Murray / Stearns Building (Jamestown)

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Photo credit: Post-Journal, Jamestown Java FB page

Location

26 North Main Street, Jamestown, NY 14701
SBL: 387.48-1-18
Google Bird's Eye View
Chautauqua County Property Info
Chautauqua County Parcel Viewer

Next to: The Arcade Building

Owner

MORRISON TODD per Chautauqua County Property Information
NYS Corporation and Business Entity Database
Owners at time of demolition: Todd Morrison and Katie Conner

Physical Description

2,535 sq.ft. unique triangle-shaped 3 story building with shared walls, on a 29' frontage x 52' depth parcel
An Italianate building with a cast-iron storefront and decorative cornice.

Current Condition

Demolished. Vacant lot.

History

  • 1876 - Listed build date by The Historical Survey Report of 1993 by Bero Associates - but the building does not appear on the 1881 Chautauqua County Atlas map. It is there in the 1888 Jamestown atlas.
  • 1890 - Listed build date on county website
  • 1886-Prohibition - Andrew W. Murray was a liquor dealer whose store occupied the first floor of the building on this site.
  • 1886 - Barber R. N. Wickfield is listed as an occupant of the basement.
  • 1898 - Because of 1896 fire and loss of buildings to the south, the Arcade Building is constructed next door with a shared wall to this building.
  • 1890 - Dentist A. E. Smith has been added to the list of occupants.
  • 1896 - Dentist Dr. Depew had an office on the 2nd floor and lived on the 3rd with his wife.
  • 1920 - Census records indicate Murray was now a soft drinks dealer. He died in 1925.
  • 1922-1996 - City directories referred to this building as the Murray Building.
  • 1920-1950s - Occupants also included a meat market and store at some point.
  • 1956 - Only a dentist, Jas H. Caccamise, is listed as an occupant.
  • 1959 - By 1959, the USA Recruiting Station had joined Dr. Caccamise in the building.
    • "Up to this point in the building’s history there was always a barber in the basement floor, a merchant at street level and a dentist on the second floor."
history per the Post-Journal

Recent Events and Actions Taken

  • 2000 - Still listed in the city directory as an in-use residence.
  • November 21, 2008 - Unclear deed records indicate ownership transactions with Agnes Hess for $6,500 and Todd Morrison for $10,744
  • August 4, 2016 - Unclear deed records indicate ownership transactions with County of Chautauqua for $2,488 and Prideful Property LLC for $1,200
  • January 7, 2017 - Just days before demolition, ownership is indicated as Jocelyn K. Bailey with a sale price of $0
deed records per Chautauqua Parcel Viewer
  • January 24, 2017 - Demolished at a cost of $80,000 Observer Today

Other Pertinent Facts

  • Part of the Downtown Jamestown Historic District
  • Listed in the National Register of Historic Places (Jamestown doesn't have local landmarks).
  • $12,000 assessed value at time of demolition
  • Via the NR Nomination:
'34 North Main Street, 1876 (Contributing) Three-story brick commercial building that housed a dentist, a barber, and a wholesale liquor dealer at various times. . This Italianate building is three bays wide with an original cast-iron storefront, slender pilasters, and a decorative cornice. At the second story, segmental window openings flank a large central window with a rough stone lintel and jamb shafts with incised capitals. At the third story, flat-headed windows with rough stone lintels flank a central segmental window opening that has jamb shafts with incised capitals and an arched stone pediment with a central rosette and incised detail. The wedge shaped interior has been heavily damaged due to roof failure.'
(courtesy Christina Lincoln)

Links


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Added 2017-01-26 • Last changed 2017-06-23

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