The Flower Building on the corner of Arcade and Arsenal Streets

Built sometime in the 1880’s on the corner of Arcade and Arsenal Streets opposite the American Hotel, the Flower Building was another duly-named building in honor of Watertown’s most influential person of the era, Roswell P. Flower.  Flower would serve as the 30th Governor of New York from 1892 – 1894, the last years in which a three-year term existed.

The four-story Flower Building would be home to many businesses over the years, from cigar and smoke shops to clothing merchants and the Bell Telephone Co.  It would be demolished in 1959 to make room for J.C. Penney’s retail store which stood on the same corner for many years.

Today, the location is used for a small parking lot as well as part of the Jefferson County Court Complex expansion.