Visitor Photograph; June, 2017

 Overview 

42822 St. Lawrence Ave. currently houses the Thousand Island Park Landmark Society. The mission of the TI Park Landmark Society is to preserve the historical, architectural, and infrastructural resources of Thousand Island Park, New York for the community, visitors, and future generations. The building was restored in 2013 based off a late 19th century photograph. There is currently a gift shop and resource center, which keeps many of the archival materials for the Park, inside this building.  

Historic photograph. Mr. Hanford's Photograph Shop; c. 1879

Architectural Description 

The building is a single-story, rectangular cottage. It is reminiscent of the early campground, tent style cottage that would have been most prevalent when the Park was first established in the 1875. It has a front gable entry way that faces the street. The front porch spans the front of the building that is supported by square columns. The low railing has curved cut-outs. The three arches seen in the entry way are evocative of the Palladian motif, in which the central archway is larger and taller than the two flanking ones. The gable is trimmed with "gingerbreading" that follows the roof line around the building. The top of the gable and archways are filled with more decorative trim resembling a sunburst. There is a double front door with two windows on either side.

History 

The earliest known photograph of the building is from 1879 and the image shows that the building functioned as "Mr. Handford's photographic shop". The building is located on St. Lawrence Avenue which has historically been the main commercial street for the Park, and still is today. This building has not moved locations since it was first constructed. Directly across the street from the building is the Thousand Island Park Chapel and Thousand Island Park Corporation Office. The street is also the location of the Tabernacle, Post Office, the Guzzle, Library, Wellesley Hotel, and assorted shops. During the twentieth century, the building was changed completely, with all of the exterior facade ornamentation covered or removed. A number of businesses ran out of this building including a barber shop and a woman's hair salon. Little photographic evidence existed of this building, but once the 1879 photograph was discovered, the building was restored to its original form. The land and cottage is currently owned by the Thousand Island Park Corporation and is loaned to the Thousand Island Park Landmark Society. 

Other

The resource center inside the building houses all of the forms for the National Register of Historic Places Nomination from the 1980s. Many other resources about the history of the Park, its buildings, and residents can be found within the center and is open to the public during the summer months. Golf cart tours of the Park can be arranged starting out of the building.