Over my lifetime I have seen very little change in the city of Syracuse besides more empty store fronts. Growing up I thought that was just the natural way of life, which is no way for someone to think at a young age. That may be why the new movement and burst of life in downtown Syracuse has been so heartening.
Going downtown as a kid was always interesting, but it also always seemed like such a dead zone. Walking down the street it was rare to see another person, and usually it wasn't a person who looked as though they wanted to be there.
Now as I walk down the street there're people venturing out to new restaurants that have popped up, or heading home to their new apartment. There's life beyond 9-5 and that's exactly how a city center should be.
Over the last few years the State Tower Building, the tallest building in Syracuse, had been in decline. Tenants were moving out and the exterior was getting rough. Fast forward to present day and the building is a buys hive for construction workers putting life into the old tower. Its really a representation of all of downtown's reinvigoration.
Now I support renovating these beautiful older buildings for new purposes, they help preserve our history and provide an uplift to the city, but it must all be within reason. Many older cities, especially those in the Rust Belt, seem stuck in the past at times. These glory days ended decades ago and don't help these cities move forward. The people these cities need to attract weren't around to experience their heydays and so it doesn't help to dwell.
Take the past as prologue and reinvent the future. Take these older buildings, the ones worth saving, and reshape them to fit the modern world. Instead of focusing on a past few of us share, we need to work towards the future together. These ideas were expressed wonderfully in a recent article from Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle that I think anyone living in a Rust Belt city should read.