The George Cunningham Store at 173 Main Street, Tottenville, built c. 1892, is a rare and intact vernacular commercial building in the Queen Anne style from a significant period of development for Tottenville. Its robust bay windows with decorative brackets are rare survivors of a once popular feature of early American commercial architecture.
The building also features a distinctive decorated gable end that gives this small one-story building great presence on the street. From 1892 to 1913, for 21 years, this was George G. Cunningham’s Butcher Shop. From 1913 to 1957, for 44 years, it was Benjamin Williams’s Real Estate and Insurance Office. Their combined occupancy spanning 65 years documented Main Street’s long-lasting commercial viability