Armory Square is a small neighborhood on the west side of

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

. 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.

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 Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland the United Arab Emirates, K ...

, 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 OBG was an American provider of engineering, construction, and operational services for: industrial, municipal, Federal, food and beverage, higher education, and life sciences clients.http://www.obg.com/our-story/ This company was entirely emplo ...

, and the Sugarman Law Firm. The area is popular with students from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

and

Le Moyne College Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college in DeWitt, New York.http://www.ongov.net/planning/haz/documents/Section9.7-TownofDeWitt.pdf It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946 and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. At its fo ...

. Its borders are generally considered to be the circular road around the armory (Jefferson Street) to the south,

Onondaga Creek Onondaga Creek is a major tributary of Onondaga Lake which is located in Onondaga County, New York. The headwaters of the creek originate south of the city of Syracuse near the hamlet of Vesper, in the town of Tully, New York. The creek flows no ...

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 A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wa ...

whose invention, here, was crucial to the successful development of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

as a major sport. A paved multi-use trail, the

Onondaga Creekwalk The Onondaga Creekwalk is a mostly paved, partly bricked, multi-use trail running in Syracuse, New York, which has so far seen more than three decades of planning, construction, and delays, starting in 1988. The trail is designed for bicyclists, ...

, connects the neighborhood with Onondaga Lake.

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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1984. Includes accompanying 36 photos from 1983.

Contributing properties

References

External links

MOSTThen and Now: Armory Square
{{Syracuse, New York Neighborhoods in Syracuse, New York Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Syracuse, New York