The Snowdon Apartments
Architect: Achimedes Russell
1902
The Snowden Apartments mark the entrance from downtown onto lower James Street. It was once one of Syracuse's most fashionable addresses. Designed in 1902 by Archimedes Russell and built by Henry J. Ryan, the apartment building replaced a girls' academy that had long stood on this site. The building was named for its first owner, Walter Snowdon Smith.
The triangular shape of the lot appears frequently in the near northeast side of Syracuse where roads cut the traffic grids at oblique angles. Radiating and depressed window bays break the building's flat facades. A large classical porch dominates the front entrance, and window lintels display a modest polychrome treatment.
After 1940 the Snowdon fell on hard times. At one point it had more fires than any other single building in Syracuse. Today the exterior and many of the apartments have been rehabilitated by the building's owner.
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1902
View of west elevation.
Notice the three ladies standing on the corner outside the main entrance.