Story 2: 1980: Rebuilding a Multigenerational Home
Our second story in our 50 Years, 50 Stories series is set in 1980 with Ruth and Sinclair, a couple looking to create a multigenerational home on Green Street in Ithaca.
By 1980, INHS home rehabilitation services were in full swing, helping residents of Ithaca’s Northside and Southside neighborhoods improve homes in need of repairs and safety upgrades. At this time, 568 properties had been repaired or improved, representing an investment of around $1.6 million dollars into neighborhood homes.
Among those who benefited were Ruth and Sinclair, owners of a home on Green Street in the City of Ithaca. Residents for over 50 years of both the Northside and Southside neighborhoods, they lived in their home on Green Street for nearly 30 years before relocating to a mobile home to allow their daughter, Shirley, and her family to move into the family home. When Shirley’s children began to reach adulthood and move elsewhere, Ruth and Sinclair decided to come back to Green Street.
With the assistance of the INHS rehabilitation team and an INHS loan, they completed a gut-renovation and remodel of the home, dividing it into two apartments, upstairs and downstairs. The family reunited under one roof, with Ruth and Sinclair occupying one apartment, and Shirley and one of her younger children occupying the other.
The home has since been recognized as historically important—in 2005, research undertaken to support the Southside Historic District Proposal determined that the home was African-American owned as early as 1880. Peter Washington, a porter, was listed as the owner at that time.
Newspaper Clippings:
Housing agency requests $2.2 million from city (Ithaca Journal, November 11, 1980)
$210,000 grant OK’d for housing rehabilitation (Ithaca Journal, May 7, 1980)
Routine Maintenance and Seasonal Tasks – An INHS Post-Purchase Class – April 22 (In-person)
