Tell Us about the Ward: Memories of Syracuse's 15th Ward

• In Event: Stability and Change in the Contours of Public Memory: Engaging Communities of Memory

Abstract

Recollections of the past are not only the province of national or global struggles but also emerge in local contexts. In Syracuse, numerous events of the past continue to be animated in contemporary discussions and among these none has had a more profound impact than the destruction of the 15th Ward.

The 15th Ward was a vibrant working class neighborhood located in the center of the city much of it under what is now I-81. The neighborhood was primarily a mix of Jewish and African American communities and by many accounts it functioned as a lively and cosmopolitan center for Syracuse’s many ethnic neighborhoods. Beginning in the late 1950s, the ‘Ward’ was destroyed in three phases: urban renewal, which failed to replace the many homes that were torn down; the construction of I-81, which was erected in place of the previously promised affordable housing and revitalized businesses; and the construction of Upstate Medical and expansion of Syracuse University. By many accounts, the destruction of the Ward led not only to the displacement of hundreds of families but also to a fragmentation of the communities, especially the African American community. The more affluent moved east and north, those less able to afford better housing were forced south and west.

Beginning in 2006, the Syracuse University Public Memory Project began collaborating with various community partners – churches, synagogues, community centers – to begin recording interviews with former residents, collect photographs of the old neighborhood, and develop public events to rekindle memories of the Ward and interest in this area.

In this presentation, we offer a 30-minute documentary produced by students and with cooperation from numerous community groups as one part of the broader community project in which we are engaged.

Author

• Kendall Phillips, Syracuse University