Downtown Syracuse

Downtown mural to resurrect memories of canal
By Annie Knox
July 26, 2011 - 10:48am
Volunteers from 40 Below are working on a mural spanning two blocks to remind people of the impact the Erie Canal once had on the Salt City.

A dozen people clad in sandals rolled out baby blue paint onto Erie Boulevard in downtown Syracuse Saturday night between Montgomery and Salina streets, a two-block stretch converted from a fraction of the Erie Canal into dry land less than a century ago.

Approaching 9 p.m., the former national power building shone out down the boulevard, and the fountains bubbled behind public works barriers. To the South, the sky loomed dark and opaque.  

Air Guitar Nation
By Kathryn Story
July 22, 2011 - 2:47pm
Syracuse University lent a hand in hosting the city’s first Air Guitar Competition on April 22.

The Event

The Department of Art and Music Histories at Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences teamed with The Red House Arts Center and the national U.S. Air Guitar Competition to host Syracuse’s first annual Air Guitar Competition on April 22. Performer Paul Martino of Syracuse, known as Math Romancer, won the contest and gained a free trip to New York City and a spot in the US Air Guitar Regional Championship held on June 15.

Committee completes new Syracuse information, security center
By Jared Scott Mandel
March 4, 2011 - 3:14pm
Downtown Committee of Syracuse opens information, security center in The Galleries.

According to The Post-Standard, the Downtown Committee of Syracuse unveiled a new information and security center and ambassador program. It is now opened in The Galleries of Syracuse. The new center was paid for by a $150,000 state grant. The money paid for all startup costs.

The city has already hired its first ambassabor, Victoria Sonne. Sonne was a former National Park service ranger who is originally from Central New York.

Centro's fare increase sits poorly with Syracuse riders
By Giancarlo Doyle...
February 18, 2011 - 3:37pm
Egypt agrees to allow two Iranian warships to cross through canal despite Israeli opposition.

According to CNN, Egypt's new military regime has agreed to allow the passage of two Iranian warships through the Suez Canal.

The warships are expected to be the first to sail through the Suez Canal since 1979.

The Suez Canal is an internal body of water, which Egypt has sovereignty over. Egypt, however, is bound by the 1976 Camp David Accords which guarantee the right to free passage by ships belonging to Israel and all other nations on the basis of the Constantinople Convention of 1888.

Landmark Theatre stage getting a facelift
By Adam Feldfogel
October 20, 2010 - 2:47pm
Construction beginning on the stage of the local "landmark" in an effort to bring in bigger productions

A $16 million renovation began on the stage of the Landmark Theatre today.  Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor joined theater officials, Assemblyman William Magnarelli, and local economic development officials to commemorate the start of the expansion of the stage, which has been planned for a long time, according to The Post-Standard.

[title of review]
By Jessica Showers
October 3, 2010 - 8:23pm
Review: Rarely Done Productions puts on [title of show], a musical about writing a musical, at Syracuse's Jazz Central.

In the third song of [title of show], Hunter, dressed as a sandwich board advertisement that reads “An Original Musical,” gives Jeff a satirical crash course in how to put on a Broadway-worthy production. He promotes an over-the-top set, a huge cast and a full symphony orchestra. And when Jeff says he wants to use just four chairs, four cast members and a keyboard, Hunter replies that Jeff needs at least “a turntable or a freakin’ electric blimp or something.” 

Workstock 2010 helps the Near Westside
By Evan Klonsky
June 12, 2010 - 9:41pm
A look at OrangeSeeds' "Big Event" and two ongoing projects in Syracuse's Near Westside neighborhood.

Students in Syracuse University’s OrangeSeeds program chose to focus on the Westside community downtown for their annual “Big Event” on April 24, bringing a group of 150 to 200 volunteers to clean up the area and help out with a variety of projects taking place there.

A New 601 Tully
By Evan Klonsky
June 12, 2010 - 8:09pm
SU professor Marion Wilson leads volunteers from OrangeSeeds in rethinking and shaping up a Near Westside house.

Less than a year ago Marion Wilson bought a house on the Near Westside through Syracuse University's Scholarship in Action. The house had been run down and used as a drug headquarters among some area residents.

Imagining Lipe Art Park
By Evan Klonsky
June 12, 2010 - 7:33pm
Artists, students and volunteers combine forces to create art, vegetation out of a neglected space in downtown Syracuse.

A collection of Syracuse University students and local volunteers gathered in Lipe Art Park in April to clean up and prepare the area for gardening and art projects taking place there. Brendan Rose, a masters degree student in architecture at SU, used volunteers to mix cement for an art installation he is creating for the city. The installation is located in the center of the park and will serve as both a graffiti wall and shade canopy for the residents. 

Clayscapes Gallery does more than display
By Heather Crowley
March 3, 2010 - 1:37pm
Clayscapes blends together the experience of a gallery, studio and classroom.

A simple material pulled from the earth -- clay. That’s what it’s all about at Clayscapes. Some galleries focus on paintings, others on sculptures. But at Clayscapes Pottery, the theme of the work centers around using your hands to mold, shape, and create a piece of art. Don’t be frightened by its warehouse-like look, or its off-the-beaten-path location. Clayscapes is a gallery for anyone who appreciates great works, created from raw, native materials.