The Onondaga Park Neighborhood featured in our Strathmore By-The-Park Homes Tour reflects residential tastes from the 1890s through the 1920s. The personality of the neighborhood took shape as a result of the creativity, prosperity and civic concerns of Syracuse residents at the turn of the twentieth century. Attracting heads of commerce, politicians, attorneys, entrepreneurs, inventors, engineers and artisans, Strathmore became a place for those seeking stylish interpretations of the popular residential design of the era.

In the 1890’s, development moved southward from the city core of West Onondaga and South Geddes Streets. As the industries of Syracuse grew, people wanted their homes to be removed from the dust and grime associated with the factories located at Geddes and Fayette Streets. Thus, a migration to the southwest area of Syracuse began.

A map dated May 22, 1896, displays a tract of land bordering Clairmonte, Bellevue, and Summit Avenues, along with Crossett Street. Filed by R. Griffin, C.E., at the county clerk’s office, the map details the planning for a residential neighborhood to be known as The Onondaga Highlands. From that same map, it can be observed that the city line was drawn virtually through the middle of Stolp Avenue, making anything south of this boundary "the suburbs."

In the years prior to World War I, the neighborhood was capturing the attention of prominent citizens. Sensing the mood of the day, Edward T. Flood, a shrewd entrepreneur, purchased numerous lots in this underdeveloped area in 1901. Several lots, as records from 1902 indicate, were sold to Flood by Lyman C. Smith of the Smith-Corona Typewriter Company. Around 1911-1915, the land along Stolp Avenue and Crossett Street was being filled in with the construction of many new homes. Simultaneously, landscaping was occurring in Onondaga Park.

As a result of this expansion, the desirability of the neighborhood increased. Playing off the beauty of the area, in an eclectic symphony of design and style, elegant Colonial Revivals, romantic Tudors, handsome Four-Squares and fashionable Craftsman homes began to dot the landscape surrounding the park. Designing for many neighborhood luminaries were several prominent local architects like Ward Wellington Ward, Merton Granger, and Melvin King. Many of the homes feature stained glass from the famed Keck Studios and decorative Moravian tiles by Henry Chapman Mercer.

The Elmwood Firehouse designed by Thurber Gillette was added to the edge of the Onondaga Park in 1913 to serve the growing community. The Fire Barn remains a wonderful institutional example of Craftsmen style designed to blend in with the residential neighborhood. In the present day, its preservation and reuse remains a goal of the Onondaga Park Association.

In response to the growth and promise occurring in the area, the real estate firm of Clark & Porter, Inc., purchased the forty-six acre Stolp Farm in the fall of 1916 for the purpose of developing a subdivision that would utilize the natural contours of the land.

Envisioned as an exclusive residential area and marketed to middle and upper-income families, Clark & Porter, Inc. formally opened their new subdivision in the area immediately southwest of the park in 1919. Calling it Strathmore By-The-Park, they billed it in their advertising literature as the "most ideal and healthiest" location in Syracuse.

Today, this portion of the Strathmore Neighborhood is regarded as a “distinctive example of an early-twentieth century residential subdivision.” For this reason, Strathmore By-The-Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. The Onondaga Highlands-Swaneola Heights Historic District will be listed in 2010. Currently other parcels of the neighborhood are also being studied for nomination.

Researched and written by:
Mary Schweitzer-Burgmeier, Mary Hershberger, Dennis Connors & Patricia Black