When lumber baron and Vermont native Nelson Kingsland sought a style for his house, he looked for reassuring symmetry and respectability, perhaps because it was built during the Civil War. He found it in the Greek Revival, and his wooden house is outfitted with four fluted Ionic columns supporting a two-story portico, heavy architraves, and a balcony above the central entrance. The five-bay-wide house has narrow corner boards and siding, and the simple side elevations have returning eaves. Within three years of completion, Kingsland left Titusville and the house became a luxury hotel. Seven years later, in 1872, the city purchased it for its offices.