Gowanda Village Historic District - Gowanda, New York - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Gowanda Village Historic District is a significant concentration of five commercial buildings which together reflect the growth and expansion of Gowanda's central business district during the early twentieth century. The buildings were erected in 1925 and 1926 as replacements for a large block of late nineteenth century frame buildings that had been destroyed by fire in 1924.

The stylish and well-crafted, classical inspired buildings are important reminders of Gowanda's economic development and prosperity during the first quarter of the twentieth century as an industrial center nationally renowned for the manufacture of glue. In varying degress and levels of sophistication, all five buildings embody the distinctive characteristics of early twentieth century, Neoclassical style commercial architecture. They are important for their associations with a vareity of mercantile concerns, many of which had been well-established in the community during the nineteenth century. Four of the five buildings are additionally important for their direct association with Richard Wilhelm, the village's prominent local citizen, philanthropist and industrialist. Wilhelm, founder of the Eastern Tanners Glue Company (later known as the Peter Cooper Corporation) in 1904, financed the reconstruction of the bank building, he was associated with the institution as a member of its board of directors for a number of years. The substantially intact buildings included in the Gowanda Village Historic District remain important local landmarks.

Source: NRHP Records Archive

Street address: 37, 39, 41--45, 47--49, and 53 W. Main St Gowanda, NY USA 14070 County / Borough / Parish: Cattaraugus Year listed: 1986 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture, Social Current function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 1: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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