What to See in Syracuse - Top Sights and Attractions

Reform synagogue in Syracuse, New York. The Temple Society of Concord, commonly referred to as Temple Concord, is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 910 Madison Street, Syracuse, in the U.S. state of New York. Established in 1839, it is the ninth-oldest still-active Jewish congregation in the United States. Temple Concord, a member of the Union for Reform Judaism, is the leading Reform synagogue in Central New York, and maintains the largest Jewish religious school in the region. Religious services are held every Friday night and Saturday morning, and on Jewish holidays. Religious school and adult education programs take place twice a week. Temple Concord is also the setting for a wide array of educational, cultural and social events the serve then entire Syracuse-area community.^[1]

Tiny frogs to giant elephants on display. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park is an AZA zoo in Syracuse, New York. It is owned and operated by Onondaga County Parks with support from the Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. The zoo is home to more than 900 animals representing 216 species on 43 acres. Some of the more popular animals include Asian elephants, Humboldt penguins, Amur tigers, a Komodo dragon and the only Giant Pacific octopus exhibit in Central New York. The zoo opened a new Animal Health Center in 2022 that is the largest zoological medical center in New York state outside of the Bronx Zoo.

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo has been a continuously accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1987.^[2]

Cemetery in Syracuse, New York. Oakwood Cemetery is a 160-acre historic cemetery located in Syracuse, New York. It was designed by Howard Daniels and built in 1859. Oakwood Cemetery was created during a time period in the nineteenth century when the rural cemetery was becoming a distinct landscape type, and is a good example of this kind of landscape architecture.

The original 92 acres (37 ha) included about 60 acres (24 ha) of dense oak forest with pine, ash, hickory and maple. A crew of 60 laborers without large-scale earth moving equipment thinned and grouped the trees; today there are many 150-year-old specimens. Students of SUNY-ESF and Syracuse University, whose campuses are adjacent to Oakwood, can regularly be seen in the cemetery for instruction on plant species, capturing insect specimens, cemetery studies, or mammal surveys.^[3]

Park in Syracuse, New York. Clinton Square is an intersection in downtown Syracuse, New York, United States. The square was the original town center and first came into existence in the early 19th century where roadways from north and south convened. With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 the intersection was further transformed. During the 19th century, the square was a marketplace that also hosted several public events, including an 1870 public barbecue reportedly attended by 20,000 people.

As a busy intersection, the square hosted several large hotels and other historic buildings. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was dedicated in the square in 1911. In 1917 the Canal was closed and filled in. In the decades that followed, Clinton Square was redeveloped into a park that holds various annual festivals. Since the 1990s, the square has held an ice skating rink in the winter. A major 2001 redevelopment project saw a larger fountain implemented. Clinton Square is also the site of Syracuse's municipal Christmas tree and menorah during the holiday season. The modern era has seen a number of festivals take place in the square, beginning with the 1991 Jazz Fest.^[4]

Museum in Syracuse, New York. The Erie Canal Museum is a historical museum about the Erie Canal located in Syracuse, New York. The museum was founded in 1962 and is a private, non-profit corporation. It is housed in the Syracuse Weighlock Building dating from 1850. The Syracuse Weighlock Building was in operation as a weighlock from 1850 to 1883. In 1883 the canal decided to stop charging tolls. The weighlock building was essentially used as a big, elaborate scale to weigh the boats traveling on the Erie Canal and determine how much each boat would pay for a toll. Today the museum includes not only artifacts from the Erie Canal, but also a gallery of present canal life. It is the mission of the museum to help people to learn the rich history of the Erie Canal and that it is not just a thing of the past, but still very much exists today in different forms.

The museum's Weighlock Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.^[8]

Museum in Syracuse, New York. The Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology is a science and technology museum located in the Armory Square neighborhood of Downtown Syracuse, New York. The Museum includes 35,000 square feet of permanent and traveling exhibits, Science Shop, and several programs and events. The MOST is located in the former Syracuse Armory.

Permanent exhibits include: Innovation Station, Dino Zone!, Earth Science Discovery Cave, Upstate Medical University Life Sciences, Lockheed Martin Flight & Space, Science Playhouse, Technotown, National Grid Energy: Powering Our Future, Climbing Wall and Ham Radio Station.

The MOST will be opening a brand new domed theatre, planetarium, and media lab in April 2022, formerly known as the Bristol IMAX Omnitheatre.^[11]

Farmers' market in Syracuse, New York. The Central New York Regional Market, located on the north side of Syracuse, New York, is a hybrid, public-private, retail-wholesale, terminal food market complex. In 2010, the market estimated that it had a hand in hosting sales of nearly $70 million per year in farm products.

Operated by the state-established Central New York Regional Market Authority, the market has stayed at its current location since first opening for business under the government's umbrella in 1938. Its main entrance is a roadway that is today designated Farmers' Market Place, located at 2100 Park Street, immediately opposite the mouth of the Exit 23 ramp from Interstate Route 81 northbound. The market area can also be accessed via other curb cuts along Park Street, as well as via roadways NBT Bank Parkway and Tex Simone Drive which have been set up in modern times to serve both the market and its neighbors, the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center, and NBT Bank Stadium.^[13]

Lake in New York State. Onondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York, immediately northwest of and adjacent to Syracuse, New York. The southeastern end of the lake and the southwestern shore abut industrial areas and expressways; the northeastern shore and northwestern end border a series of parks and museums.

Although it is near the Finger Lakes region, it is not traditionally counted as one of the Finger Lakes. Onondaga Lake is a dimictic lake, meaning that the lake water completely mixes from top to bottom twice a year. The lake is 4.6 miles long and 1 mile wide making a surface area of 4.6 square miles. The maximum depth of the lake is 63 feet with an average depth of 35 feet. Its drainage basin has a surface area of 642 square kilometers, encompassing Syracuse, Onondaga County except the eastern and northern edges, the southeastern corner of Cayuga County and the Onondaga Nation Territory, and supports approximately 450,000 people.

Onondaga Lake has two natural tributaries that contribute approximately 70% of the total water flow to the lake. These tributaries are Ninemile Creek and Onondaga Creek. The Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant (METRO) contributes 20% of the annual flow. No other lake in the United States receives as much of its inflow as treated wastewater. The other tributaries, which include Ley Creek, Seneca River, Harbor Brook, Sawmill Creek, Tributary 5A, and East Flume, contribute the remaining 10% of water flow into the lake. The tributaries flush the lake out about four times a year. Onondaga Lake is flushed much more rapidly than most other lakes. The lake flows to the northwest and discharges into Seneca River which combines with the Oneida River to form the Oswego River, and ultimately ends up in Lake Ontario.

The lake is considered sacred within the indigenous territory of the Onondaga Nation. The Onondaga people had control of the lake taken from them by New York state following the American Revolutionary War. During the late 19th century, European-Americans built many resorts along the lake's shoreline, as it was a destination of great beauty. The Onondaga Nation continues to have a religious and cultural presence on the shores of the lake, today.

With the industrialization of the region, much of the lake's shoreline was developed; domestic and industrial waste, due to industry and urbanization, led to the severe degradation of the lake. Unsafe levels of pollution led to the banning of ice harvesting as early as 1901. In 1940, swimming was banned, and in 1970 fishing was banned due to mercury contamination. Mercury pollution is still a problem for the lake today. Despite the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1973 and the closing of the major industrial polluter in 1986, Onondaga Lake remained one of the most polluted lakes in the United States until several initiatives, including a 15-year multi-stage program completed in late 2017, allowed the lake to reach criteria required by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This includes implementing a long-term operation, maintenance, and monitoring program to ensure the effectiveness of the remedy.^[18]

Monument in Syracuse, New York. The Tipperary Hill Heritage Memorial, dedicated in 1997, is located on Tipperary Hill in Syracuse, New York. The memorial was erected in honor of early citizens who, in the opinion of local residents, were brave sons of Ireland who stood up to City Hall and won the battle of the "Green over Red" traffic light.

The memorial features bronze, life-size figures of a 1930s Irish immigrant family and was sculpted by Dexter Benedict of Penn Yan, New York. The father is pointing out the traffic light to his wife, daughter and son who has a sling shot in his back pocket, hinting that he might know a little bit of the history of the light.

The memorial is located in Tipperary Hill Memorial Park which was originally the site of a commercial building that held a prominent position on the northeast corner of Milton Avenue and Tompkins Street and was later demolished. It is the newest city park in Syracuse.^[26]

The Hall of Languages is a Syracuse University building designed by Horatio Nelson White in the Second Empire architectural style, and built in 1871–73. It was the first building constructed on the Syracuse University campus and the building originally housed the entire university.

Building's cornerstone was laid on August 31, 1871 by Jesse Truesdell Peck and the building was dedicated on May 8, 1873 by Edmund S. James, then Bishop of the New York Conference. It is styled after the Gridley Building in Downtown Syracuse, which was also designed by the same architect. It features three large towers or cupolas and is made of Onondaga limestone and wood framing with interior cast-iron columns. The original building consisted of the east and west towers only; in 1886 the central tower was added. It was originally home to the College of Liberal Arts (now defunct), and subsequently the College of Arts and Sciences.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The interior was completely rebuilt in 1978–79.

The iconic building has been prominently displayed as a representation of the University in many forums. The building served as creative inspiration for the Addams Family home in the TV show. Most recently starting in 2010 the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team started wearing NIKE jerseys that feature an aerographic of the Hall of Languages.^[28]

Mosque in Syracuse, New York. The Islamic Society of Central New York is a "purpose-built" Sunni mosque and Islamic community centre located on Comstock Avenue in Syracuse, NY. Founded in 1981, by Khaja Qutubuddin, the center serves the needs of Central New York's estimated 15,000 - 20,000 Muslims providing various services and outreach programs for the Muslim and non-Muslim community. It also runs an Islamic cemetery and the Madrasat Al Ihsan/School of Excellence on West Onondaga Street. The mosque is served by a full-time Imam and is administered by an elected Shura Council.

The mosque is home to a diverse congregation. Over a quarter of the mosque's congregants are African-Americans, one quarter Arabs and one fifth represent South Asia. The remainder are from various parts of the world, with European Muslims (primarily immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, and a much smaller group of White American converts) making up approximately 5% of mosque attendees. Between one and two thirds of the community is estimated to be foreign born.^[30]

Park in Onondaga County, New York. Long Branch Park is a public park in Onondaga County outside of Syracuse, New York, located in the town of Geddes, New York on Long Branch Road near NYS Route 370 and John Glenn Boulevard. The park is situated on the northern shore of Onondaga Lake and is often misidentified as an extension of Onondaga Lake Park which wraps around the eastern shore of the lake to the south shore.

Founded in 1882 by Ben and George Maurer, Long Branch Amusement Park was originally an amusement park with boxing arenas, an arcade and a trolley. The amusement park closed in 1938.

Syracuse's largest mall, Destiny USA is located to the south of the lake and features an original carousel #18 from the amusement park.^[32]

Building in Syracuse, New York. The Niagara Mohawk Building is an art deco classic building in Syracuse, New York. The building was built in 1932 and was headquarters for the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, what was "then the nation's largest electric utility company". The company has since been acquired by merger into National Grid plc. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Niagara Hudson Building in 2010.

According to the National Park Service:

The Niagara Hudson Building in Syracuse is an outstanding example of Art Deco architecture and a symbol of the Age of Electricity. Completed in 1932, the building became the headquarters for the nation’s largest electric utility company and expressed the technology of electricity through its modernistic design, material, and extraordinary program of exterior lighting. The design elements applied by architects Melvin L. King and Bley & Lyman transformed a corporate office tower into a widely admired beacon of light and belief in the future. With its central tower and figurative winged sculpture personifying electric lighting, the powerfully sculpted and decorated building offered a symbol of optimism and progress in the context of the Great Depression.

The building was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in June 2010. The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of June 25, 2010. It was nominated by New York State's Board of Historic Preservation for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2009. The Board described the building as "'an outstanding example of Art Deco architecture and a symbol of the Age of Electricity.'"^[33]