Last semester I took a position at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. It is located at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse is part of the Finger Lakes Region and not too far from the Adirondack Mountains. In certain seasons it is quite glorious. Lately it's been a bit too cold and snowy for much socializing but today it was a balmy 38 degrees and I left my winter jacket unbuttoned.
We are a month into winter and have already become the frontrunner in the New York State Golden Snowball Award Contest with record-snowfall of over 109 inches, or nearly 50 inches more than this time last season (http://www.goldensnowball.com/). The winner receives a trophy, not condolences. Actually if you love winter sports, this is a Winter Wonderland. I haven't yet bought my cross-country skis or my snowshoes yet, but there are still two months to go before I see spring so I still have time to shop.
All of this is just an informational aside to a city that is not just being dumped on by snow but also by missed economic opportunities.
My 1910 American craftsman, which I love like a person, is located just a few blocks from Erie Boulevard. Erie is the picture of a boulevard of broken dreams. It is a depressing layout of empty storefronts and fast food joints with a plaque in the middle of the devastation that says at one time this was the actual location of the Erie Canal, that significant waterway that connected downstate to the Great Lakes. There are still bits and pieces of the Erie Canal around but nothing to compare with a San Antonio Riverfront tourist destination that would have done this city some good. The canal was covered over decades ago to serve as a metaphor for a city that once was vibrant with economic activity and trade.
Which brings me now to the Syracuse China Company, a metaphor for the Forgotten City. When my brother Steve heard that I was moving to Syracuse, he hunted around some thrift stores and found some Syracuse China to commemorate my new hometown. He told me the story of how Syracuse China was still used the world over and was the last remaining American manufacturer of ceramic flatware. At one point one could turn over a plate at many points in the world and see the Syracuse China name underneath. That was in those bygone days.
Syracuse China will soon close its doors.
Steve also gave me a funky book about New York State that he bought for 50 cents somewhere. It had a publication date of 1968. It was designed for a kid in fifth grade and I turned to the index for the mentions of Syracuse. To my astonishment, four decades ago Syracuse was home to over 400 manufacturing companies. I doubt one could count on one hand the number of major companies left here today. This is an American manufacturing ghost town.
All of this sounds hopeless but it isn't. If we had the will and resources to turn this region around, we could. Yes, there are four seasons, and one especially brutal one known as winter, but it makes people quite resilient. A lot of people work very hard for the fruits of their labor. The housing is very affordable. The city is aiming to be a model of the green economy, an Emerald City (very Land of Oz) but that's still yet to come. Right now the university and the upstate hospital center and medical school are the largest employers.
This forgotten city of Syracuse is America, which has its own mass of forgotten men and women. Will our new president be able to stimulate the economy enough to make us memorable again?
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The previous owner took such good care of the set, it was almost sad to see it covered in dust from being moved & stored at the auction house. People said it wasn't worth it, but it was such a beautiful blue set I just knew, the second I saw the set sitting in the dusty boxes in the corner, that I wanted them. It's sad to see something so beautiful & rare sold for so cheap & at small auctions to be considered junk because it's not made in China. Maybe it’s only important to me.
Raised in Utica, Syracuse was the place things were "happening" in central N.Y. when I was a kid.
The de-industrialization process started a bit earlier in Utica, and was well advanced by the time I, and many of my classmates decamped for the west coast thirty + years ago.
Back in '97 for (what else!?) a funeral.... we had a little pow-wow on top of one of the tallest buildings in town. Something was gnawing at me until I realized what it was. Having spent my life in the construction business....it dawned on me that the Utica skyline had not changed since the last time I had seen it from that perspective some thirty years prior.
Thanks to Ms. Snow and all commenters for your perspectives. The old-line companies are gone but there's beautiful and AFFORDALE housing galore in the "Salt City" (Eastwood is a particular favorite)......and of course the Finger Lakes, The Adiroundacks,....and all that history is timeless!
tm
attempting to create an illusionary setting of prosperity under the zeitgeist of ignoring syracuse's manufacturing heart - the 'brain trust' overlooking syracuse's better future brokered the city's prosperity for a piece of the credit failure that has bankrupted the nation AND the world. and while syracuse watched manufacturing slowly die - NO ONE stepped forth with any attempts nor long-term vision towards creating a sustainable ecomony that didn't embrace the real estate/housing market-bubble that crashed tumbled fell dissolved without mercy, and with all the vengenance of a viral infection destroying all biological hope of the body.
pouring gasoline on a fire and calling it water doesn't change the fact that the fire has gained deeper resilence. NO ONE wanted to see down the road and syracuse new york suffers as all cities in this nation because the 'brain trusts' of many cities didn't want to see AND understand that virtual monies does not equate to real economic programs that encourages sustainability AND true growth.
What to do about it? If someone suggests that the government needs to get in there and stimulate the dead manufacturing base using some sort of magical incentive, I suggest the only one would be to create "tax free" zones with less government interference and a whole lot less paperwork.
Tourism keeps many of the smaller Finger Lakes towns going, but the cities need manufacturing
The last time I was in Schenectady some of my old haunts looked like a war zone. I don't know Syracuse very well, hope the same is not true there but it sounds like it might be.
I just moved back here from the Boston area two years ago. I knew I wasn't going to be able to find a job in the area for my field so I took a consulting job that has me working in other areas of the country 5 days a week. But on the weekends at least I am here living in the 'cuse . I just wanted to return to where I grew up and be nearer to my family. It really is a great city and the people here are fantastic.
Too bad our state government couldn't give a crap about Central New York (except for the casino) and help attract more businesses here. Low cost of living, great school systems, a mess of local universities and some top notch hospitals with Upstate Medical and St. Joes.
And to those of you who poohpooh the snow... its beautiful!!! And after generations of it here, you'll never see streets cleared faster anywhere else in the country. Our public works people are world champions when it comes to snow removal. :D
The public Works Guys (and gals) are the Olympic Gold Medalists in snow removal.
They move more snow on an ordinary night in January in the'cuse than has fallen on Portland Ore in all the thirty years I've lived out here.
tm
It's been about 23 years since I've been to Syracuse, and most of the places I grew up with are long gone. I worry about the place.
Karen Funk Blocher
formerly of Manlius, NY