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Chapter 10 - Southern Tier

Athenaeum Hotel, Chautauqua Institution

                 

All sites in this chapter:
 : Broome County Courthouse, Binghamton
 : Sacred Heart Ukrainian Catholic Church,
       Johnson City
 : The Mark Twain Study, Elmira
 : Chemung County Courthouse, Elmira
 : Celadon Tile Company Office, Alfred
 : Athenaeum Hotel, Chautauqua Institution
 : Lewis Miller Cottage, Chautauqua Institution
 : James McClurg Mansion, Westfield


 

T he sprawling Athenaeum Hotel faces a broad lawn that slopes down past great old trees to the shore of picturesque Lake Chautauqua. It is a splendid view from the rocking chairs on the wide porch of the hotel. The central portion of the porch is two stories high and its roof is supported by tall slender columns. Flanking porches have levels on the first and second floors. With its central mansard-roofed tower, the structure qualifies as Second Empire style. The hotel was built in 1881 and is one of many public buildings in the village, including a 5,000-seat amphitheater built in 1893, churches, schools, sports facilities, art galleries, theaters, library, bell tower, restaurants, shops, and more. The 750-acre Victorian village was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989 and, in toto, is quite a remarkable architectural phenomenon.