City Hall Commons

Another downtown building made interesting by the demands of its footprint, designed to fit within a block with diagonal Genesee Street along one side.

The day was another snowy one. It is getting to be a fixture around here.

Streetcar Ties and Rails Come Up in East Genesee St. Makeover

Hanover Square

This year is the 700th anniversary of the city of Amsterdam. There are buildings on Hanover Square in Syracuse, which is really nearly a triangle because of the diagonal Genesee St., which remind me of Amsterdam. This little corner of Syracuse hums along in quiet architectural beauty. 

State Tower Building

Another building fitted into an irregular space on Genesee St.

Clinton Exchange Building

The Clinton Exchange Building, an elegant four-sided building siding on Genesee Street (at the right), was designed in response to the grid and diagonal layout of downtown. The two opposing sides are not parallel, the shorter front is concave and the longer back is convex. This achieves the result that the rear corners are more or less square with their respective street corners, as Franklin Street crosses Erie Boulevard at a right angle, and then curves so that it also crosses Genesee St. at a right angle.  Perfect.

The art deco Niagara Mohawk Building is behind on Erie. 

Byrne Square Building

Coming from the west, this is the first building on Genesee St. designed to fit into a triangular lot created by the diagonal and and grid scheme. The front room upstairs is filled with light.  I have taken a yoga class there and loved the space.