Top 40 List
Stop and smell the flowers!
#DoYourDowntownThing Commit to trying something new - Check out a downtown restaurant you haven’t visited yet. Pick yourself up with a mid-day coffee from one of our downtown coffee shops. Have lunch at your favorite downtown place. Savor summer with a Gannons Ice Cream cone. Come to our Ninth Annual Downtown Living Tour on Saturday, May 16. Bring your sneakers to work! Take 15 minutes to go for a walk around the block. Appreciate the hidden gems: Old advertisements on buildings, sidewalk chalk messages, charming bicycle racks... What haven’t you noticed? Look up and count the gargoyles! Purchase tickets to an upcoming show at the Oncenter, Civic Center or Landmark Theatre. Invest in a membership to the MOST, Everson, or Onondaga Historical Association. Or, become a fully-cultured member of our community and purchase one to each! Download the Whoosh! Parking App to help make parking that much easier.
Take your lunch outside; Eat by the Clinton Square Fountain! Go on a fountain crawl - Take a selfie in Hanover Square, Clinton Square, Fayette Firefighter’s Memorial Park or Columbus Circle and show us! Post using the hashtag: #CelebrateDowntownSYR Explore the Syracuse Poster Project’s 2015 poster series. Wave at the construction crew hard at work on renovations at the Hotel Syracuse. Listen to the Carillon Bells at City Hall. Stand under the balcony on the second floor of the Courier Building at 110 Montgomery Street, across from City Hall. In May, 1851, U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster delivered a speech, promising the Fugitive Slave Law would be enforced in Syracuse. That speech laid framework for the famous rescue of William “Jerry” Henry in October, 1851. Check out the Jerry Rescue Monument, just a few blocks away in Clinton Square.
Make our center city blossom by sponsoring a hanging flower basket (or several)! Roll up your sleeves to participate in our new Partners in Planting Program. Pop into a local retail shop and treat yourself to the eye candy in the window. Make a Downtown Syracuse bucket list. Make today the day you start crossing things off. Call the Tech Garden, arrange to take a tour. Be amazed at how science, math, technology, engineering and art all blend together. Pay it forward - As you start your day, buy a coffee for the person in line behind you. Or, as you end your day, pay for someone’s parking.
Revisit the history of the Erie Canal at the Erie Canal Museum. Research the downtown building you live or work in at the Onondaga Historical Association Make sure those cute shoes are ready for summer – Drop them off at Ralph’s Discount Shoe Repair on Washington Street! Pack those winter clothes away for good! Did you know there’s a drycleaner on West Jefferson Street? Pamper yourself with a facial, massage, mani and pedi - Downtown’s got so many great salons to choose from! Hold a casual business meeting in one of downtown’s park spaces. “Walk the Stars” outside of the Landmark Theatre. Catch an IMAX film at The MOST. Enjoy a night on the town! Then, treat yourself to a stay in one of downtown’s many hotels.
Pet one of the dogs of downtown!
Wait an extra few seconds to hold the door for the person who is a few steps behind you. Run, walk or bike along the Onondaga Creekwalk. Join a downtown fitness club. Organize an office happy hour at one of our downtown establishments.
(If it’s okay with their owner of course!)
The Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc. is celebrating its 40th Birthday Friday, May 15. Please celebrate with us by supporting downtown’s restaurants, retailers, businesses, institutions and properties all of the places that make Downtown Syracuse a vibrant destination.