The State Tower Building is among the most recent efforts to preserve the region’s glorious architecture. Syracuse’s tallest building looks dramatic at night, and the Art Deco interior is even more impressive.
Preservation of historic architecture was one of the 87 goals put forward by the thousands of people who participated in the original FOCUS community visioning sessions in 1998.
Over the years there have been notable successes in this field. As a result Syracuse and surrounding communities retain much of the distinctive architecture that helps make a community interesting.
A few notable examples have been mentioned already in this 20 Goals for 20 Years series: The Landmark Theatre, The Hotel Skyler, and The Marriott Downtown Syracuse award winning restoration of the Hotel Syracuse. There are too many to mention all here, but some other notable efforts in Syracuse have been the Barnes Hiscock Mansion on James Street, which is the focus for an annual Save the Mansion tour; the Queen Anne style Babcock Shattuck home on Genesee Street; the Huntley Apartment Building; and the Columbus Avenue home of famed furniture maker Gustav Stickley. In Fayetteville the home of suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage has had a complete renovation, and different historic homes are featured each month. Auburn, which calls itself History’s Home Town, has many restored historic sites including the Fort Hill neighborhood. The Village of Camillus has at its center the repurposed Camillus Cutlery building.
The effort continues as the Preservation Association of Central New York has revived its annual list of threatened properties. The list this year includes the Oakwood Cemetery entrance visible from Interstate 81.
See what can be done and has been done, not necessarily by FOCUS, but by Forging Our Community’s United Strength. To learn more about the 87 Goals and the 20 highlighted go to www.focussyracuse.org.