Ithacating in Cornell Heights

The Tompkins Center for History and Culture is on track to open in a few weeks. I have not seen a specific date, but it will be sometime in April.

I stopped by to take a few quick photos, when The History Center’s Executive Director (and candidate for town of Ithaca supervisor) Rod Howe opened the door and asked if I wanted a tour. Unfortunately, it was not going to work with my schedule that day. Luckily, a sneak peak of the interior can be found on the TCHC’s Facebook page.

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Throwback time. This photo comes courtesy of Terry Harbin. This was once the 100 Block of North Tioga (across the street from the TCHC. The Blood Building, 109-113 North Tioga, was built in 1870 and also known as the Old Masonic Block.

This photo appears to come from the mid 1960s. For one, the Cornell library to the north (left) has been demolished, and that happened in 1960. For two, the car in the foreground is a 1963 Plymouth Fury, which had a unique slantback front end (growing up in a family of mechanics had to come in handy for something). The car behind it is a 1963 Chevrolet, since most Chevy models upgraded to three tail lights on each side for 1964, and that body style was ’62-’64 only. The truck, eh, not so good with, I don’t remember so many of those in my family’s shops. It’s a Chevy in the same mid 1960s time frame.

Even in Ithaca’s salty winters, the cars probably outlived the building. It would come down in 1966 and, several years later, be replaced by the new Bank Tower addition, which was built from 1974-75. The little third-floor addition on top of that came along in the early 1980s. You can still its outline on Bank Tower’s north face.

Also, note the building that once stood where the Seneca Garage is. It was a last ditch effort to revive downtown, but Urban Renewal removed a lot of tired but attractive buildings that Ithaca and many other communities are trying to recreate (in form if not necessarily style) today.