State Tower Building
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The State Tower Building is a high-rise building located in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. Completed in 1928, the building remains the highest in Syracuse. It has around 23 floors and is around tall. For several years after the Bastable Theatre burnt down in a 1923 fire, the plot of land was considered as the potential site of a new theatre or an office building. Eventually the plot's owners, Central Offices decided to build an office building. Designed by Thompson & Churchill, work began on the foundation of the State Tower Building in 1927. The tower was completed by late April 1928. It initially functioned as an office building, and was listed on 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 v ...
as a
contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
in the Hanover Square Historic District. In 2016 the building was bought by different owners, who redeveloped the top floors into high-end apartments; retaining just the first eight floors as office space.


Description

The State Tower Building is located on a plot where Genesee, Warren, and Water streets intersect. The whole block is occupied by the building, while a larger tower juts up on the Warren Street side. The building is made of steel and concrete with a
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, terra-cotta and brick facade. The bricks on the facade gradually get lighter towards the top of the building; this was intended to make the building seem higher than it is. The facade was decorated as typical for an
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
building. It has 21, 23, or 24 stories, and is or tall. The building was designed as a large
office building An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...
with the first 10 floors being large, and the top floors being setback and smaller such that one entity might occupy an entire floor. On the roof of the tenth floor was a deck on which there was a full-service restaurant. When first constructed, the building had hollow chambers between the outer and inner walls for insulation. It had about floor space, and was designed to provide maximum light. It was connected to a parking garage.


History


Block

The area where the State Tower Building was constructed was previously occupied by the Bastable block, which had been standing since at least 1852. The block was four stories tall and housed the Shakespeare Hall and arcade. It burnt down on November 20, 1891. Two years later, Frederick Bastable built the Bastable Theatre in its place.
Sam S. Shubert Samuel S. Shubert (August 27, 1878 – May 13, 1905) was an American producer and theatre owner/operator. He was the middle son in the Shubert family and was raised in Syracuse, New York. Biography Born in Vladislavov, in the Suwałki Govern ...
managed the theatre to profitability in 1897, booking a variety of sensational shows and comedies. The Bastable block was virtually razed in a 1923 fire; the theatre itself was completely destroyed.


Construction

In the aftermath of the fire, Stephen Bastable, who owned the block, resolved to replace the Bastable Theatre with an office building. In July 1923 he announced that the block would be filled by a "modern office building". The plot was purchased by Central Offices, led by Albert Mayer and Charles Mayer, who resolved to build an office building on the site. They considered building a larger theatre with an office tower on top of it, and an informal agreement was reportedly reached for leasing of the theatre. However, the plan soon developed further and it became clear that both a theatre and office building could not be built on the site. Plans for a new theatre were dropped. The architect was Thompson & Churchill. The foundation began to be dug in 1927. It was largely below street level, but to the north reached down. This was the deepest foundation ever sunk in
Downtown Syracuse Downtown Syracuse is the economic center of Syracuse, New York, and Central New York, employing over 30,000 people, and housing over 4,300. It is also one of the 26 officially recognized neighborhoods of Syracuse. History Downtown Syracus ...
, below the level of Onondaga Lake, and pumps were necessary to remove water that was seeping in. 300 people were involved in digging, in two 150 person shifts. On June 10, the ''
Syracuse Herald The ''Syracuse Herald-Journal'' (1925–2001) was an evening newspaper in Syracuse, New York, United States, with roots going back to 1839 when it was named the ''Western State Journal''. The final issue — volume 124, number 37,500 — was publis ...
'' reported that the foundation was set to be completed by July 1. The tower was completed by April 29, 1928, and scheduled to be formally opened two days later. On the 29th, an article in the ''Syracuse Herald'' wrote that the tower marked the beginning of a "new era in progress of hecity". Before opening, 80 percent of the building was leased to commercial tenants. Upon completion, the building was upstate New York's tallest building.


Later history

The building's exterior was lit at night from its opening to the 1960s. On May 29, 1962, a gas explosion hit the building, causing an estimated $100,000 in damages, and several injuries. The basement was flooded, the structure shook as fumes traveled through the building, and the explosion caused a minor panic, as about 3,000 people were inside at the time. The building is a
contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
in the Hanover Square Historic District, which was listed on the U.S.
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 v ...
in 1976. It was renovated in 2003. The State Tower Building was the site of regular
peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
nesting, and the top floor holds a nesting box. In 2015, live cameras that offered views of the nesting box were installed. After 2019 renovations to the building, the box was moved and as of 2021 had not been used in "a couple of years", according to the local office of the Department of Environmental Conservation. In 2014, some concerns were raised over possible hazards with the facade of the building. Two years later, a developer purchased the building for $5.4 million. As over half of the building was unoccupied, the developers kept only the first 7 floors of the building as office space and from 2016 to 2018 redeveloped the upper floors into 61 high-end apartments. In addition to redeveloping the apartments, all windows, the roof, and substantial portions of the facade were replaced. A second stairwell was added to the top floors. The building is the site of "The Climb", a program that raises funds to aid children with cancer in Central New York. During the fundraiser, participants climb the 338 steps in the State Tower.


Reception

Evamaria Hardin describes the building as "seem ngto be Syracuse's counterpart to New York's
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
". Upon its completion in 1928, the ''Syracuse Herald'' deemed the building "a massive yet graceful combination of colored brick, concrete, tile and hidden steel framework" and wrote that it was Syracuse's first "skyscraper". The building is Syracuse's tallest, and has been since its completion.


See also

* List of tallest buildings in the United States


References


Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:State Tower Building Skyscrapers in Syracuse, New York Art Deco architecture in New York (state) Historic district contributing properties in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Syracuse, New York Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Skyscraper office buildings in New York (state) Office buildings completed in 1928