Onondaga County Hotels

First the tavern, then the inn and finally the hotel. There seems to be no limit to the hotels of all kinds found in the Syracuse records. The first thing the trustees of the village of Syracuse did, after the incorporation April 13, 1825, was to elect the village officers, and the next was to issue licenses to tavern keepers. That was on May 4, and the four to whom they were issued were: Othniel H. Williston, Hiram C. Woodworth, George W. Tanner and James Mann. At the next meeting the licenses to sell groceries were looked after. They cost $25 each, while there seems to have been no charge to keep a tavern.

By 1838 a Board of Excise had arrived. That Board recommended that there were eleven proper persons to have licenses as tavern keepers. They were: Philo N. Rust, Syracuse House: Daniel Comstock, Mansion House; William B. Kirk, Kirk's Tavern; Thomas J. Keeler, Keeler's Tavern, which was on the corner south of the Kirk; William Downs, Old Line House, which was just north of the junction of Salina and Onondaga streets, on the west side of Salina Street; Nicholas Cook, Center House, which was on the site of Turn Hall, was burned December 26, 1867, and was called Center because of its situation between Salina and Syracuse; John Smith, Onondaga House; William A. Robinson, Eagle Tavern; George Bramsby, Lock Street House; Benoni F. Partridge, Union House, and John Teckney, Railroad House. It will be noticed that the word hotel does not appear in the village records.

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In the 'sixties Allen's Inn stood where the Winchester is located on the northwest corners of Washington and Clinton streets. "The Cottage" was the name of the place which gave way to the Windsor Hotel on the southeast corner of East Water and Market streets. John Smith ran it, and here was a small theater which had one of the city's first vaudeville shows, but it was called "variety." There were Mayer's Hotel in East Washington Street, Balzhauser's Hotel in West Street, and John Thurwachter's Hotel in North Salina Street. Some of these hotels were headquarters for German immigrants coming to Syracuse. Jay Eastman had a hotel in an old wooden building upon the site of the present St. Cloud.

Reminding of Old Hotels.

There were no less then twenty-seven hotels in Syracuse in 1867. To-day, with nearly five times the population, there are but fifty-three. Besides the Globe, there was the Vanderbilt in course of erection in '67, the Syracuse House run by Allen, and the Empire by William C. Gage. Many of the old hotels only survive in names upon other hotels. J. C. Everts had the American Hotel in James Street, and there was L. F. Joerissen running the Amos Hotel at Salina and Noxon. Opposite what was the practically new court house at West Genesee and Clinton, was the Court House Hotel run by J. Butterworth. Where the Hendricks Block stands in East Fayette was the Fayette House, with Morris & Vroman as proprietors. What afterwards became the Kingsley House, which stood where the Eckel Building was put up, was the Newell House, run by Ephraim J. Webster. Three years later D. Lewis Smith had it and it was called Smith's Hotel, but he was the "Lew" Smith of his time. The old Onondaga House at North Salina and Willow had E. T. Talbot for proprietor. The Sherman House which stood where the Larned Block is located, was run by Burdick & Moore. J. W. Clarke had the St. Charles, on the site of the University Block. Charles Henson ran The Greyhound at Warren and James. David L. Sternberg was mine host at the Westcott House, now the Jefferson at Salina and Jefferson. Other hotels were Charlie Coppins' in East Water; Orson P. Ward's the Fifth Ward, at Fayette and West; Lincoln & York's in East Water; H. S. McVanner's in West Fayette; Hamilton Morgan's in North Salina; Martin Sheuemann's in North Salina, Francis Schoen's in West Fayette; Martin Sherman's at Salina and State, and Henry B. Williams' Eagle Hotel in East Fayette Streets. In the old Salina section were Timothy Flood's at Wolf and Park; Philip Gehm's at North Salina and Wolf, and James R. Loomis' in Wolf Street.

Text Source: Syracuse Convention City, Printed by Hyde-Baumler, Inc., Syracuse, NY

The hotels of Syracuse are particularly well equipped and qualified to handle conventions. They have been hosts to conventions for many years and experience has shown them the way to care properly for any type of convention meeting.

There are two modern, first-class hotels. The Onondaga and the Hotel Syracuse, which have every appurtenance for the successful handling of conventions. In addition to these two, there are four others, which have excellent convention facilities. There is, also, under construction a new hotel which will soon be ready for occupancy. One exceptional feature of Syracuse's convention hotels is the fact that they are all located within a radius of four blocks in the center of the downtown business area.

Submitted 12 March 2006 by Pamela Priest
Updated 4 April 2006 by Pamela Priest