Monthly Archives: February 2021

Old-Time Diners (and Where to Find Some) — Part 1!

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Two weeks ago in this space, we looked at where you can find octagon houses within a comfortable day’s drive from the Corning-Bath area.

Last week, using the same compass, we looked at where you can find Quonset huts and geodesic domes.

And this week we look at another quirky feature of American architecture – the diner.

Anyplace can call itself a diner, usually meaning that they specialize in simple, filling fare, concentrating on breakfast and lunch; they eschew elegance and privacy for comfortable functionality; and, in many cases, they don’t serve liquor.

But what we’re looking at here is the traditional MANUFACTURED diner… long and narrow, delivered on wheels, and emphasizing a long counter with stools for the customers.

Diners got their starts with horse-drawn lunch wagons, which pulled up to busy locations, frequently outside factories, and served out sandwiches or meals to walk-up traffic. We have a marvelous photo of one such wagon at Cedar and Market Streets in Corning, outside of what was then the Y.M.C.A.

If business got good enough at one location, you might make arrangements to park there, and then might dream of sit-down customers, who would keep coming in even if it rained or snowed. By World War I lunch-car manufacturing was being superseded by manufacturing and shipping (by rail and by road) the first diners. These often had vaulted roofs, which slid the snow off while suggesting the railroad dining car, in which millions of Americans had already chowed down.

Since these were portable, they often came and went – here in the 21st century, new owners hauled the Avoca Diner off to a new name and a new life in Washington D.C. Often, though, owners added on, sometimes making larger diners and sometimes becoming full-service restaurants, though usually with the original diner still discernible.

So, where can you find them? One of the closest to Bath-Corning is the Penn Yan Diner on 13 East Elm… small and easy to miss, which would be a shame. They actually used the trolley tracks to deliver it in 1925 (centennial coming up!), and it’s been busy ever since. PYD has an extra interest to us, having been built not too far away, by the Richardson Company in Chautauqua County. Our son likes the pickle soup, but I haven’t tried it personally.

Then there’s The Diner, which bills itself as a “newly renovated railcar diner.” This one is NOT so easy to miss, sitting gloriously and uncompromisingly on its own space at 59 Old Ithaca Road in Horseheads.

Modern Diner, on Main Street in Wellsville, is said to be a 1946 Ward & Dickinson, made in Chautauqua County like the Penn Yan Diner. It’s been altered, expanded, and modernized, but very much emphasizes that original vaulted roof structure.

The State Diner (428 West State Street) has been going strong in Ithaca since 1936. Like many others it’s been expanded and rebuilt, and has even survived a major fire, but you can still discern the original construction.

Although it’s a little outside our stated Western New York focus, let’s mention the nearby Wellsboro Diner, on Main Street in that delightful Pennsylvania borough. It’s a 1938 diner, on the spot since 1939. There’s an added dining-gift shop-rest room space, but the original diner is deliciously intact with counter, tiny booths, vaulted ceiling, cooking-in-the-open, and all.

This is a fun-with-architecture feature, but suppose you want to do more than just look? I can’t make any dining recommendations (let alone guarantees), though I will say that I have eaten at the State, at the Wellsboro, and at the Penn Yan, and enjoyed them all. All eateries are restricted by the pandemic, but I’m sure they’d appreciate takeout orders, if nothing else! Give ’em a hand, and think about at least a cup of coffee. Stay tuned – more next week!

Quonset Huts and Geodesic Domes (and Where to Find Some)

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Last week in this space we looked at where we can see octagon houses around our Finger Lakes-western New York region, and I described the octagon house as the geodesic dome of the 19th century. Both of them made new departures in housing or construction, and both appeal(ed) to those who had a zest for pioneering, but didn’t excessively worry about what the neighbors (or the grandparents) thought.

So what’s the deal on domes? They’re constructed of triangular subunits, which are highly stable and distribute weight very well – valuable in heavy-snow areas, even including Antarctica. In theory they can be constructed quickly (once you’ve got the hang of it, and assuming you’ve got materials pre-positioned). They can be delivered and placed by helicopter! And they enclose a vast amount of space compared to their surface area. But a fair amount of that space is lost because of the circular perimeter on-curving walls.

There are other drawbacks too, making them perhaps more successful for purposes other than dwellings. As the octagon house was popularized (not invented) by Orson Squire Fowler of Cohocton, so the geodesic dome was popularized (not invented) by R. Buckminster Fuller.

If you want to see one locally, you might drive up by 332 Main Street in Penn Yan, where a dome forms the back part of Emmanuel Baptist Church and Academy. I’m not sure how it’s used – as a gym, maybe? But it’s a pleasant quirky surprise in traditional Penn Yan, without being conspicuous or jarring.

You can also see it from the Liberty Street (14A) side. Even though a church is a public place, this one is also a school, so DON’T go driving in for a close look. Besides the safety consideration, people justifiably get suspicious and unfriendly when strangers drive into schoolyards.

I also have reports of a dome used as a private home in Pulteney, plus domes on Telegraph Road in Bath, 40 Dollar Road in Thurston, and Lock’s Pond Road in Avoca. Wizard of Clay Pottery (7851 S. R. 20A, Bloomfield), and the next-door Noble Shepherd Craft Brewery, have multiple domes, so you can actually visit once the public health situation improves. Elmira College’s Murray Athletic Center (170 Huck Finn Road, Horseheads) is also comprised of multiple geodesic domes.

By the way, look at the Murray, Emmanuel, or Wizard/Shepherd complexes on Google Satellite View, and you can clearly see the structural triangles. From space!

Besides octagon houses and geodesic domes, another curiosity of American architecture is the Quonset hut and its imitators. Terrifyingly prolific during World War II, they were based on the British Nissen hut of World War I. Quonsets have a vault shape (half a cylinder), so they faintly echo the traditional Haudenosaunee longhouse of our region.

Prefabricated components, mostly identical, could be shipped easily and assembled quickly, even by folks who’d never encountered them before. They could be quickly expanded by joining another hut end-to-end, and they created a LOT of space, though as with the dome, the curve of the vault makes some of that space inaccessible.

Though sometimes used as barracks or hospitals, they really weren’t meant for housing – more for storage or work spaces. Joel’s Auto Haven in Bath (19 Lackawanna Street) has a very nice example, in good shape… it used to be the Agway/GLF. I believe there’s still one on Route 36, between Canisteo and Hornell. Other Half Brewing in Bloomfield is currently trying to rescue a Quonset hut, and another one recently sold near Palmyra. A year or so back there was one for sale near Canaseraga.

While the octagon house may be more picturesque, and is certainly more aware of its own dignity, the remorselessly utilitarian Quonset hut and the flamboyantly futuristic geodesic dome are also worthwhile (and entertaining) contributions to America’s architectural landscape. Drive around. Keep your eyes peeled. See how many you find.

Octagon Houses (and Where to Find Some)

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Skyscrapers! Covered bridges! Golden arches! American architecture – sublime, utilitarian, or delightfully goofy – is recognized round the world.

And one unmistakable sign of bygone America is the octagon house – which in its heyday was NOT a symbol of quaintness, but a proclamation that the owner was on the cutting edge – perhaps worryingly so.

Not the inventor of the octagon house, but its great philosopher and promoter, was Orson Squire Fowler of Cohocton. A noted publisher, he also boosted the “science” of phrenology… diagnosing personality from the contours of the skull.

Sheer bunk, of course, but the octagon house had a firmer foundation. The same square footage of floor space could be built with less labor and less materials, for a dramatic saving in cost. On top of that, more of the floor space was truly USEABLE space, since the corners opened more widely. PLUS ventilation was better, and so was lighting – no more dark corners where the candle or oil lamp couldn’t reach. Fowler figured that besides the advantages in construction and use, the octagon house would pay dividends in mental and emotional health.

Many tales are told of octagon houses being Underground Railroad stops, and many of them are probably fairy tales. But they certainly would be easy for a stranger on the run to spot, and the folks inside were likely to be a little eccentric, or at least more open-minded – perfect candidates for a clandestine, illegal, and dangerous humanitarian activity.

Think of the octagon house as the geodesic dome of the 19th century.

Many, alas, have been lost over time. Pleasant Valley once had an octagon school, now known only through a grainy photo in a newspaper, published maybe a hundred years ago.

Nearby, on Pleasant Valley Road leading into Hammondsport, is the 1859 Younglove home, now known far and wide as the Black Sheep Inn bed-and-breakfast. The Youngloves originally also had an octagonal barn and an octagonal smokehouse, but they’re long since gone.

There’s also an 1852 octagon house on State Route 53, south of Prattsburgh… a private home, so drive by, but don’t disturb. For quite a while the house had been looking rather neglected and dejected, but things have been looking up lately.

I know of two other octagonal features in Steuben County. The tower of the old Bath Memorial Hospital on Steuben Street (now Pathways) is an irregular octagon. And the old Cohocton Central School (now Wayland-Cohocton Elementary School) has an octagonal tower – a nod, I like to think, to Cohocton’s own Orson Squire Fowler.

Erie County is said to have three octagon houses, though I’ve only located The Rich-Twinn House (Akron 1849). Closer at home is the Denton House (Geneva 1853). The 1856 Wilcox House is now home to Camillus Historical Society. The Pratt and Buckingham House (Fredonia 1865) still has its octagon carriage house. The huge Corporal Hyde House, originally in Friendship, can now be visited at Genesee Country Village and Museum in Caledonia. The Potter House in Alfred is now rented for student housing.

Canandaigua has a single octagon house, on Gorham Street, while Naples has the tiny 1844 McKay house, whose builder/owner set out the first vineyard in the Naples Valley.

As we’ve already seen, “houses” are not the only uses for octagons. A small octagon building at Lily Dale was apparently put up for meetings, and never intended or used as a dwelling. Mark Twain’s octagonal study has been moved a few miles to the campus of Elmira College, and nearby Cowles Hall has a large octagonal tower. A former octagon school in Hector is now a vacation rental. DeWitt Historical Society now hosts modern-day school classes on field trips to the 1827 “Eight Square” school in Dryden. There’s an octagon carriage house on Clinton Street in Penn Yan.

So – looking for a field trip of your own, in these socially-distanced days of coronavirus? Make your own checklist, and take a drive to see some octagon houses. Don’t disturb the private dwellings, but otherwise, have fun!

Centennials — and More!

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Two well-known local features are enjoying their centennials this year.
The old Erwin Town Building (on East Water Street in Painted Post) was dedicated in 1922, but construction began in ’21, and “1921” is carved in stone (or at least concrete) above the doorway. In its early days the fire department garaged two trucks on the ground floor, although one of them had to be driven out before the second one could exit. The police department was here too, in addition to other offices and meeting space. This building survived the floods of 1935, 1946, and 1972, but has recently been replaced by new construction in the Gang Mills area. We understand that the old building is now in private hands.
Over in Wayland, the Bennett Brothers erected in a new building in 1921, moved their existing auto business in, and there operated for almost a hundred years, famously maintaining the world’s oldest Buick dealership. When the family closed the business recently, they sold what’s now the Bennett Brothers Memorial Building (7 South Lackawanna Street) as a new home for Springwater-Wayland EMS.
It was also a hundred years ago that the Corning Elks lodge (which was actually in Erwin) burned down. The newly-incorporated Village of South Hornell elected its first “president,” George DeWolfe, while the Board of Regents chartered Corning Public Library. The Episcopal bishop consecrated Church of the Good Shepherd in Savona, but safeblowers in Campbell made off with $12,000.
In Bath, W. Sterling Cole walked across the stage to receive his diploma at Haverling High School. He would serve 11 terms as our representative in Congress, then become the first Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
For GOLDEN anniversary – in Bath, the Champagne Whirl-a-Ways got started in 1971, and they’ve been square dancing ever since.
The Town of Caton is having a big year for SESQUIcentennials (150 years). In 1871 Caton folks erected a memorial to their fellow townsmen who had perished in the “War of the Rebellion.” That obelisk, still standing at Elmwood Cemetery, was the first Civil War monument in Steuben County.
And on May 4 of 1871, “Deacon” White of Caton strode to the plate for the first at-bat in the first half of the first inning of the first game in the first all-professional baseball league… arguably starting Major League Baseball. The Deacon hit a double, but his Forest City team still lost to Fort Wayne.
This year marks the bicentennial for the death of Revolutionary War veteran Captain Joel Pratt, an early landowner for whom one of our Steuben County towns was named. He was also instrumental in founding what’s now the Prattsburgh Presbyterian Church.
In the bigger world of 1921, bad things were happening. The horrendous two-day Tulsa Race Riot massacred at least a hundred people. Franklin D. Roosevelt came down with polio. Adolf Hitler took full control of the young Nazi party, and Mussolini founded the Fascist Party in Italy.
In the other hand, radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh made the first religious broadcast, and the first broadcast of the World Series. The first White Castle restaurant (progenitor of hundreds of thousands of chain restaurants) opened in Wichita. Researchers in Toronto extracted insulin, and used it to treat diabetes. So, 1921 (and 1821, 1871, 1971, and 2021) were just like every other year – some good, some bad. We can always find SOMETHING to celebrate!