Utica Shoe District Tour (Tour)

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This is Utica's third train station which was built in 1914. All three of the train stations in Utica were built at this location. Union Station was important to the city and the country in its heyday. In the nineteen-thirties and forties, Utica had the largest freight yard of any area east of the Mississippi, right here at Union Station.

2. Bagg's Hotel and Proctor Memorial Building in Bagg Square Commemorative Park.

This site is not directly associated with Utica's shoe industry but we are stopping here for a bit of an orientation to the oldest part of town. This little park was once the center of downtown Utica at the corner of Main and Genesee Streets. This was the site of the Bagg Hotel which operated here for over one hundred years. The hotel was the finest in Utica and hosted many dignitaries and politicians over the years. This memorial was placed by the Proctor Family after the hotel had been torn down as the city expanded.

3. Utica and the Leather Industry

This area was once the heart of downtown Utica, but the highway system's expansion has erased many of the early buildings located here. Utica was uniquely located the early routes for transportation through the area: The Mohawk River, Erie Canal, and the railroad all make Utica a hub of commerce. Early Utica had several tanneries and supported numerous leather artisans such as shoemakers, harness makers, and saddle makers.

4. The First Shoe Factory, the Erie Canal, and the Great Fire of 1837.

As the city of Utica grew, so did its shoemaking industry. The first large-scale production of shoes began in eighteen thirty-seven by John Cantwell. He had a shop at 3 Catharine Street, where he employed over a dozen employees making what some referred to as “the finest shoes and boots in Central New York." There were twenty-eight shoemakers listed in the 1838 City Directory; by 1840, there were close to one hundred. Most of the shoe maker shops were centered around the foot of Genesee Street and the surrounding blocks. These were located close to the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825.The first "Great Fire of Utica" happened in eighteen-thirty seven. Almost as a natural type of Urban Renewal several fire burned this lower part of Genesee Street and forced the city to rebuild. The fire of eighteen thirty seven burned the western side of the one hundred block of Genesee Street which was considered an older and run down area needed of improvement.As we move on to the next stop the prosperity of the Erie Canal and New York's railroad system were in full swing. Utica's population expanded as did the shoe industry..

5. H. J. Hollbrook and Compnay

On December 1, 1874. George H. Ludlow, who had been superintendent for Reynolds Brothers, formed a partnership with H. J. Holbrook and began manufacturing shoes at a large building purposely built fas a shoe factory at 9 through 11 John street. The firm occupied six floors and produced 700 pairs of shoes daily, with finer grades of French and "American Kids", they specialized in shoes for women but soon boy's shoes were added, it was Utica's Second largest shoe factory.

6. Reynolds Brothers Shoes

The Reynolds Brother Shoe was the largest manufacturer of shoes in Utica. They operated from several different buildings over the years. They specialized in the manufacturing of high-quality women and children's shoes. The Reynolds Brothers had the largest factory in Utica. Their first factory was located here at the corner of John and Broad Street.

7. The Hurd Building

The Hurd Building is the last building standing from Utica's once-thriving shoe industry. The building was built in 1911 and designed by Utica architect Frederick H. Gouge who also designed the Doyle Hardware building, John C. Hieber Building (the former Children's Museum,) and the Utica Daily Press building. The Hurd Company operated out of this building for over sixty years.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Utica Shoe District Tour

Created by Patrick Reynolds on May 1st 2022, 5:50:59 pm.

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Welcome to the Walking Tour of Utica's Shoe District brought to you by the Oneida County History Center. The museum, library, and archive are located at 1608 Genesee Street, and we hope you can come to visit. This tour will stop at five sites associated with Utica's now vanished shoe industry.Utica has a rich industrial past and manufactured everything from stoves, guns, radios, and, most notably, long underwear. It is best known for its massive textile industry, and at one time, Utica produced more knitted goods than any city in the United States.This tour focuses on one of the lesser-known industries, shoemaking. Utica was a leading city in producing women's and children's shoes for almost twenty years. Many of the factories were just a few blocks from each other.

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Utica Shoe District Tour

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