rebuilt in 1910. A yellow brick, hipped-roof guardhouse built early in the century contributes to the community sense of the park and is situated where the courthouse walk meets Broadway. The grassy, leafy park, surrounded by the Mansion House, the Presbyterian Church and County Court House; and the Masonic Hall and Union Bank buildings is the center of Monticello's most historically resonant area.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Monticello's first Presbyterian Church was organized by the Reverend Daniel C. Hopkins. Its first building was built in 1828 at the present location on a lot donated by the Jones Brothers. The Church (along with the adjacent clerk's house and court house) burned down in 1844 and was rebuilt the next year. In 1880 stained glass was installed. The Church was again destroyed by fire in December 1943, and rebuilt in its present brick incarnation in a simple Greek Revival style with wood detailing and a Gothic revival spire (Figure 3a).

SULLIVAN COUNTY COURT HOUSE

The Sullivan County Court House is the third courthouse on the site, after the first two perished in the 1844 and 1909 fires (Figure 3a). The State Historic Preservation Office, in its resource evaluation, notes that the Courthouse is

*

"[a]rchitecturally significant as a monumental example of neo-classical inspired public architecture in the region. Constructed in 1909 , the two story masonry building rests on a raised foundation and is crowned by a domed clock tower. As built, the building displays a number of the characteristics associated with this popular form of public

(Benton, 3)

11


architecture. These features include the building's symmetrical form and fenestration pattern, masonry construction, smooth ashlar wall finish, monumental two story entrance portico, molded cornice, roof balustrade, and single windows surmounted by key stones and/or bracketed cornices. The building appears to retain a high degree of architectural integrity.,.

The interior has a high degree of integrity with mosaic floors. The Court House is Monticello's dominant landmark and is at the center ofth~ tableau created by Jones Park and Bank and Jones Streets.

BANK TO LANDFIELD STREET, NORTH SIDE OF BROADWAY

11 BANK STREET

To the west of the County Court House, across the street, is 11 Bank Street, a large, 2Yz-story frame Victorian home built in the free classic Queen Anne style, ca.1890 (Figure 3a). The architect and original owners are unknown. This clapboard house has a hipped roof with lower cross gables and boasts both a curved wraparound front porch and a second story pergola-style porch topped with an inverted cone roof. Extant original detailing includes stained and leaded window glass, cornice-line dentil moldings, decorative brackets, window trim, and slender doricstyle porch columns grouped in pairs. The combination of sinuous rooflines at the front of the house juxtaposes strikingly with the sharp angles of the gable peaks and high roof. The interior appears largely original. The house sits on a slight bluff which gives it prominence over the adjacent bank parking lot and street. The only apparent alteration is a second floor air conditioning unit installed through the exterior wall. In recent decades the house was used by the Sullivan County Historical Society. There is also evidence that it once served as the Sullivan County Sheriffs residence. This structure is in excellent condition with a high degree of historic integrity and contributes significantly to the Courthouse/Jones Park area and its collective impact on Broadway.

MASONIC HALL

The Masonic Hall at 5 Bank Street was first built in 1904 but destroyed five years later in the 1909 fire and rebuilt (Figure 3a). The three-story brick commercial building features two rows of limestone- trimmed windows topped with a row of three circular windows and a large limestone Masonic "compass" decoration. The building housed the long-time offices of the Republican Watchman. The existing storefronts are not original.

NATIONAL UNION BANK

The north side ofBroadway bounded by Landfield Avenue and Bank Street has historically been called Monticello's "Center of Business" because of its use as a commercial/banking strip (Figure 3b ). This use continues today. The National Union Bank building at 222 Broadway was built in 1910. The Union bank was originally founded in 1850, and was located on the block because it was felt that the north side of Main Street, as Broadway was then known, was better for business ••. The present structure replaced a two-story limestone block building of excellent classical proportions destroyed in the 1909 fire. The existing bank is a beige brick building, two

* (SHPO Resource Evaluation, Sullivan County Court House)

** (Curley 57)

12

4•00

~ 250-252 Broadway


a; 246 Broadway

(D 242 Broadway

~ 234 Broadway

\e 238 Broadway

aJ ~ 0 230 Broadway 228 Broadway 226 Broadway

0 222 Broadway

National Union Bank

Proposed Monticello Historic District N¥S Route 42

Monticello, N ¥ Reconstruction North Side of Broadway

~-=-=-=-=-==--==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==--=-=-=-=-=-==--=-==--=-=-===~~~~~~~~ Figure3b


stories tall but wider than the original to take over part of the adjacent parcel where the eastern half of 226 Broadway seems to have perished irretrievably in the 1909 fire. Original windows survive on the second floor. The awkward combination of brick Greek Revival styling betrays its quick rebuild on a slightly larger lot after the fire.

226 BROADWAY

The two-story red brick commercial building at 224 Broadway appears to be the left half of the pre-1909 fire building (Figure 3b). The structure has limestone block surrounds around the offcenter second story windows. A careful visual examination of the right edge of the building shows brick repair where half of the building was removed, presumably after it was heavily damaged in the 1909 fire. The adjacent bank was rebuilt on a wider parcel to fill the space. The existing storefront is a later modification.

228-230 BROADWAY

The structures at 228-230 Broadway are two buildings now partially combined as one (Figure 3b ). The 228 Broadway section is a three-story tall brick commercial building with anachronistic shutters and windows. The 230 Broadway section is two stories tall with similar shutters and windows. The combined storefront is not original. Both sections appear to have original decorative tin cornices. This building was built after the disastrous 1909 fire.

234 BROADWAY

The Former Hammond & Cooke Department Store is a three-story brick commercial building with limestone detailing (Figure 3b ). This structure was also built after the 1909 fire.

238 BROADWAY

This is a post-fire (ca. 1910), three-story brick commercial building executed in a Greek Revival style, with engaged pilasters and arched windows on the third floor (Figure 3b ). The storefronts have been replaced.

242 BROADWAY

This is another three-story brick commercial building built after the 1909 fire (Figure 3b). Storefronts are also not original.

246BROADWAY

This three-story, red-brick commercial building with rusticated limestone lintels and sills and tin cornice at roofline was also built after the 1909 fire (Figure 3b). Two storefronts retain original tin cornices.

LAND FIELD TO LIBERTY STREET, NORTH SIDE OF BROADWAY

250-52 BROADWAY

A two-story Georgian revival commercial building, this ca. 1910 red brick building has limestone window lintels with a large tin cornice (Figure 3c ). The storefronts have been replaced. ·

13

296 Broadway ~

292 Broadway

272-274 Broadway Former Rialto Theater


270 Broadway

e 290 Broadway

Gusar's Drug Store

264 Broadway Crain Building

9 284-286 Broadway

Cohen Building

256 Broadway Former Carlton Hotel

«i) Street 254 Broadway 250-252 Broadway

Proposed Monticello Historic District NYS Route 42 Reconstruction North Side of Broadway

--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==~=-~=-~=-~=-~=-~~ Figure3c

Monticello, NY

NYS Route 42/Broadway, Mouticello, NY

254BROADWAY

This is another commercial building, built ca. 1910 (Figure 3c). Two stories in height, the second story and cornice line are largely original and have good integrity, including limestone sills and lintels around windows. The storefronts are non-historic replacements of a later date.

FORMER CARLTON HOTEL (256 BROADWAY)

The Former Carlton Hotel at 256 Broadway is on the site of the former Bolsum House, which was consumed in the fire of 1909 (Figure 3c).* Carlton Hotel closed in 1989. The building is three-story, yellow brick with limestone window lintels and sills executed in a subdued Greek Revival style. The 1930s storefront has tawny brown and beige art deco tiles in good condition and neon signage in poor condition.

CRAIN BUILDING (264 BROADWAY)

The Crain Building at 264 Broadway once held Crain's Pharmacy, the "oldest established, largest, and most complete" drug store in Sullivan County, M. Dubois Watchmaker, and Dr. F.A. Williams. The building originally had five commercial bays and has five pairs of windows topped with limestone lintels (Figure 3c). The building is brick with high-reliefbrick detailing in a handsome Greek Revival vernacular style. It was probably built in the early 191 Os as part of the post-fire building boom.

270 BROADWAY

The original limestone facade is obscured by terra cotta gray panels but was probably executed in Classical Revival style in the 1910s (Figure 3c). The second story windows are not original and poorly sized and place.

FORMER RIALTO THEATER (272-274 BROADWAY)

The Former Rialto theater at 272-274 Broadway is a two-story ca. 1915 brick commercial building with original wood windows on the second floor and limestone coping at the roof line (Figure 3c). The theater marquee still exists but the auditorium has been replaced by a boutique. The other storefronts are also not originaL The Rialto, in contrast with the summer-only Broadway theater (see below), was open all year round.

COHEN BUILDING (284-286 BROADWAY)

The Cohen Building is a two-story brick Colonial Revival commercial block with limestone parapet and detailing (Figure 3c). There are gothic lancet window motifs at the cornice line. All original windows and storefronts have been replaced. There is a faded historic painted sign on the east side of the building overlooking an adjacent vacant lot which reads "Glaubach & Sons ... bakery and dairy, Fancy Groceries and Delicatessen." Like the Rialto theater, the Cohen Building was probably built before 1920.

290BROADWAY

Formerly a ca. 1915 two-story commercial building, the second floor of this building was removed in the early 1990s reportedly in an effort to reduce real estate taxes (Figure 3c). The

* (Curley, 62)

14


building still boasts a vintage 1950s neon and aluminum sign for Gusar's drug store and smartstyled royal orange and blue panels at the storefront, which obscure the original yellow brick.

292 BROADWAY

This imaginative beige brick Spanish Colonial Revival style two-story commercial building has a dominant curved parapet arch and associated brick detailing over its center bay (Figure 3c ). The original storefronts have long since been replaced. The construction date appears to be ca. 1900.

BOGNER BUILDING (296 BROADWAY)

Another somewhat boisterous Spanish Colonial Revival commercial building with red brick, shaped gables, tiled decorative roof, and delicately scaled brick detailing (Figure 3d). Built ca. 1900, the two story-building has no original storefronts.

300BROADWAY

A simple two story brick commercial building with an articulated parapet line (Figure 3d). Limestone lintels, sills, and coping define a handsome facade. The storefront and windows have been replaced.

304-306 BROADWAY AND 310-312 BROADWAY

These brick buildings, extensively remodeled, date from the early twentieth century (Figure 3d). The site is notable as the location of the Mapledoram Carriage factory. During the middle of the nineteenth century this factory was one of Monticello's largest employers and dominated the town's much smaller streetscape. The buildings in their current condition are not considered contributing features to the proposed historic district.

ST. PETERS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

This handsome edifice was built in 1899 of light ashlar stone with brownstone detailing and window/entrance surrounds (Figure 3d). Romanesque Revival styling is combined with a wide tower at the street comer. Triple round arch entranceways highlight the Broadway facade. The congregation moved from a wooden church, now demolished, which was located on Liberty Street just to the north. The incongruous wooden Gothic spire was built on top of the tower a few years later.

LIBERTY STREET TO JEFFERSON STREET, NORTH SIDE OF BROADWAY

MONTICELLO POST OFFICE/FORMER VILLAGE HALL

This one-story building stands at an angle to the intersection of Broadway and Liberty Street (Figure 3e). Featuring Colonial Revival styling and wood trim, the former village hall was built ca. 1920. It was converted into a post office when the new Village Hall was constructed at Pleasant Street.

THE BROADWAY THEATER

This structure, a fairly uncommon example of a single story theater, is a brick building with limestone detailing (Figure 3e). It opened for the summers only and was built by 1920.

15

Uberty Street

St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church


3 I 0-3 12 Broadway ~ e

304-306 Broadway 302 Broadway 300 Broadway

~ 304-306 Broadway 302 Broadway

e Q) e 300 Broadway 296 Broadway 292 Broadway 290 Broadway

Proposed Monticello Historic District NYS Route 42 Reconstruction North Side of Broadway

-=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Figure 3d Monticello, NY

4•00

t Western End of

Proposed Historic District


NYS Route 42 Reconstruction Monticello, NY

338 Broadway e

336 Broadway Broadway Theater

334 Broadway 9

324 Broadway US Post Office

(Former Village Hall)

Uberty Street

Proposed Monticello Historic District North Side of Broadway

Figure3e


SOUTH SIDE OF BROADWAY

The proposed historic district extends to the southern side of Broadway, encompassing the sidewalk area from Pelton Street east to the lots across from the previously mentioned A.C. Niven Building. Five buildings and their lots are included south of Broadway, all in the block between North Lakewood A venue and St. John Street. These properties, anchored by the venerable Methodist Episcopal Church, form a zone of gracious residential landscaping which presents a welcoming pedestrian enclave. The juxtaposition with the small-town commercial aesthetic across Broadway adds to its importance in the consideration of the proposed historic district.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

The wood-framed Methodist Episcopal Church was erected on this site in 1843, after the congregation had been meeting in the county courthouse since 1822 and in private homes since 1806 (Figure 4). The current bell was installed in the spire in 1861. A lecture room was added in 1870 through the beneficence of Mrs. Hannah Hammond. Originally the church had a long flight of steps and a porch in front. An 1892 renovation remodeled the front facade and saw stained glass memorial windows installed. The interior also underwent extensive renovation. The pipe organ was installed in 1899.

After World War I, a kitchen and a library were added to the rear of the church. The two chandeliers installed in the sanctuary were offered in memoriam by the parents of Ruddick Trowbridge (who was killed during the war) and Alec Neull (in memory of his wife). The most recent change was in 1952, when the lecture room was divided into two floors. The building is Victorian Gothic with a classically styled pediment and entranceway.

253 BROADWAY

This is the rectory for the adjacent Methodist Episcopal Church (Figure 4). This mansard-roofed, asymmetrical vernacular Second Empire residence was built in 1872 through a donation by church member Hannah Hammond. Red/orange brick and frame construction with white wood window surrounds, molded cornice bracketing, and detailing form a satisfactory architectural composition.

251 BROADWAY

Built just before 1887, this cross-gabled frame Queen Anne residence with Palladian windows in the pediments was modified with asphalt siding, perhaps in the 1920s or 1930s (Figure 4). A grand front porch may have been removed.

245 BROADWAY

Erected some time before 1887, this 2 Y2-story mustard yellow brick dwelling with patterned red brick highlighting at windows and comers is also built in the cross-gabled Queen Anne style (Figure 4). This example has a large front porch, which is indicative of the structure's excellent historic integrity.

241 BROADWAY

This is a Prairie-style 2Y2-story gable-roofed dwelling with full-width front porch featuring paired slender doric-styled porch supports (Figure 4). Built ca. 1910, it has double gable dormers and is of frame construction.

16

4•00


t Eastern End of

Proposed Historic Distria

~ G 241 Broadway 245 Broadway 253 Broadway 255 Broadway

Methodist Episcopal Church Rectory

G 255 Broadway

Methodist Episcopal Church Rectory

~ Methodist Episcopal

Church

t Western End of

Proposed Historic Distria

NYS Route 42 Proposed Monticello Historic District Reconstruction South Side of Broadway

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~======~====~==~~~~~~~ Figure4

Monticello, NY


E. SIGNIFICANT FEATURES OUTSIDE OF PROPOSED HISTORIC DISTRICT

NORTH SIDE OF BROADWAY

VILLAGE HALL

The current Village Hall at the northeast corner of Broadway and Pleasant Street features 1930s/1950s decorative orange and beige brick patterned to achieve a subtle art-deco effect (Figure 5). A northern addition (ca. 1980s) and covered entranceway (ca.l990s) detract significantly from the former simplicity of structure. The original windows have been replaced.

FORMER CURLEY'S HOTEL

The former Curley's Hotel at Pleasant Street is a three-story mansard-roofed frame building with porches facing Broadway on the first and second floors (Figure 5). As Curtis Lindley's Tavern House in 1809, the building hosted Sullivan County's first court. The building was damaged to an unknown extent in an 187 4 fire.

STEPHEN W ROYCE HOUSE (186 BROADWAY)

Built ca. 1880, this building is a brick Greek Revival residence with a hipped roof and a dormer (Figure 5). The entryway has been modified to serve as a public entrance. The rear has also been modified. The house has served as a funeral home since at least the 1950's.

WROUGHT-IRON STREET ARCH

A remnant of a hotel on this site, there is a wrought iron street arch in front of the EconoLodge at 190 Broadway (Figure 5). Such arches are often shown on early postcards and other illustrations of homes along Broadway.

MONUMENT PARK

Just west of 358 Broadway is the other Civil War monument erected by the Sullivan County Ladies Soldiers and Sailors Monument Association, Inc. (Figure 5). The monument was moved to this vest-pocket park from its original location at Jefferson Street and Broadway in 1970 because of a street widening project.

SOUTH SIDE OF BROADWAY

FORMER KAPLAN'S DELI

The structure at 319 Broadway is an ordinary one-story commercial building save for its exuberant 1960s era electric-bulbed cursive "Kaplan's" sign, which is fifteen feet tall and spans the length of the fifty foot frontage (Figure 6). The building has been vacant for nearly two decades. The sign is an important historic fragment which recalls Monticello's years as the downtown for the visitors to the many surrounding Jewish resorts. Kaplan's was a premier kosher restaurant and catering facility.

17

e Wrought-Iron Sidewalk Arch

0 Significant Feature Outside the Proposed Monticello Historic District

G 186 Broadway

Stephen W. Royce House

e Detail of Wrought-Iron

Sidewalk Arch

e Civil War Statue at Joe's park

0 182 Broadway

Former Curley's Hotel Village Hall

Significant Features Outside of Proposed Historic District

NYS Route 42 North Side of Broadway Reconstruction ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Monticello, NY • FigureS

4•00

0 187 Broadway Village Library

() Significant Feature Outside the Proposed Monticello Historic District

C) 191 Broadway 195 Broadway

G 3 19 Broadway Kaplan's Deli

Significant Features Outside of Proposed Historic District

NYS Route 42 South Side of Broadway Reconstruction ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;=====================================~~~~

• Figure 6


187-189 BROADWAY

Monticello's library was built ca. 1930s and its shape recalls an earlier structure on the site. The one-story Colonial Revival building has a pedimented entryway and is constructed of brick facade with a slate roof (Figure 6).

MILLER AUTOMATIC BUILDING

The building at 191 Broadway is a five-bay, beige brick commercial structure with a stepped parapet with terra-cotta coping tiles and art deco-brick detailing (Figure 6). It was originally erected ca. 191 0.

195 BROADWAY

Now a funeral home, 195 Broadway is a cross-gabled frame Queen Anne style house built ca. 1890 (Figure 6). It has anachronistic shutters and a porch modification/enclosure but retains its Doric porch supports in places. There is an old hitching post in the front yard that dates from the nineteenth century.

D. PROJECT ALTERNATIVES

ROADWAY DESIGN

The project design team is evaluating a number of different alternatives for the roadway and the sidewalk area. A total of six alternatives were evaluated within the project Scoping phase. Four of those alternatives were selected from the Scoping phase for further evaluation in Preliminary Design:

• Alternative 1 would improve upon existing conditions by bringing the road to current design standards (Figure 7). The existing four-lane configuration would be maintained but the road would be re-striped for one 6.6 meter shared travel lane and one 3.3 meter travel lane in each direction. Sidewalk widths would be maintained and new lawn areas and street trees would replace any existing sidewalk landscaping (see below for additional discussion on potential sidewalk improvements). The total curb-to-curb width of the roadway would be 19.8 meters (65 feet). Some minor (±1 meter) widening would be required to bring the road into consistency with current design standards.

• Alternative 2 would reduce the number of travel lanes from four to two and would include a full3.3 meter median (Figure 8). Left-tum lanes would be provided at key intersections. Sidewalk widths would be increased in most locations. Similar landscaping treatment for the sidewalk areas as indicated in Alternative 1 would be considered. The total curb-to-curb width of the roadway would be 17.1 meters (56 feet). An option under this alternative is to have a flush median, delineated by a change in pavement type, to provide a continuous center-tum lane throughout the corridor.

• Alternative 3 would use a four-lane configuration (two 6.6 meter shared travel lanes plus two 3.3 meter travel lanes) but would add a narrow 1.5 meter median (Figure 9). Total curbto-curb width would be 21.9 meters (72 feet), which would require slightly more widening than required by Alternative 1. In general, sidewalk widths would be maintained throughout the core area between Bank Street and Liberty Street but reduced slightly on the eastern and western ends of the corridor. Similar landscaped lawns and street trees to Alternative 1 would be considered.

18


• Alternative 4 considers the same four-lane configuration as Alternative 1 but adds a full3.6 meter median, which would also serve as a left-tum lane at select locations (Figure 1 0). Total curb-to-curb width would be 24.0 meters (79 feet), which would significantly widen the road in several locations. In some areas, sidewalk widths would be reduced and the opportunity for sidewalk landscaping would be limited.

Each alternative includes a revised parallel parking layout that would allow for more efficient parking maneuvers and loading zones to minimize disruptions to traffic flow. These improvements would be accommodated within the existing parking lane.

STREETSCAPE DESIGN

Sidewalk improvements considered for Broadway include better definition of sidewalk zones through use of paving materials, lawn malls, and new street trees to reflect the historic vernacular. The width of the sidewalks would allow for a drop-off zone at curb-side to facilitate passenger movements out of the vehicle, a transition zone to the main sidewalk using either ramps or stairs or lawn malls where appropriate, and an upper zone that could be used by local businesses for outdoor display of merchandise or outdoor cafe-style dining. Figure 11 shows a cross-section of the sidewalk area showing each of the zones. Figure 12 shows a plan of the sidewalk treatment with a lawn mall and pedestrian bulb-out. It is important to note that these drawings show potential improvements schematically; lighting, railing, and paving specifications will be determined at a later point in the project design.

The specific design of the sidewalk treatment for each portion of the downtown area would be integrated with roadway considerations, sidewalk cross-slope, presence of existing sidewalk features, and prevalence of pedestrian activity. Pedestrian crossing areas would be enhanced at select locations with "bulb-outs" within the parking lane to shorten the distance pedestrians are required to cross within the roadway as part of a comprehensive pedestrian safety program-a critical objective of this project. Appropriate sidewalk lighting and street signs would also be considered. If either of the alternatives that include a median were selected, the proposed median would be designed to complement the sidewalk treatment. The specific design of the median and what components (lighting, signs, plantings) would be included would depend on which roadway width is selected. The median could be a raised median with full curbing, a mountable median to allow emergency access across the median, or a flush median delineated by a different pavement treatment.

The Village is also seeking to enhance connections to existing off-street parking areas on both the south and north sides of Broadway. Strategic vacant properties fronting on Broadway would be identified for creating new pedestrian and/or vehicular connections to public and private parking in the rear of buildings. Some off-street parking improvements to parking areas may be conducted as mitigation for the Broadway reconstruction project.

CONSTRUCTION METHOD

The proposed resurfacing construction method would involve stripping the existing asphalt surface and "rubblizing" to break apart the existing concrete sub-base. Any grading activity would be minimal and would be within the limits of existing disturbed areas. For this reason, archaeological investigations are not considered necessary and have not been conducted. It should be noted, however, that the Village of Monticello is under a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation consent order to make improvements to existing sewer mains underneath Broadway. Excavation to repair or replace this line would be coordinated with

19

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construction of the roadway improvements. Additional improvements to water and/or sewer mains or laterals may also be done in coordination with construction of the roadway improvements. Excavations for this potential work would be within the depths of existing disturbed areas.

F. POTENTIAL EFFECTS ON HISTORIC RESOURCES

The proposed project would result in improved vehicular and pedestrian safety and traffic operations throughout the Village's downtown area. In addition, landscaping improvements are intended to enhance the pedestrian environment and make the downtown district more attractive to visitors. It is anticipated that improved safety and operations of the roadway, in conjunction with landscape improvements would stimulate economic activity in downtown businesses. Pedestrian and vehicular connections to off-street parking lots and improvements to these areas are also anticipated to improve economic conditions within the downtown.

Of the four proposed alternatives, three would result in widening of the roadway. The amount of widening ranges from ±0.5 meter on both sides of the road to ± 2 meters on both sides of the road. Figures 13 to 15 illustrate typical transitions, and potential design solutions, between the sidewalk and roadway as they vary by project alternative. As grade changes between the sidewalk and roadway vary considerably throughout the corridor, transitions between the roadway and sidewalk at specific locations may be handled differently.

Alternative 2, which would reduce the overall roadway width, would result in a modest increase in sidewalk widths in certain areas. Within this area of potential widening are two resources identified in this analysis: the Guardhouse in front of the Sullivan County Courthouse and a wrought-iron arch in front of the existing EconoLodge motel (190 Broadway). Of these two resources, only the Guardhouse is located within ·the proposed historic district. Based on preliminary design studies, widening of the roadway in the vicinity of the Guardhouse would be minor and would not encroach upon the Guardhouse. In Alternatives 1, 2, and 3 an additional streetscape buffer would be added between the Guardhouse and the curb. Alternative 4 would bring the curbline to approximately the same location as it is currently.

Widening of the roadway in the vicinity of the wrought-iron arch may require relocation of the arch. However, it is also possible that widening in this area would be minimal as the roadway is already at or close to its widest point. The concrete steps and base in which the arch is set are in a deteriorating condition and would likely require replacement or rehabilitation even without any impacts from reconstruction of Broadway.

Overall, roadway design and sidewalk landscaping improvements are being considered that would be consistent with the historic quality of the downtown area. Design elements from the early 20th century representative of Monticello's heyday as a mountain resort would be replicated. Historic postcards have been consulted to guide the selection of appropriate design and materials for sidewalk improvements. These improvements could be continued in any offstreet improvements that would link rear parking lots to Broadway.

Funding is currently available to local businesses for facade improvements under Sullivan County's Main Street Redevelopment Center. This program seeks to encourage business owners to improve facades within the County's villages and hamlets as a means to enhance the attractiveness and economic function of the County's main streets. A number of Monticello businesses have already made improvements under this program.

20

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Figure14

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Benton, Alvin 0. 1950. Address of Alvin 0. Benton to the Sullivan County Historical Society, Inc.

Blumberg, Esterita "Cissie." 1996. Remember the Catskills: Tales by a Recovering Hotelkeeper. (Fleischmanns, NY: Purple Mountain Press.)

Broadway Revitalization Study, Monticello, NY.1985. Sullivan County Department ofPlanning and Economic Development.

Curley, Edward F. 1930. Old Monticello. (Monticello, NY: Republican Watchman.) Reprinted 1978 by the Sullivan County Historical Society.

Monticello: Its History Buildings Location Advantages Drives and Surrounding. No Date.

Monticello Sesquicentennial Company. September 7-11, 1954. The Monticello Sesquicentennial Celebration.

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. December 13, 1994. Resource Evaluation, Sullivan County Court House.

Quinlan, James Eldrich. 1873. History of Sullivan County. (Liberty, NY: G. M. Beebe and W. T. Morgans.) Revised Edition: David M. Gold, ed. 1993. (South Fallsburg, NY: Marielle Press).

Sullivan County Historical Society. The Observer (newsletter).

Wakefield, Manville B. 1970. To the Mountains by Rail. (Fleischmanns, NY: Purple Mountain Press). Originally published by Wakefair Press. •!•

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