The Last Days of Midtown Plaza

In many ways, Midtown Plaza the eye sore that has festered upon the psyche of this city for more than a decade, was our most famous monument. The nearly century-old structure housed our city's history as well as any text, museum or statue. It was once home to Smith-Corona typewriters, Onondaga Community College, the Syracuse Press Club and many others.

The 2.4-acre property consisted of four vacant eight-story buildings, the earliest of which dated back to 1910, that were grouped along three sides of the block ringed by East Water, Almond and Water streets and Forman Avenue.

Starting about a decade ago, the city of Syracuse tried to find firms to renovate Midtown Plaza, but the presence of asbestos and other heavy-metal contaminants discouraged potential developers.

And judging from its more recent days, it’s hard to believe that the structure was once referred to in the local newspaper as "a gleaming adornment in an otherwise run-down neighborhood."

Recently, I attempted to document the Plaza’s demise and eventual destruction. This collection is  fraction of the total images, but I think it gives a good idea of how things looked around 700 East Water street for the past few months.

The photos were taken using a Miranda SLR and a Nikon digital camera. The research was done on-site and at the Onondaga County Public Library.

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