Syracuse is an American city in Central New York. According to the U.S. Census, in 2000 the city had a total population of 147,306, and its metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the county seat of Onondaga County and the economical and educational hub of Central New York, a region with over a million inhabitants. Syracuse is also a relatively large convention city, with a downtown convention complex and the Empire Expo Center directly west of the city, which hosts the annual Great New York State Fair. Syracuse was named after the original Syracuse, a city on the eastern coast of Sicily, Italy, which shares some similarities with this one, including a formerly-important salt industry and a neighboring town of Salina.
The city has functioned as a major crossroads over the last two centuries, first between the Erie Canal and its branch canals, then of the railway network. Today, Syracuse is located by the intersection of Upstate New York's two major interstate highways, and its airport is the largest in the region.
Syracuse is also home to many regional offices of the United States Government, such as the main office of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.
LatitudeLongitude
43°2' N76°8' W
- Total (2000) - Metro (2003).
147,306732,117
Syracuse is located at 43°2'49" North, 76°8'40" West (43.046899, -76.144423).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 66.4 km2 (25.6 mi2). 65.0 km2 (25.1 mi2) of it is land and 1.4 km2 (0.6 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 2.15% water, with the major water body being Onondaga Lake.
The city is seen as the northeast gateway to the Finger Lakes Region. The city has many vibrant neighborhoods which were originally various villages that joined the city over the years. Although the central part of Syracuse is flat, many of its neighborhoods are located on small hills such as University Hill and Tipperary Hill. Land to the north of Syracuse is generally flat while land to the south is hilly.
Major parks in the area include Burnet Park on Tipperary Hill, Upper Onondaga Park and Lower Onondaga Park which is connected to Kirk Park in Strathmore, and Thornden Park between the University Hill and Westcott neighborhoods. Burnet Park is home to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo and the first public golf course in the United States (1901). Also worth mentioning is Schiller Park in the Near Northeast neighborhood, and Sunnycrest Park in Eastwood.
About 27 percent of Syracuse's land area is covered by 890,000 trees -- a higher percentage than in Albany, Rochester or Buffalo. This is despite the Labor Day Storm of 1998, a derecho which destroyed approximately 30,000 trees. The sugar maple accounts for 14.2 percent of Syracuse's trees, followed by the Northern white cedar (9.8 percent) and the European buckthorn (6.8 percent). The most common street tree is the Norway maple (24.3 percent) followed by the honeylocust (9.3 percent). The densest tree cover in Syracuse is in the two Valley neighborhoods, with 46.6 percent of their land covered by trees. The lowest tree cover percentage is found downtown, which consists of only 4.6 percent trees.
As of the census of 2000, there are 147,306 people, 59,482 households, and 30,335 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,266.8/km2 (5,871.0/mi2). There are 68,192 housing units at an average density of 1,049.4/km2 (2,717.8/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 64.26% White, 25.35% African American, 1.13% Native American, 3.37% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.23% from other races, and 3.61% from two or more races. 5.27% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Syracuse has historically enjoyed a relatively diverse ethnic population, including sizable Italian-American, Polish-American and Irish-American communities. More recently, the city has seen a growing Latino population, and is also a resettlement center for refugees from Bosnia, Sudan (the "Lost Boys") as well as Somali Bantu refugees.
There are 59,482 households out of which 30.46% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 12.65% are married couples living together, 14.84% have a female householder with no husband present, and 48.58% are non-families. 38.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.29 and the average family size is 3.11.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females there are 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $25,000, and the median income for a family is $33,026. Males have a median income of $30,312 versus $23,997 for females. The per capita income for the city is $15,168. 27.3% of the population and 21.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 35.1% of those under the age of 18 and 12.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Syracuse's economy has faced challenges over the past decades as industrial jobs have left the area. The number of local and state government jobs also have been declining for several years. Syracuse's top employers are now primarily in education and in the service industry. University Hill is Syracuse's fastest growing neighborhood, fueled by expansions by Syracuse University and Upstate Medical University, as well as dozens of small medical office complexes.
The Syracuse area was first seen by Europeans when French missionaries came to the area in the 1600s. A group of Jesuit priests, soldiers, and coureurs des bois (including Pierre Esprit Radisson) set up a mission on the southwest shore of Onondaga Lake at the invitation of the Onondaga Nation, one of the five constituent members of the Iroquois confederacy.
The mission was short lived, as the Mohawk Nation hinted to the Onondaga that they should sever their ties to the French, or the Onondaga's guests would suffer some horrible fate. The men in the mission caught wind of this and left under cover of a cold night in March. Their entire stay was less than two years.
After the Revolutionary War, more settlers came to the area, mostly to trade with the Onondaga Nation. Salt was discovered in several swamps in Syracuse, which brought more settlers to the area, and eventually gave the city the nickname "Salt City".
The original settlement went through several name changes until 1824, first being called Webster's Landing (1786), then Bogardus Corners (1796), Milan (1809), South Salina (1812), Cossits' Corners (1814), and Corinth (1817). The U.S. Postal Service rejected the name Corinth upon its application for a post office, stating there was already a post office by this name in New York. Due to similarities such as a salt industry and a neighboring village named Salina, the name Syracuse was chosen, after Syracuse, Italy.
In 1825, the Village of Syracuse was officially incorporated. Five years later, the Erie Canal, which ran through the village, was completed. In 1848, Syracuse merged with nearby Salina to become the City of Syracuse. The opening of the canal caused a steep increase in the sale of salt, not simply due to the improved and lower cost of transportation, but because the canal caused New York farms to change from wheat to pork, and curing pork required salt. As salt production climbed, the processing became increasingly mechanized, and local industry became more generalized; population grew to 5,000 by 1850, from 250 in 1820, making it the twelfth largest city in the Union.
As Syracuse grew in wealth and sophistication, it became a hot spot for the growing abolitionist movement. On October 1, 1851, a freed slave known only as Jerry was arrested under the Fugitive Slave Law. The anti-slavery Liberty Party was holding its state convention in the city, and when word of the arrest spread, several hundred abolitionists broke into the city jail and freed Jerry. The event came to be known as the Jerry Rescue. During the Civil War, Syracuse was also a stop on the Underground Railroad.
The salt industry declined after the Civil War, but a new manufacturing industry arose in its place. Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, numerous businesses and stores were established, including the Franklin Automobile Company, which produced the first air-cooled engine in the world, and the Craftsman Workshops, the center of Gustav Stickley's handmade furniture empire.
Syracuse University was chartered in 1870 as a Methodist-Episcopal institution; it has grown from a few classrooms located in downtown Syracuse into a major research institution.
World War II sparked significant industrial expansion in the area: specialty steel, fasteners, custom machining. After the war, the Big Three auto companies had major operations in the area, Syracuse was headquarters for Carrier Air Conditioning and Crouse-Hinds traffic signal manufacturing, and General Electric had its main television manufacturing plant at Electronics Parkway in Syracuse.
Many of Syracuse's landmark buildings were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s, and several new museums and government buildings were built. Syracuse's population peaked at 221,000 in 1950. In the 1980s, many immigrants from Africa and Central America moved to Syracuse, under the auspices of several religious charities. However, these new Syracusans could not make up for the flow of residents out of Syracuse to either its suburbs or out of state due to job loss.
The manufacturing industry in Syracuse began to falter in the 1970s. Many small businesses failed during this time, which contributed to an already increasing unemployment rate. General Electric moved its manufacturing operations to Singapore. Carrier Corporation moved its headquarters out of Syracuse. Nevertheless, the Syracuse metropolitan area population has remained stable, even growing by 2.5 percent since 1970.
Source:
SyracuseNewYork.com
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