Central High School

Central Technical High School

East Adams Street

1903

Architect: Archimedes Russel

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Alumni website

The City's major high school on West Genesee Street, designed by Horatio Nelson White in 1869, was becoming a health hazard by the late 1890's. In 1900 Archimedes Russel submitted plans for a new city high school to replace it.

In some ways this building resembles a smaller, simpler version of the Beaux-Arts Onondaga County Courthouse that Russel would also design within a year. The building consists of "hyphenated" blocks with a pedimented central section and rich exterior ornamentation.

The building was designed in the shape of a "U" so all rooms could have ample sunlight. A large assembly room on the first floor was the core of the building, with study, class and recitation rooms arranged around this. The three story building could accommodate 1,500 students.

Rather than "fire-proof," the building was a "slow-burn" design. Metal and concrete were placed under the wood floor system, supported by iron columns. The stairs were of iron with wooden and wrought iron balustrades.

Teachers and visitors used the west entrance, near Billings Park. This entrance was decorated with paired Ionic columns and a richly decorated pediment. Students were required to use the less ornate Adams Street entrance on the north.

In 1928, Albert L. Brockway remodeled and enlarged the school (comparing the two pictures above, you can see a new addition at the right). Brockway enlarged the central assembly room to create Lincoln Auditorium, a large, multipurpose hall with excellent acoustics. The Syracuse Symphony performed in this hall from about 1930 until the Onondaga County Civic Center was built some 45 years later.

The high school closed in 1975. In the 1980s the building was partially remodeled and renamed Greystone Square. A wall was erected at the front of the auditorium stage to allow installation of a three story atrium where the stage and backstage had been. But the building was never fully remodeled, nor fully occupied, and by the late 1990s it was vacant once again.

The Syracuse School District now has plans to refurbish this building to serve again as a technical high school.

Exterior

Halls, Classrooms, Stairs

The cast iron stairs feel rock-solid under foot, but with their cantilevered design and filigreed risers they appear to float in mid-air.

A second rail has been added to all the handrails, probably to raise the overall height so it would conform with contemporary code. The retrofit was done in a way that matches the original and isn't immediately noticeable.

Lincoln Auditorium

In 1928 Lincoln Auditorium was built within the space that was open courtyard within the original "U" shaped building. From the 1930s to the 1970s, this hall was home for the Syracuse Symphony.

The original design allowed those seated in the auditorium to look through the stage and backstage to observe sporting events in the gymnasium beyond. In the 1980s, as part of the Greystone renovations, a wall was erected across the entire stage and an atrium and office space were then carved out of the backstage and gymnasium areas.