At its opening in 1924 this hotel was the height of opulence. It cost six million dollars&nbsp;to build.&nbsp;In addition to the hotel rooms, it included a coffee shop, barber shop, beauty salon and drug store. One of the highlights was the ballroom. It was decorated in tones of light and dark gold. The ceiling was painted with a faux skyscape and its location on the tenth floor meant that there were incredible views out of the windows.&nbsp;<br><br>After many years of financial struggle the hotel closed in 2004. It went through several owners before being purchased by Ed Riley of Pyramid Hotel Group in 2014. The renovation cost 70 million dollars and reduced the room count from 600 to 261. It reopened as the Marriott Syracuse Downtown in August of 2016.<br><br><br>

Information about the 2014-2016 restoration of Hotel Syracuse 

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Constructed in 1924 as the city's grand downtown hotel, Hotel Syracuse boasted six hundred guestrooms and an ornate ballroom. The hotel was designed by William Stone Post of the New York City architectural firm George B. Post and Sons. At the time of its opening, Hotel Syracuse made headlines for offering private restrooms and other modern amenities for each of its guest rooms. Among the exterior features of the building are three towers that were designed to resemble classical columnns. Like many grand downtown hotels, Hotel Syracuse saw declining reservations as more guests arrived in the city by car instead of arriving at the downtown rail station. The hotel closed for a number of years to allow for a complete restoration and re-opened as part of the Marriott Chain in 2016.

Hotel Syracuse (Marriott Syracuse Downtown)

This tour of Syracuse begins at the Erie Canal Museum and includes stops at the Onondaga Historical Association and several historic buildings such as the Landmark Theatre and Hotel Syracuse. The tour ends back near the starting point with the headquarters building of the Niagara Hudson Electric Company and several other buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century. If you have time, be sure to also see the monument to Ernie Davis on the Syracuse campus and the home of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz.

Downtown Syracuse New York Walking Tour

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The Weighlock Building was occupied by the New York State Department of Public Works until 1954. In 1956, two members of the NYS Canal Society, both state legislators, sponsored legislation to give the building to the NYS Department of Education. In a surprise move, Governor Harriman vetoed the legislation over the almost unanimous vote of the legislature saying that a future highway interchange might claim the building.<br>
<br>At this point, the Junior League of Syracuse took notice and was shocked to find drawings at the DPW showing Interstate 81 going right over the Weighlock Building and Syracuse City Hall. The Junior League, and others went into high lobbying gear, with intense letter writing and phone calls to Albany legislators and the Chairman of the Onondaga County Board of Supervisors. The Junior League persuaded the Board of Supervisors to accept the Weighlock Building on behalf of Onondaga County. The transfer from the State was authorized by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Rockefeller.<br>
<br>The instrument of conveyance from New York State provided that the property must be used for a “public canal museum.” Consequently, at the request of the County, the original Board of Trustees started out to create such a museum. Work began in earnest, mostly with volunteers, to clean, paint and revitalize the interior of the building, while County employees made a significant contribution to the renovation of the building. In September&nbsp;1962, the Board of Regents granted a “provisional charter” and the formal opening in October was greeted by large, enthusiastic crowds. The “absolute charter” of the Museum was issued by the Board of Regents on March 29, 1968.<br>

When the Erie Canal Museum opened its doors on October 25, 1962, it celebrated and preserved the life of the last remaining weighlock building in America. These buildings used to weigh passing boats, using either a weighing mechanism or by calculating how much water the boats displaced. A replica boat can be seen in the museum as if it were being weighed. This Greek revival building stands as a monument to the importance of the Erie Canal to the history of the United States.

Erie Canal Museum

<p>The Courier Building is a three-part building made of the Frazee Block (the four-story corner building), the cutlery block (the four-story building along Montgomery Street), and the fire engineer block (the recognizable triangular section). The first recorded mention of the Courier Building occurred in 1844 when Benjamin Frazee was taxed $3,000 for bricks intended for a new commercial building designed and constructed by local architect Summer L. Hunt. What then became known as the Frazee Block was a four-story, mixed-use Greek Revival style building with a large meeting space on the fourth floor, office space on the third and second floors, and commercial/retail space on the first floor. It became a popular trend in the Northern states during the 19th-century to construct this type of mixed-use building – with public meeting space, office, and retail – within commercial districts near political centers. The cutlery building and the fire engineer block were both erected next to the Frazee building within the next decade. Benjamin Frazee sold the building to Captain Austin Myers in 1851. In 1853, Captain Myers purchased the two adjoining buildings which, as a unit, became known as the Frazee Block and then the Courier Building during the late-19th-century.</p><p>Central New York became a hotbed of abolitionist and Underground Railroad activity during the mid-19th-century, with Syracuse being one of the region’s leading abolitionist cities. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 ignited a fire underneath many with anti-slavery views and only worked to further propel the abolitionist movement. By mid-May 1851, the anti-slavery sentiment in Central New York became so prevalent that the President of the United States, Millard Fillmore and Attorney General John Crittenden traveled to Syracuse and spoke to the city against its illegal abolitionist activities. Then on May 26, Secretary of State Daniel Webster made a visit to Syracuse to deliver his famous “Syracuse Speech.” From a second story balcony on the Frazee Building overlooking a large crowd below on Montgomery Street, Webster condemned the city for its anti-slavery activities and reminded them of the illegality of such behavior, calling those abolitionists in the city traitors.&nbsp;The crowd below Webster did not react positively to being harangued in such a manner and demonstrated their opposition to Washington a few months later.&nbsp;While the anti-slavery Liberty Party held its state convention in Syracuse in early October 1851, a runaway slave named William Henry (aka Jerry) was arrested under the Fugitive Slave Act. Hundreds of abolitionists rose up and freed Jerry from jail. Jerry made his way to Oswego where he ultimately crossed Lake Ontario into Canada. The event became known nationally as the Jerry Rescue and served as Syracuse’s declaration against slavery.</p><p>In 1856, the&nbsp;<i>Syracuse Daily Courier&nbsp;</i>moved into the Frazee Building and remained there until 1905. The&nbsp;<i>Courier</i>, as it became known, is the building’s longest tenant and the building’s namesake. It is not known when the Frazee Block became the Courier Building, but the name stuck. During the time that the newspaper was in operation, a few exterior alterations occurred to the building such as repainting the red and white striped exterior and rebuilding the cornice to a similar size and scale of the original 1844 cornice. After the&nbsp;<i>Courier&nbsp;</i>ceased operation in 1905, the Myers family sold the building and the Loyal Order of Moose purchased the building in 1918. The Syracuse Chapter #615 of LOOM occupied the Courier Building until 1949. The LOOM made several significant alterations to the building in the 31 years of its occupation, such as increasing the north section to four stories, adding a new cornice, introducing Chicago commercial style windows on the upper floors of the Frazee Hall section, and consolidating all three buildings into one floor plan. The Moose Lodge moved to a new location and sold the Courier Building in 1949. Again, the new owner made some noticeable changes to the building when aluminum storefronts were added and the upper floors converted back into office space. Then in the 1970s, metal siding was added to the building’s exterior covering up the alterations made in 1949.&nbsp;</p><p>A fresh face came to the Courier Building in 2000 when Chase Corporation &amp; Chase Architectural Associates began remodeling the building for the L’Adour Restaurant. The interior was redesigned to accommodate for a modern French restaurant with kitchens, fixtures, and office space. The 1949 storefront was also replaced. L’Adour operated in the Courier Building for the next thirteen years until the restaurant closed. Since then, James Prioletti came into ownership of the building and began a certified rehabilitation&nbsp;project on the building&nbsp;to provide commercial and retail space on the first floor and apartments on the second, third, and fourth floors. The Courier Building today is nestled neatly into Syracuse’s downtown and offers high end apartments and commercial space, remaining a hallmark of the city’s abolitionist and industrial past.</p>

Designed by Summer L. Hunt, the Courier Building in downtown Syracuse, New York dates back to 1844. This four-story, trapezoidal Greek Revival style building was the site of Daniel Webster's "Syracuse Speech," during which he proclaimed that resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law was synonymous with treason. The crowd then freed a runaway slave from the custody of U.S. Marshals and cemented Central New York's opposition to slavery. The Courier Newspaper occupied the building from 1856-1905, and Chicago Commercial style architectural designs were added in 1918. During the last century, the building fell into a deteriorated state and was rehabilitated by James Prioletti. The Courier Building now houses a restaurant and apartments.

Courier Building

<div>The Central New York Telephone and Telegraph Building stands as a monument to the dawn of the telephone era in Syracuse. A little more than twenty years before the building opened, in 1876, Frederick C. Brower attended the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and witnessed Alexander Graham Bell's demonstration of telephony. The new invention so impressed Brower that he returned home and acquired a license to develop and operate a telephone system. Nineteen years later, the Central New York Telphone and Telegraph company emerged as the first central telephone company in Central New York, with the now historic building serving as its headquarters (in 1899). However, the building proved too small by 1905, so they moved and allowed the Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) to move into the building; the OHA occupied the building until the 1980s.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Public sentiment and media coverage of Bell's invention, and Brower's attempts to establish phone lines in Syracuse were mixed at best. However, by developing means through which to run phone lines through the city and develop items such as speaking tubes eventually resulted in creating a phone system worthy of purchasing; by 1879, there were 208 names listed in the local city directory.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>And, as the system grew, so did the competition and business development associated with the telephone.&nbsp; Those walking through downtown Syracuse in the 1890s would have seen a sea of tall poles, wires, and cables.&nbsp; Eventually, a central organization emerged: The Central New York Telephone and Telegraph (CNY). In 1899, CNY moved into the new building at 311 Montgomery equipped with a switchboard capable of handling more than 2,000 lines; the daily average number of calls made in Syracuse was 21,200 by the turn of the century. And the growth rate proved so significant that by 1904, CNY had to move to another, larger facility down the street.</div><div><br></div><div>In 1905,&nbsp; the OHA moved into the building and remained there until the 1980s (and used it for storage until 2005). Hence, while the building exists due to the creation and development of telephones, many refer to the building as the Onondaga Historical Association Building.</div><div><br></div><div>A unique feature of the building's design includes its non-commercial appearance. Architect Henry Wilkenson relied on an Italian Renaissance Revival style for the building as it was located in a part of town mostly comprised of residential buildings. As well, the lower floor included ample space for bicycle storage as that was the favored mode of transportation in the last decade of the nineteenth century.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Today, the building mainly functions as a residential space, having been purchased by a couple in 2005 and renovated to suit their needs.&nbsp;</div>

Built in 1895, this building served as the home to the CNY Telephone & Telegraph. The building is unique from most commercial buildings in its design and stands as a monument to the arrival of the telephone era which began in 1876 when Alexander Graham Bell presented his invention to exposition attendees in Philadelphia. In the audience that day was inventor Frederick C. Brower of Syracuse who returned with a license to install telephones in this area that were part of the Bell System. and twenty years later, numerous phone lines crisscrossed downtown Syracuse. Phone usage grew so popular that CNY Telephone and Telegraph were moved to a bigger building in 1905. At that time, the Onondaga Historical Association to take ownership of the original CNY building and remained there for almost a century. 

Central New York Telephone and Telegraph Building (A.K.A. Onondaga Historical Association Building)

<p>The history of this building is interwoven with the development of the telecommunications industry in Syracuse. In 1899, the Central New York Telephone and Telegraph Company moved its central office from the Wieting Block to a five-story building at 311 Montgomery Street. However, due to the increasing popularity of the telephone and the corresponding growth of their business, the company was soon in need of an even larger headquarters. Construction of a new building began in 1904, just a few doors down the road at 321 Montgomery Street. This land had previously been the location of several homes, one of which had been designed and resided in by the famous architect Horatio Nelson White.</p><p>The CNY Telephone and Telegraph Company transferred to this new building once construction was complete in 1906. The five-story structure, an example of the Second Renaissance Revival style popular at the turn-of-the-century, was the first building in the region designed specifically for telephone operations. Originally U-shaped, a fourth section was added to the rear near the beginning of World War I, as the rapidly expanding company required even more space. Each floor had its own specific function (Auditing, Contact, Engineering, etc.), and the building included a kitchen and a “retiring room” where employees could relax. The center of activity was the switchboard, which was operated by female employees and was the largest of its kind within the Bell Telephone Company. 321 Montgomery Street housed the CNY Telephone and Telegraph Company until the 1980s (and even doubled as a fallout shelter during the Cold War), when the company was again forced to relocate due to insufficient space. </p><p>The Onondaga Historical Association, which had previously purchased the CNY Telephone and Telegraph Company’s old headquarters at 311 Montgomery Street in the early 1900s, bought this property as well in 1983. The OHA had been officially chartered in 1863, with the purpose of “collecting and preserving historical, genealogical, scientific, and literary material” relating to Onondaga County. After a challenging period in the 1870s and 1880s, when the organization had to suspend its activity due to financial instability, it finally started to gain a foothold in the community. During the 1890s, the group founded the Historical Club, began publishing its Local History Leaflet, and played a major role in the Onondaga County Centennial Celebrations of 1894. </p><p>The OHA continued to grow throughout the 20<sup>th</sup> century, and when it acquired 321 Montgomery in the 1980s, it had two separate properties to house its offices, collections, museum, and research center. The group finally sold the 311 Montgomery property in the early 2000s, and since then has operated solely out of this building. In 2008, due to the deteriorating and increasingly deserted downtown environs, the OHA considered relocating to a more suburban location. However, Gregg Tripoli, the OHA’s executive director, decided to remain at 321 Montgomery, and spearheaded several changes over the next few years. After renovating the building’s façade, expanding the museum’s exhibit space and gift shop, and continuing to collaborate with organizations throughout the community, the OHA held a Grand Re-Opening ceremony in the summer of 2011. The organization, founded during the Civil War and housed in a building more than a century old, remains a vital hub of historical preservation and community engagement in Syracuse and Central New York.  </p>

<p>This building is the headquarters of the Onondaga Historical Association (OHA), and the site of its flagship museum, research center, and gift shop. The museum contains both permanent and temporary exhibits, which present the distinct and diverse history of Onondaga County to the public. Permanent exhibits here explore the settlement and foundation of Syracuse and Onondaga County, the role the city played in the Underground Railroad, and the history of Syracuse China company, which produced fine dinnerware for over 130 years. The association houses a large collection of 3D and 2D objects that number well over a million items, including typewriters, lanterns, washing equipment, Syracuse China, clothing, and a daguerreotype (an early photograph) of Frederick Douglass. Outside of this site, the OHA collaborates with other organizations to display exhibits throughout downtown Syracuse and Onondaga County.    </p>

Onondaga Historical Association

<div>The Hamilton White house (built 1842) derives its name from its wealthy homeowner, Hamilton White. His house stands as a monument to the White family, as well as the numerous wealthy European Americans living Syracuse, who worked both directly and behind the scenes to&nbsp;support benevolent causes (including many relating to African American life)&nbsp;including helping orphans, the elderly, the poor and aiding slaves in&nbsp;gaining freedom, notably during the 1850s.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Although less is known about Hamilton's direct role in abolition, it is believed by most historians that his brother, Horace, gave free passes on the railroad to freedom seekers. Moreover, other friends of Horace and Hamilton, notably railroad investors such as John Wilkinson, Charles B. Sedgwick, and George Barnes, also actively participated in helping free slaves via the underground railroad. As a family, the Whites funded Black churches and made arrangements for African American speakers to visit Syracuse.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In 1854, along with hundreds of fellow Syracuse residents, Hamilton White signed a proposal to appoint delegates to a state-wide convention to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which would ostensibly allow for the expansion of slavery into the western territories.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;Hamilton was also active in several additional philanthropic efforts and community (social welfare) projects, including aiding Dr. Samuel May in founding the May Memorial Unitarian Church. The White family took leading roles in founding or co-founding Cornell University, St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, the Orphan's Home (now the Elmcrest Children's Home, and Crouse College at Syracuse University. The Whites also created the Syracuse Home Association, which initially operated as a multi-faith organization that offered aid to the poor and provided various social services such as health and elder care. Indeed, today's Hamilton White Society not only pays homage to the family's philanthropy and community support but continues to provide many of the same services.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The mansion, finished in 1842, enjoys Greek Revival design and stands as the only survivor of many large, lavish homes that once bordered Fayette Park, a place where Frederick Douglass once gave a speech (1847).&nbsp; White, born in 1807, lived at the White House until his passing in 1865. However, his family retained ownership of the house until roughly 1912.&nbsp;<br></div>

Completed in 1842 for the family of merchant Hamilton White, this historic mansion is that last of many lavish homes that once bordered Fayette Park. Frederick Douglass delivered a speech at Fayette Park in 1847 and White played an active role in anti-slavery causes. He also helped African Americans secure their freedom by supporting the network of abolitionists who helped fugitives escape to northern states and Canada. Hamilton also helped establish colleges, churches, and innumerable social welfare programs. White's descendants owned the home until 1912, the house mainly functions as a professional office center, primarily occupied by law firms. 

Hamilton White House

The building itself is a work of art in itself and was designed to be so. I.M. Pei wanted visitors to experience the building, both on the outside and inside, as they would a&nbsp;piece of art.&nbsp;

The Everson Museum of Art is one of the country's premier museums dedicated to American art. It was founded in 1897 as the Syracuse Museum of Fine Art. The current building, which opened in 1968, was the first museum designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei (the museum helped launched his career). The Everson was the first art museum in the country to collect only American art. The museum holds 11,000 works including paintings, sculptures, photographs, ceramics, works on paper, videos, and graphic art. The ceramic collection is one of the largest in the collections in the world and features works by Adelaide Robineau.


Everson Museum of Art 

<p>Plymouth Congregational Church’s roots run back nearly two centuries, to the formation of the First Congregational Church of Syracuse in 1838. While this church was short-lived, splintering and finally disbanding by 1850, it established a strong abolitionist reputation in a country increasingly consumed by the issue of slavery. The divisions over slavery were exemplified by the “Jerry rescue” that took place in Syracuse in 1851. Jerry was the name given to a formerly enslaved man named William Henry, who had escaped from bondage in Missouri and established a life as a free person in Syracuse. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, however, led to William Henry’s capture, prompting a group of Syracuse abolitionists to help him escape again and travel safely to Canada. </p><p>Many of the people involved in the “Jerry rescue” were former members of the Frist Congregational Church, and future founders of Plymouth Congregational Church, which was originally called Plymouth Church. The latter was finally formed in 1853, and its Articles of Faith dedicated the church to abolitionism, temperance, and missionary work. Plymouth Church was named after the radical abolitionist Harriet Ward Beecher’s church in Brooklyn, further strengthening its ties to the broader antislavery movement. Many famous abolitionists spoke at Syracuse’s Plymouth Church, including Frederick Douglass, and it was rumored to have been a stop along the Underground Railroad leading to Canada.</p><p>Plymouth Church’s first home was a small wooden chapel at 231 E. Genesee St., which was built in 1855. However, due to the church’s growing congregation, which increased from 31 to 300 in its first few years, a new and larger building was deemed necessary. The prolific Syracuse architect Horatio Nelson White designed this new structure in the Romanesque Revival style, and the church opened its doors in 1859. Composed of brick and featuring stained-glass windows, this original building forms the basis of the church that is still here today.</p><p>The church has undergone many renovations since its antebellum construction. In 1870, Horatio Nelson White expanded the existing building; in 1923, after dangerously swaying during a wind storm, the original steeple's height was greatly reduced. The architect Charles A. Carpenter oversaw a major project in 1930 that included the construction of a church house and the installation of a 3,000 pipe Möller organ. More recent alterations have updated the building’s interior, upgraded its technological resources, and made it more wheelchair accessible. Throughout these changes, the building’s original character has remained intact, making Plymouth Congregational Church one of the oldest places of worship in Syracuse.</p><p>Similarly, the church's founding principles have also persevered and prospered. While undergoing some organizational restructuring in the 20th century – merging with the Good Will Congregational Church in 1947 (when Plymouth Congregational Church acquired its current name), and becoming a unit member of the United Church of Christ in 1961 – the church has maintained its dedication to social justice. In 1985 it declared itself a Sanctuary Church for refugees, and ten years later it became an Open and Affirming Church, welcoming people of all gender identities and sexual orientations. In 2019, Reverend Eric Jackson became Plymouth Congregational Church's first African American pastor.  </p>

<p>Plymouth Congregational Church was founded by abolitionists in 1853. The church hosted antislavery speakers like Frederick Douglass, and it is believed to have been a stop along the Underground Railroad. Construction of the current church building began in 1858, and was completed one year later. Architect and Syracuse native Horatio Nelson White designed the church, and also oversaw a major redesign in 1870-1871. The stained-glass windows are original, dating from 1859 and 1871, and the 3,000 pipe Möller organ was installed in 1930. Plymouth Congregational Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 for its Romanesque Revival architecture and association with the abolitionist movement. The church has continued its legacy of social justice and activism into the 21st century.</p>

Plymouth Congregational Church

<p>By the late 1920s, grand “movie palaces” had become major attractions in many American cities. The theater chain Loew’s Inc. had already built more than 100 movie palaces across the nation by 1927, when its founder, Marcus Loew, turned his sights on Syracuse. At the time, Syracuse itself was already host to five movie theaters –the Empire, the Strand, the Temple, Keith’s, and Eckel – but Loew made sure his would be the crown jewel.</p><p></p><p>After spending $1.9 million to purchase the land at the northwest corner of Salina Street, which had previously been the site of the Jefferson Hotel, Loew hired the architect Thomas Lamb to design the building. Lamb was perhaps the most well-known architect of movie theaters during the heyday of the movie palaces, and he would eventually design over 300 theaters throughout his prolific career. Construction began on March 15, 1927, and lasted 11 months, costing $1.4 million and employing more than 300 workers.  </p><p></p><p>For Loew’s State Theatre, Lamb transitioned away from his earlier Adamesque style and embraced a more fantastical vision. While the eight-story stone exterior was relatively unadorned, the interior was the complete opposite. Hanging in the lobby was a chandelier that Loew bought for $40,000, originally designed by Louis Tiffany in 1882. The lobby also featured a Musician’s Gallery, from which quartets would perform during intermission. Upstairs led to a Japanese pagoda fountain with a fishpond, and rooms for smoking and cosmetics provided spaces for men and women to relax. As with many of the era’s movie palaces, the interior style drew from Asian and Middle Eastern motifs, with images of animals and mythological figures ornamenting the red and gold interior. The performance area was also elaborately constructed. It featured a full proscenium, fireproof stage, a 1,400 pipe Wurlitzer organ, and an orchestra pit that could be raised and lowered while accommodating a full symphony orchestra.</p><p></p><p>The theater was advertised as an attraction in its own right, and people lined the block for its opening on February 18, 1928. The featured entertainment that evening was the silent film West Point and the stage play Milady’s Fan. The theater’s first “talkie,” The Broadway Melody, was screened the following year, and double features were introduced in 1934. While stage shows and vaudeville acts were common in the theater’s early years, they disappeared during the 1930s, as cinema came to dominate the entertainment world.</p><p></p><p>Loew’s State Theatre prospered during Hollywood’s Golden Age, and it often reflected the times. During the Great Depression, the theater’s extravagant adornments, along with the movies on screen, offered audience members a respite from their own harsh realities. After the United States joined the Allies in World War II, the State Theatre featured veterans on stage, held war bond sales, and screened newsreels of battles in Europe and the Pacific.</p><p></p><p>Like many of the country’s other downtown movie palaces, however, the State Theatre began to decline shortly after the war, with ticket sales peaking in 1947. This was due to general trends like the rise of television and increasing suburbanization, and the State Theatre faced additional challenges with staffing shortages, maintenance issues, and increased taxes. By 1967, it was slated to be closed and demolished, seemingly doomed to the fate of the neighboring theaters in downtown Syracuse. However, in an effort to keep it open, the city agreed to reduce the theater’s taxes, and it was able to hobble along for the next eight years. When the theater announced its closing again in 1975, community leaders worked together to save it. After forming the group Save Area Landmark Theater (SALT), the theater reopened, but the new organization was now faced with the task of raising $65,000. They were able to accomplish this with a sold-out benefit concert featuring Harry Chapin in 1977, along with grants from the State Office of Parks and Recreation and the National Endowment for the Arts.</p><p></p><p>Loew’s State Theater was renamed the Landmark Theatre, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Since then, it has hosted many famous musicians and touring Broadway musicals. It renovated its stage area in 2011, and is currently planning to revamp the seating area in order to make it more accommodating for people in wheelchairs. Due to the efforts of SALT, which has officially owned the theater since 1979, the Landmark Theatre is one of the oldest surviving theaters in Syracuse. </p>

<p>Originally known as Loew’s State Theatre, the Landmark Theatre exemplifies the grand movie palaces that were built in the 1920s. Opened in 1928, the theater was designed by the architect Thomas Lamb in an ornate style that drew heavily on Middle Eastern and Asian iconography. Early audiences who attended shows would have marveled at the $40,000 Tiffany chandelier in the lobby, the pagoda fountain and fishpond upstairs, and the 1,400 pipe Wurlitzer organ in the theater. While Loew's State Theatre thrived through the 1940s, competition from television and suburban multiplexes created financial difficulties. After briefly closing in 1975, the theater was saved from demolition by community members who formed the group Syracuse Area Landmark Theater (SALT). Since then, the renamed Landmark Theatre has undergone a resurgence in popularity, hosting Broadway shows and touring musicians, and remaining a vital link to the past in downtown Syracuse.</p>

The Landmark Theatre

Housed in Historic Armory Square in downtown Syracuse, the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology offers fun science and technology community education in the form of hands-on exhibits, museum displays, and an IMAX theater. It opened in 1981 as the first hands-on science museum in the upstate New York. It has been located in the armory in since 1992, the same year it adopted its current name. Its exhibits explore a wide range of topics in science, technology, and the natural world. Exhibits include: Paleo: The Story of Life, which explores prehistoric life and features 128 rare fossils; the Earth Science Discovery Cave, which teaches visitors about caves, plate tectonics, and how climate change impacts Central New York; and the Life Sciences exhibit which explores the human body. There is also a recreated early 20th-century pharmacy shop and a rock climbing wall. 

Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology

<div>The Niagara Hudson (Mohawk) Building, an Art Deco masterpiece, was constructed in 1932 as the headquarters of the Niagara Hudson Electric Company, the largest electricity provider in the United States at that time. Today it is owned by the energy company National Grid. The building arose at a significant time in the history of electricity as it became far cheaper and easier to access.</div><div><br></div><div>Buffalo-based architects Bley &amp; Lyman constructed the Niagara Mohawk Building (now home to National Grid), completed in 1932. The metal Spirit of Light statue situated above the main entrance in the center of the structure greets visitors to a building abound in angular, geometric metalwork and plenty of glass, and steel -- a marvelous example of the Art Deco style that grew exceedingly popular during the 1920s and 1930s. The Niagara building emerged as one of the first examples of stainless steel sculpture.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Niagara Mohawk Building arose at roughly the same time as another more well known Art Deco gem, Manhattan's Chrysler Building. While the Chrysler building soars into the sky,&nbsp; the three-level Niagara building sprawls out horizontally,&nbsp; allowing for easy viewing of its exquisite architectural details.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Niagara Hudson (Mohawk) Building in Syracuse served as the headquarters to the Niagara Hudson Electric Company, the nation’s largest utility company at that time. Colored lights at night brightly illuminate the building, which was intended to stand as a “Cathedral of Light," a fitting feature for a building the demonstrated the immense rise of electricity usage during the 1920s and '30s.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Niagara Hudson served "The Great Corridor," a series of towns situated along the Erie Canal -- from Buffalo to Syracuse to Albany, one of the most prolific industrial markets at the time. In fact, the company also sold 8.5 billion cubic feet of gas per year to cities in the Great Corridor. However, the utility company's true success arrived in the early 1930s when it supplied power to New York City followed by linking all the major power grids in the Northeastern U.S. and Eastern Canada. The resulting 116,000 square-mile power grid served more than 30 million people.</div><div><br></div><div>Though the Great Depression forced the company to reorganize and reduce its labor costs, Niagara Hudson survived and flourished again by the 1950s. In 2000, the British National Grid PLC purchased Niagara Mohawk for $3 billion.&nbsp;</div>

The Niagara Hudson Building, an Art Deco masterpiece, was constructed in 1932 as the headquarters for the Niagara Hudson Electric Company, the largest electricity provider in the United States at that time. The building emerged at a time when electricity grew profoundly popular at the time, notably in the Erie Canal "Great Corridor." Today it is owned by the energy company National Grid.

Niagara Mohawk Building

<div>The eventual mayor of Syracuse (1892 - 96), Jacob Amos, built Amos Block in 1878. The Romanesque Revival style building stood on the banks of the Erie Canal as it flowed directly behind Amos during that time (where Erie Blvd now runs). Canal boats parked at Amos Block and could easily load and unload goods into the building&nbsp; -- a wholesale grocery store and retail center.&nbsp; Much like Syracuse itself, the building serves as a reminder of the impact the Erie Canal on the economy, culture, and environment; The structure once stood amidst a row of buildings situated along the banks of the Erie Canal (now Erie Blvd). And, as the canal has both moved and transitioned into a recreational waterway, the building underwent a renovation in 2006 and now exists as an apartment complex.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Syracuse Herald newspaper and the local headquarters of the Waldorf Commissary, which supplied a chain of restaurants established under the Waldorf name, also moved into Amos Block. Indeed, the Waldorf sign remains on the Erie Boulevard facade.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The building's namesake, Jacob Amos, whose name still appears on the building's parapets, also owned a flour mill. But, he's most known for serving as mayor of Syracuse from 1892 - 1896 (two terms). Amos' principal focus lay in a desire to improve the city's appearance. During his tenure, he oversaw the installation of sewer systems, paved streets, and completion of Syracuse City Hall.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In 1987, and more substantially in 2006,&nbsp; Amos Block was remodeled and renamed "The Amos." The building now functions as an apartment complex (though some commercial units operate on the first floor.</div>

Completed in 1878 between Syracuse's Water Street and Erie Blvd, the Amos Block stands as a testament to the impact of the Erie Canal long after its completion in 1825. Built as a warehouse and retail center, Amos Block was built by its namesake, Jacob Amos, who served as Syracuse mayor from 1892-1896. At that time the Erie Canal brought barges and ships directly behind the building which allowed goods to easily be loaded and unloaded. In 2006, renovations to the building allowed for its transformation into an apartment complex. 

Amos Block (Modern: The Amos at Clinton Square)

<p>Upstate New York was a significant part of the Underground Railroad, with numerous towns and cities serving as stops for escaped slaves. Some were not only stops on the way to freedom, often in Canada. Syracuse was arguably one of the cities most devoted to the abolitionist cause. A former slave, Rev. Jermain Wesley Loguen, worked as a "stationmaster" on the Underground Railroad, even going so far as to put advertisements in newspapers offering to shelter runaway slaves in his home.</p><p>In 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. White Southerners, convinced that slaves were escaping to freedom in far greater numbers than they actually were, had pushed for a tougher fugitive slave law for years. The 1850 law, required federal officials to assist slavecatchers in returning runaway slaves even if they had escaped to a free state. Under the new law, fines were imposed on individuals who assisted runaway slaves and on federal marshals from a captured slave who escaped. The law was widely abused and even African Americans who had never been enslaved were vulnerable to arrest. The severity of the law led to a dramatic increase in the number of abolitionists as well as increased activity of the Underground Railroad.</p><p>In Syracuse, Rev. Loguen and other abolitionists were so alarmed by the Fugitive Slave Act that they formed a biracial "vigilance committee" to assist freedom seekers. Among those involved in the vigilance committee was Rev. Jermain Loguen, himself an escaped slave from Tennessee. After settling in Syracuse, which was known as one of the country's most active abolitionist cities, Loguen began to work as a "stationmaster" on the Underground Railroad, offering his home as sanctuary for runaway slaves.</p><p>On October 1, 1851, the same day that the anti-slavery political party known as the Liberty Party was meeting in Syracuse, William "Jerry" Henry, a formerly enslaved person, was captured by federal marshals. Henry had escaped enslavement in Missouri and made his way to Syracuse, where he had worked for some time as a barrel maker. Henry was taken to the Townsend Block in preparation for a hearing the following day, which would almost certainly result in Henry's being taken back to Missouri as a slave. Word of his arrest spread quickly among the abolitionists gathered in the city, who began to make plans for his escape. A large mob of abolitionists gathered outside the building where Henry was held and used a battering ram to knock down the door and release him. At least one shot was fired by a deputy inside the building, but he apparently realized that the mob was too large to resist. Henry was hidden in Syracuse for a few days, and then given help to get to Canada. In the aftermath of what came to be known as the "Jerry Rescue," several Syracuse residents who were involved in his escape were unsuccessfully prosecuted for their involvement.</p><p>The monument commemorating the Jerry Rescue was erected in Clinton Square in 2001.</p>

<p>This monument dedicated in 2001 honors the daring escape of a formerly enslaved African American man and those who assisted him in defiance of the Figutive Slave Law of 1850. Syracuse, like numerous towns and cities in upstate New York, was both a destination and a waypoint for enslaved persons who fled the South seeking freedom Th city was also home to several safehouse and supporters of the Underground Railroad. During the 1800s, more than a few formerly enslaved people made their way to Syracuse and to safety. Among them was William Henry, known at that time as Jerry.  Jerry came to Syracuse in 1843 and made a living for himself as a cooper. In October of 1851, Jerry was arrested by federal marshals, who initially told him he was being charged with theft. It was only after he was in manacles that Jerry was told he was being arrested under the Fugitive Slave Law. Knowing that he would be taken back South and enslaved, a number of locals opposed to the growing power of the South, as well as abolitionists who were in the city for a meeting of the anti-slavery Liberty Party, broke into the jail where Jerry was held and helped him escape to Canada.</p>

The Jerry Rescue Monument

<div>Designed by Syracuse architect Joseph Silsbee, the Syracuse Savings Bank opened in 1876 as the tallest structure Syracuse, rising to 170 feet above the Syracuse landscape, including the Erie Canal that flowed next to the building. And, with its height came the city's first passenger elevator used in an office building. For the cost of one dime, visitors rode to the top of the tower to enjoy a bird's eye view of Syracuse. Additionally, it provides insight into the significance of both the Erie Canal, integral to Syracuse's growth,&nbsp; and banking power as the United States slowly recovered from The Panic of 1873 and entered the Gilded Age.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Though many architects submitted designs, Silsbee was chosen as the building's architect. He designed the building in Victorian Gothic style with a tan, sandstone exterior, and pointed-arched windows. Upon completion, he established his new offices in the top of the tower where he remained until,&nbsp; like many architects, moved to his practice to Chicago during the mid-1880s.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In addition to the elevator, a network of electric clocks operated throughout the building, and the bank was as close to fireproof as possible for the era, which proved to become an essential aspect of construction throughout the nation in the wake of the Great Chicago Fire (among other lesser known fires).&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The bank symbolizes&nbsp; Syracuse's growth in the 1870s and 1880s, benefiting from the Erie canal and the many investors and workers who arrived; the population of Syracuse doubled between 1870 and 1890 from 43,051 to 88,143 (and it had only been a little more than 28,000 in 1860).&nbsp; As well, the bank marks a period of recovery from The Panic of 1873, when financial troubles forced the closure of the The New York Stock Exchange for ten days, dried up credit for many businesses, forced factories to close, and saw many banks and railroads fail.&nbsp; By 1876, the economy slowly recovered and, by the 1880s was headed to the heart of what is now known as the Gilded Age, which included influential banking power often tied to commercial loans and construction. Indeed, by&nbsp;1880, New England existed as one of the world's most&nbsp;heavily banked areas. And,&nbsp;a bank's architecture often served to mark its success and viability.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The same banking institution, Syracuse Savings Bank, occupied this building for more than 100 years, before giving way to Fleet Bank and then the Bank of America. As of 2016, plans were made to convert the top floors into an apartment complex.&nbsp;</div>

This historic bank building was completed three years after the Panic of 1873 and stood as the tallest building in Syracuse for many years. The building was something of a novelty for area residents at that time, rising 170 feet and featuring the first elevator of its kind in the city. Visitors paid ten cents to ride the elevator both for the novelty of the experience and for an opportunity to see Syracuse from the top of the building. The bank opened as Syracuse experienced a population boom and at a time when the country was recovering from the Panic of 1873. The bank financed many of the businesses in this part of New York during the late 19th century, an era known to many today as the Gilded Age. 

Syracuse Savings Bank Building

<div>The Third National Bank opened for business in February 1864, but it grew to prominence in 1871 when the bank's new president at the time, Lucius Gleason, used the money gained from the sale of Syracuse salt during the Civil War to build the bank into a prosperous enterprise. By 1885, the Third National Bank became Syracuse's first commercial bank to erect its own building. The bank ostensibly ended operations during the Great Depression. The building has served as the home to many occupants since the 1930s.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Third National Bank Building, built with a Queen Anne Style designed by architect, Archimedes Russell, is comprised of pressed brick and red sandstone as well as rusticated sandstone trim, decorative banding, a multi-gabled roof, and a projecting circular bay. A carved sunflower in a Gothic trefoil hanging over its side door serves as one of its notable ornamental features. Remodeling of the building occurred in both 1912 and again in 1926 with the construction of an addition to the bank's north half. However, despite its success for several decades, the bank closed during the Great Depression (in the early 1930s) after having consolidated with First Trust &amp; Deposit Co.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>After its sale in the 1930s, the building changed ownership several times. From 1956 to 1973 it housed the Community Chest (later known as The United Way of Central New York), followed by a casket company for roughly a decade.&nbsp; During the 1980s, the Third National Associates purchased the building and subsequently connected the historic bank building with the next-door structures (formerly, the Roy Furniture store. Thus the two buildings transformed into one, large building. And, as of 1986,&nbsp; the newly reconstructed building yet again functioned as a bank when the Syracuse Savings Bank moved in (which later transitioned to the Federal Fleet Bank).</div><div><br></div><div>In the end, the building speaks to the growth of Syracuse years after the Erie Canal helped spur the city's growth, and stands as an interesting monument to the Civil War; its success is tied to financing gained from selling Syracuse salt during the war. But, the bank also speaks to the rise and fall of banking success leading up to, and then during, the Great Depression. And today, as with many Gilded-Age commercial and industrial buildings, it enjoys a new life as an office building as part of Downtown Syracuse.&nbsp;</div>

The Third National Bank, also known as the Community Chest Building and now 100 Clinton Square, was designed by architect Archimedes Russell in 1885. The building was the first of its kind in Syracuse, fully funded and constructed by its banking occupant. The building symbolized the bank's rise to prominence after the bank benefited from financing tied to the sale of salt during the Civil War. The bank's emergence demonstrated Syracuse's continued urban growth dating back to the arrival of the Erie Canal, but its demise in the 1930s notes the trouble banks endured during the Great Depression. 

Third National Bank (Today: 100 Clinton Square) 

<div>Designed by Archimedes Russell (of Russel &amp; King), a prominent Syracuse architect, the C. W. Snow and Company Warehouse was completed in 1913; it proved to Russell's last commission. The name refers to Charles Wesley (C.W.) Snow (1835-1918), a Syracuse entrepreneur and businessman who, for several years, owned and operated a prolific retail and wholesale medicine business (mostly pharmacy) under the name C.W. Snow &amp; Co.</div><div><br></div><div>C.W. Snow was also profoundly active in the Syracuse community including as one of the creators of the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce. He also worked as the director of the First National Bank of Syracuse and served on the board of trustees for such organizations as the May Memorial Church Board, Onondaga Historical Association, and St. Joseph's Hospital.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Architecturally, the building is associated with the Modern Movement, but its most striking feature involves Russel's use of a patented, flared “mushroom” column structural system that alleviated the need for steel girders, one of Syracuse’s earliest industrial buildings to include such innovation.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2007, as is the case with numerous cities throughout the world, a renovation project transformed the former industrial building into a 48-unit loft apartment building. In 2008, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation awarded the builders of the Willow Street Lofts, LLC with a Project Achievement award for its "outstanding commitment to community revitalization and the adaptive use project of the former CW Snow Warehouse."&nbsp;</div>

Built in 1913, the warehouse turned apartment complex stands as the last commissioned work by architect Archimedes Russell.The building originally functioned as a warehouse for Charles Wesley Snow's C.W. Snow & Co. retail and wholesale medicine business (pharmacy). Snow was a prominent business leader (and banker), and active in several organizations ranging from his church to the local historical association. 

Downtown Syracuse New York Walking Tour

Hotel Syracuse (Marriott Syracuse Downtown)

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information