This portion of Main Street was for a long time a grocery, then department store, and finally an experimental mall in an attempt to draw business back from the suburban strip malls.
In 1843, Isaac M. Seaman began a grocery and meat business at the spot, described as the only one of its kind in the village at the time. He then partnered with Leavitt Cudworth until 1847. The mantle was taken up by B.K. Aldrich, followed by G.N. Copeland. In 1852, David C. Cloyes bought out Mr. Copeland and continued the business until 1878. From this point, the building starts to be referred to as the Cloyes block. Cloyes partnered with several others over the years, including a Mr. Todd, L.D. Garrison, H.M. Kellogg, and W.B. Stoppard. Cloyes and Stoppard dissolved their partnership in 1878, and it appears Stoppard carried on the grocery business while Cloyes pursued a new venture with Benjamin Smith as a partner in the manufacturing of brooms.
We obtain a proper look at the layout of the building from the 1884 Sanborn map that shows no. 37, exclusively operating as a grocery until 1892, is at least twice as long and wide as the storefront at no. 39. The smaller space was used at various periods as a cigar store, coal office, boots & shoe store, and brothers Antonio and Bartolo Natoli operated a fruit stand out of it for over twenty years, first appearing there as early as 1899.
Back next door, Stoppard sold the grocery business to L.D. Meacham in 1892, and he managed Stowell’s Great Bargain House variety store there. M.W. Giles became half-owner in 1895, then bought out his partner in 1900. Giles remained until 1914, when the Cortland Standard reported the sale to E.H. Medes and Miss Helen D. Cowan:
“E. H. Medes is well known in Cortland and vicinity, having conducted a grocery store here for fifteen years. He is currently located at 11 Court St. He will close out his present store and devote his entire time to the new business. Miss H.D. Cowan is a thoroughgoing businesswoman in this city with considerable experience in various business enterprises. She will give much of her time to the office work of the new store. The new firm will be known as the Cowan-Medes Co. and will conduct the store along the same lines as it has been conducted by Mr. Giles.”
The partnership was short-lived, and the business was handed over to the Directoyu Company.
Wiltsie’s Department Store began in 1903 at 2 Main Street when Mr. G.H. Wiltsie of Burlington, Vermont, bought the former Shepard’s dry goods store at that address. Wiltsie’s became the city’s top-quality local department store, and, in 1923, purchased the Cloyes block, which at the time was considered one of the oldest business blocks on Main Street. This structure was demolished, however, to make way for the structure that stands today, described upon completion as follows:
“The store is 143 feet in length and has a floor space of 18,000 feet. Two large skylights, one 20×26 feet, and the other 6×60 feet, afford excellent daylight in the store. A beautiful wide stairway leads to the second floor, where rest rooms, a coat room, an alteration room, and a spacious stockroom are located. In viewing the store, one can tell at a glance that Mr. Wiltsie has carefully considered every minute detail for the beautification of the interior as well as for making it a place where those who buy will be accorded every convenience.”
The original façade was of buff-colored brick with stone Classical Revival trim, leaded glass, and a semi-circular recessed entry.
Another unique feature in the building was that there was access to Sarvay’s shoe store at 13-15 Central Avenue via the rear of the store, so one might conveniently go for a pair of shoes to match the new outfit they purchased at Wiltsie’s!
Renovations took place in 1958, when the stairway was relocated from the center of the main floor to the north side. The office was moved from a mezzanine to the second floor of the Sarvay block. The main floor was outfitted in pastel shades with colorful tile, an acoustical tile ceiling, and new, recessed fluorescent lights.
On Aug. 31, 1973, following construction of the suburban, enclosed Cortlandville Mall with a Chappell’s Dept. Store, Wiltsie’s closed its doors. The consequences of suburban sprawl were underway, drawing business away from Main Street to the new shopping centers located on the outskirts of the city. Two years later, the Mini-Mall opened up with a quote in the newspapers, claiming hopefully that “this is what people need to get them downtown.” The mall could accommodate 20 tenants on the first floor and basement, with office space upstairs. Businesses included: Gentlemen Quarters (barber), Tucci Bakery, Sweet Elissa Ladies Boutique, Coin Shop, Our House, Mother Courage, Record People, Cheese Shop, Paperback Exchange, Craft Shop, Mini Coiffure, Stitch in Time, Joyce Groom, and Greek Jewelry Shop.
In 1983, the Cortland Standard reported that the Center City Mall was “experiencing something of a renaissance, having twice as many businesses rented as a year ago.” It was noted how attractive the mall was, “with its cedar wall trim and handmade drapes. But the atmosphere [went] beyond that, to the point that store owners [treated] each other like family.”
At a later time, the name was changed to The Beach House Mall.
Most recently, McNeil Development Co. obtained the building and has plans to remove the front added on in the 1970s, returning it as close to its original appearance as much as possible, and renovate the interior.
