Armory Square

Armory Square is a small neighborhood on the west side of Downtown Syracuse, New York. It began life as a busy commercial and industrial area just to the west of the central city. After World War II, Syracuse's central city became less and less populated as more housing and business facilities were built in the suburbs. In the 1980s, plans were first made to transform the languishing district into a small shopping/arts/nightlife district surrounding the former Syracuse Armory. These plans came to fruition during the 1990s, when new stores and restaurants opened, and several new buildings were constructed in a compatible style to the middle and late 1800s and early 1900s architecture dominating the district.

The Shot Clock Monument at Armory Square

Armory Square Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Location	S. Clinton, S. Franklin, Walton, W. Fayette, and W. Jefferson Sts., Syracuse, New York
Coordinates	43°2′49″N 76°9′18″W
Built	1870
Architectural style	Moderne, Late Victorian
NRHP reference No.	84002816
Added to NRHP	September 7, 1984

Current day

Today, Armory Square is the home of some of Syracuse's better restaurants, at least two coffeehouses, a radio station company, dozens of small shops selling everything from band instruments to used records to women's clothing, several bars and nightclubs, Urban Outfitters, Armory Massage Therapy, a newly restored upscale hotel and two tattoo parlors. A number of professional firms are also located in Armory Square, including Eric Mower and Associates, O'Brien & Gere, and the Sugarman Law Firm. The area is popular with students from Syracuse University and Le Moyne College.

Its borders are generally considered to be the circular road around the armory (Jefferson Street) to the south, Onondaga Creek to the west, Washington Street to the north, and Clinton Street to the east.

Armory Square is also home to the Shot Clock Monument, which includes a 24-second shot clock whose invention, here, was crucial to the successful development of basketball as a major sport.

A paved multi-use trail, the Onondaga Creekwalk, connects the neighborhood with Onondaga Lake.

Vintage postcard of the Armory

Armory Square Historic District

Forty-six industrial and commercial buildings make up the Armory Square Historic District. West Fayette Street is the northern boundary of the district, the rear property lines of the buildings on South Clinton Street the eastern boundary. The southern boundary is a raised railroad track, while the western boundary includes the buildings on Walton Street. The buildings in the district include the Armory, a former Lackawanna Railroad passenger station (1941), hotels, warehouses and commercial buildings. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Contributing properties

	Landmark name	Image	Date Built	Style	Location	Description
1			1874		307-09 South Clinton Street	5 stories; brick commercial building; segmental window arches; fifth story added 1885
2			1874		311-13 South Clinton Street	4 stories; brick commercial building; recessed windows; fancy cornice
3	Donohue Building (portion)		c. 1885	Queen Anne	312-16 South Clinton Street	4 stories; red brick; decorative sandstone, granite and terra cotta elements
4	Butler Block		1893	Romanesque	317-21 South Clinton Street	5 stories; red brick; broad arches; cast-iron columns
5	Neal and Hyde Block (portion)		c. 1887	Queen Anne-Romanesque	318-22 South Clinton Street	5 stories; brick warehouse; limestone trim; architect Asa Merrick
6	Clinton Building		1876		400-08 South Clinton Street	3 stories; brick; 1920s alterations
7	Onondaga Music Building		1914		410-416 South Clinton Street	4 stories; buff brick commercial building
8			1874		415-17 South Clinton Street	4 stories; patterned brick commercial building;
9	Loew Building		1928		423-31 South Clinton Street	2 stories on S. Clinton St.; 8 stories on S. Salina St.; large theater, also known as Loews State Theater or the Landmark Theatre; individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977
10	Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Passenger Station		1941	Art Moderne	500 South Clinton Street	2 stories; buff brick; arched windows
11			c. 1874		306 South Franklin Street	2 stories; brick; arched windows
12			c. 1880s		308-10 South Franklin Street	3 stories; brick; original storefront
13			c. 1887		309-15 South Franklin Street	4 stories; brick; granite piers
14			c. 1900		317-21 South Franklin Street	2 stories; brick; originally carriage makers; 1940 became garage; 1983 offices
15	Hall & McChesney Building		c. 1892/1906		402-10 South Franklin Street	4 stories; brick; warehouse
16	Bentley & Settle Warehouse		c. 1894-5		120-24 Walton Street	6 stories; brick; intact loading dock
17			c. 1885		128 Walton Street	2 stories; yellow brick; second floor loading door
18			c. 1890s		134 Walton Street	2 stories; brick; plate glass windows
19			c. 1890s		136 Walton Street	2 stories; brick; paired windows
20	Gray Brothers Shoe Factory		1873		200-02 Walton Street	4 stories; brick walls and window hoods
21			c. 1930		204-10 Walton Street	2 stories; factory; brick
22			c. 1872		215-19 Walton Street	3 stories; brick; arched windows
23			c. 1870s-1880s		216 Walton Street	2 stories; ornamental brick
24			c. 1902		221-23 Walton Street	3 stories; commercial building; brick piers
25			c. 1910	Renaissance	113-17 West Fayette Street	5 stories; brick
26	Kirk Block		c. 1869		127-29 West Fayette Street	4 stories; brick; commercial building
27			c. 1871		215-17 West Fayette Street	4 stories; brick; commercial building; 1930s modern facade
28	Tallman Block		c. 1871	Italianate	219-25 West Fayette Street	3 stories; brick; commercial building; rear entrance on Walton Street; architect Archimedes Russell
29	Piper-Phillips Block		c. 1872	Italianate	227-37 West Fayette Street	3 stories; brick; commercial building; original storefronts
30	Seubert & Warner Building		c. 1875	Romanesque	239-41 West Fayette Street	3 stories; brick; commercial building; rear entrance on Walton Street; architect Charles Colton
31			c. 1895	Italianate	227-37 West Fayette Street	3 stories; brick with stone trim; commercial building; prism glass in storefronts
32	Hogan Block		c. 1892	Romanesque	247-59 West Fayette Street	5 stories; brick with limestone trim; factory building; prism panels in storefronts
33	Crown Hotel		c. 1876	Italianate	301-27 West Fayette Street	3 stories; brick; commercial building
34			c. 1872		309-11 West Fayette Street	3 stories; brick; commercial building
35			c. 1873		313-17 West Fayette Street	2 stories; brick; commercial building; molded keystones
36	Stag Hotel		1869		321 West Fayette Street	3 stories; brick; intact storefront
37			1875		329-31 West Fayette Street	4 stories; brick; warehouse; rear entrance on Walton Street
38	Jefferson Clinton Hotel		1927		227-37 West Jefferson Street	10 stories; brick; stone facade first two floors; architect Gustavas A. Young
39	New York State Armory		1907/1932		West Jefferson Street	Housed Army National Guard; brick and limestone; central drill hall added in 1932

External links

• MOST
• Then and Now: Armory Square