| Franklin Square, Syracuse |
[Apr. 22nd, 2024|02:23 am]
Glenn
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Three decades ago, Franklin Square was Syracuse's industrial graveyard. It was an area of mostly brick industrial buildings just north west of downtown that had become vacant eyesores with the collapse of American manufacturing in the late 20th century.
The early industries were powered by the water from Onondaga Creek which runs through the neighborhood. The land farther from the creek was mostly occupied by the salt making industry. At first, salt was produced in "salt blocks", one story brick buildings with a big chimney, where brine from local springs and wells was boiled until the water evaporated, leaving salt crystals. This method required vast quantities of wood as fuel. By the late 19th century, virtually all the forests in Central New York had been clear-cut to provide that wood, and to make lumber. Once wood became more costly due to the distance it had to be shipped, the salt industry switched to a solar evaporation process to make salt. The boilers were replaced by open-air flat pools where the sun evaporated the brine to form salt. Removable wooden or canvas covers had to be fashioned for these flat pools to protect them on rainy or snowy days. This system was inefficient and doomed to eventual failure due to our relatively wet weather and general lack of sunshine. By the early 20th century most of the salt manufacturers had gone out of business and other manufacturing companies took their place.
Some of the business that built their factories on the old salt flats were;
New Process Gear, which made the transmissions for Chrysler cars,
O.M. Edwards Co, which made metal office furniture, padlocks, windows for buses and railroad cars, and phone booths,
Merrill-Soule Co., which made canned vegetables, powdered milk and lemonade, and Nonesuch Mincemeat,
Amphion Piano-Player Action Co., which made the mechanical parts for player pianos.
Easy Washing Company, which made washing machines,
The C.C. Bradley Foundry which made the famous Bradley Forging Hammer, widely used in steel manufacture around the world, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shQtlspHJR8
and the H.H. Franklin Manufacturing Co. which built Franklin automobiles (1902-1934). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f_vUbzh5l8
Other, smaller factories produced a wide range of products from the Monarch typewriter, to textiles, handbags, baseball bats and underwear.
Even though a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin stands in the park, Franklin Square is not named for him, but for Herbert H. Franklin, the Syracuse industrialist who developed and manufactured the Franklin car.
Many of the old factories in Franklin Square were bought up and redeveloped by The Pyramid Corporation a few decades ago, and are now high-end residential apartments and office space. Pyramid created a lovely park at Franklin Square and planted dozens of flowering trees along Solar Street and Franklin Street. I believe the trees are mostly Bradford Pear (with white flowers) and Crabapple and Cherry (with pink flowers). The trees are all in bloom right now and create a very pleasant urban landscape. The contrast between the flowering trees and the old red brick factories is delightful!
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