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Main Street Improvement Association, Part 1

By John Marks, Curator

Today, Pulteney Park is a city-maintained space with trees, benches, and monuments. Originally it was the village square for Charles Williamson’s plan for Geneva. The evolution from village green to city park was made possible by private initiative and investment.

In 1793 Williamson laid out Main Street on the hill above Seneca Lake. The air, and view, was better than on the lakefront where residents often caught “Genesee fever” from nearby swamps. The village square was the center of activity. It had the Geneva Hotel, post office, Presbyterian Church, and Geneva Academy. Businesses were located around the square and in rowhouses across the street.

When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, many businesses moved to Water (now Exchange) Street to be close to commerce. Newer hotels opened downtown and in 1853 the Geneva Hotel became the Geneva Water Cure and Hygienic Institute. The village square was an empty space used for drying laundry, or occupied by animals.

By 1874, a group of South Main Street women felt the square was a poor reflection on the village. A like-minded group in Stockbridge, Massachusetts formed the first village improvement association in 1853. Still active today, the Laurel Hill Association’s mission is “to improve the quality of life and of the environment in the town of Stockbridge.”

Using the by-laws and regulations of the Laurel Hill Association, the women formed the Main Street Improvement Association on November 9^th, 1874. In early 1875 the association hired a landscape engineer from New York City. He surveyed Main Street from Seneca Street to Mile Point, including buildings and trees down to the lake. He presented a long-term plan for beautifying the park and all the open land on the east side of Main Street to Mile Point.

The association chose to begin with the engineer’s plan for Pulteney Park the first year. The park was levelled and graded, and plans were made for a fountain. The August 27, 1875 Geneva Daily Gazette reported that,

Pultney [sic] Park improvement is approaching completion, and with its artistic walks and sodded grass plots look extremely beautiful. The large basin is completed and connection made with the large main of the Geneva Water Works Co.; nothing lacking now but the device for the fountain.

This color print promoting the Hygienic Institute showed the results of the association’s work. Although it worked in cooperation with the village, the Main Street Improvement Association paid for all the park improvements. A variety of entertainments and donations raised money for landscaping and fixtures.

Next month: the continuing story of the Improvement Association.

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