January is always a good month for planning building projects for when the weather turns nicer. There was plenty of that going on during January 1922. One project is still around, another was a short-lived dream and the last one stood until the late 1960s in Oneonta.
Thornwood
It was reported in The Oneonta Star on Monday, Jan. 9, that Edwin W. Elmore had acquired 20 acres of land extending between the eastern boundary of Wilber Park and the upper ends of Gardner Place. Elmore guided the long-successful Elmore Milling Co., once found near the corner of Main Street and Neahwa Place.
"It is Mr. Elmore's intention to erect upon his property at a future date a thoroughly modern home." We know it today as Thornwood. After Elmore's heirs passed away, the house became the residence of past and present Hartwick College presidents.
"The tract includes a section of woodland and pasture land and is so situated as to command an unexcelled view of practically every section of the city and surrounding country. Mr. Elmore is undecided as to just when he will build … but it is understood that he intends to erect a modern and capacious home, together with stables and other buildings necessary to a country establishment.
"The buildings will be located above the reservoir water line and hence it will be necessary for Mr. Elmore to have his own water supply. Entrance to the property will be made by way of Draper street and thence through the woods in a wide circle made necessary to avoid a steep grade."
Hotel Oneonta
"Roof Garden Possible" was a headline over an article seen on Friday, Jan. 13, 1922, referring to the idea of a dining hall and ballroom on the roof of the Hotel Oneonta, at today's 189 Main St.
"Glass enclosed sides will permit an unexcelled view of every portion of the city and surrounding territory," the article read.
The dining room was then on the top floor, but "Proprietor Stanford" was ready to spend $25,000 to $30,000 on such a project in hopes of making it a convention hall, and if enough patronage warranted it, a cabaret in conjunction with the dining service. The project never materialized.
Mitchell Street School
On Wednesday, Jan. 18, The Star reported another building project.
"Action looking toward the erection of a new graded school in the sixth ward, presumable in the vicinity of the corner of London avenue and Henry streets, was taken at a meeting of the Board of Education held yesterday afternoon." Many will recall this as the Mitchell Street School, which stood until the late 1960s, replaced by today's Nader Towers, which opened in 1973.
Conditions at the River Street and Academy Street schools were very crowded with students from a rapidly growing Sixth Ward, prompting the Common Council to authorize a public vote on spending $5,000 on land and $35,000 for the building. Students were only able to attend school part time, due to the crowding.
"Owing to the railroad and the noise and dust from it the board wisely decided to build south of River street. The site selected is upon high ground where it is thought the building will be free from the high water incident to spring freshets.
"These children deserve full time school work and it should require no argument with any taxpayer to secure hearty support of all needed school buildings," the article concluded.
Voters responded in kind and Mitchell Street School opened in 1923. It was designed for 150 students, but soon became crowded as the school averaged about 200 per year during the 1950s.
On Monday: More new shopping opportunities came to Oneonta in 1972.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or email him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/marksimonson.
Columns
Building projects planned during January 1922
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
- Cary Brunswick
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Some wisdom is best passed down through books
I was visiting a friend out-of-town recently and the subject of providing a "reading list" to young people came up in conversation. He said years ago he had asked a respected acquaintance in Oneonta to compile such a list for his teenage daughter, to help her be better prepared for life, culture, education, politics and people.
Continued ... - Let pragmatism, not politics, determine birth control debate
- As Center Street Elementary goes, so goes Center City
- U.S. intervention in Syria's uprising would be a gamble
- Santorum, Obama both got it wrong on Honduras
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- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
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If we don’t develop a sustainable system, who will?
In Otsego County’s local elections last fall, a number of candidates — most of them on the independent Sustainable Otsego line — ran on an anti-fracking, pro-sustainability platform. They recognized that our current way of life — dependent on increasingly scarce, costly and polluting fossil fuels — cannot continue.
Continued ... - Time to get off the bus and on the computer
- Cuomo's Machiavellian maneuvers are a danger
- Home rule laws aren't a radical idea
- Sustainable shouldn't be a dirty word
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If we don’t develop a sustainable system, who will?
- Lisa Miller
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Being a parent is a constant learning process
I am sitting cross-legged on the floor in the dressing room, waiting for Allie's dance number to be called. The cave girl costume has been donned, the jazz shoes double-tied, the hair pulled back, the requisite dab of lipstick applied.
Continued ... - Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
- Untethered from the cable box
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Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Mark Simonson
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Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
Oneonta became a settlement and has been a place to do one's "trading," whether it was the 18th century, or 2012, because of the five valleys that converge here. Only the places of doing the "trading" have changed a bit over the last 100 years, and Oneonta remains a place that attracts visitors and has always been a decent place to live and work.
Continued ...
100 Years Ago - Recalling the Hindenburg, John D. Rockefeller in May 1937
- Oneonta residents had diversions aplenty in the spring of 1952
- Damaschke essential to ensuring Oneonta baseball in 1927
- Area tunes to WONT in November 1972
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Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
- Rick Brockway
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Climbing is one thing, but skydiving?
OUTDOORS COLUMN BY RICK BROCKWAY ... Last week, my friend George and I returned to the Gunks for another rock-climbing adventure. After last week's column, I asked about the rattlesnakes and was told not to worry. Rattlers are usually quite timid and will avoid people as much as possible. It's the copperheads that'll give you trouble. They're aggressive and will stand their ground to defend it. Oh great!!
- Rattlesnakes may be closer than you think, so pay attention
- Spring is here, so fishing should pick up soon
- Sneaky fox may be the next animal looking to horse around
- Pass down the rush of turkey hunting to your kids this weekend
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Climbing is one thing, but skydiving?
- Sam Pollak
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I'm happy with our kids to a certain degree
It was several years ago, and I was in the kitchen, telling my eldest daughter and my then-teenaged son about the person who was taking over as publisher at The Daily Star.
Continued ... - I get by with a little help from my 'friends'
- It’s not easy for a politics junkie to get off the stuff
- The Encyclopaedia Britannica in print, unmourned by me
- Angelo Dundee was always a good man to have in your corner
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- William Masters
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Time for lawmakers who put needs of society first
Richard Lugar, after six terms as a Republican senator -- known for his middle of the road rationality and his foreign policy finesse -- has been ousted by a Tea Party extremist backed by outside right-wing funding.
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War not worth gambling with lives of soldiers
Are you not tired of our war in Afghanistan? It had a point, once, after 9/11. Bush couldn't distinguish his myopic personal agendas from the nation's needs and let Osama escape, dropping the ball entirely, causing many deaths.
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Titanic was a microcosm of U.S. economic disparity
Haunting reminders of the Titanic tragedy have wafted over us with the centenary of its sinking. The maiden voyage of an impressive, state of the art vessel, was a little like that of the Challenger space shuttle, at the cutting edge of developing technology. But the shuttle carried our pride in science and space exploration, not hundreds and hundreds of people.
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William Masters: Nation stands divided between 'us' and 'them'
In February, Trayvon Martin was shot dead as "suspicious" by a volunteer neighborhood watch man. The case has aroused community reaction in Sanford, Fla., and is still echoing across the country.
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A quarterback can't win the game alone
What is the relationship between democracy and wealth? Democracy is a political system, while wealth relates to economics. We have equal political rights, but we don't all have money. Extreme differences destroy the continuity of community solidarity.
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Time for lawmakers who put needs of society first
