Fixing What Urban Renewal Broke: A Chance to Restore Oakwood Cemetery's Connection to Downtown Syracuse
The public comment period in support of the I-81 Community Grid closes on Thursday, October 14. Make your voice heard and let the NYS Department of Transportation know you support the community grid option and encourage them to include Oakwood Cemetery in any plans to reconfigure the streetscape. Click here to submit your comments!
Syracuse’s Oakwood Cemetery is as much for the living as it is for the dead. Opened in 1859, it remains a prime example of a rural cemetery landscape, designed to provide easy access to nature as well as a picturesque final resting place. Rural cemeteries like Oakwood were meant to be used by the public. Being open and welcoming to their surrounding communities and the public at large was an intentional choice. The construction of I-81 in the 1960s sliced across Oakwood’s western border severing its connection to the Southside neighborhood and downtown Syracuse. The legacy of this urban renewal project has had long-lasting ramifications — but now there is a rare opportunity to reverse the damage done.
Two views of the historic entry gate, a once distinguished entrance is now abandoned and decaying in a little-used corner of the cemetery. Construction of I-81 in the 1960s blocked off access to the gate. Photos by John Auwaerter
Before the construction of I-81, visitors would enter Oakwood through an impressive entry gate, providing a sense of transition between the city and the cemetery landscape. This entry area is also where you would find the stately office building (designed to match the gate, both built in 1902), the greenhouse, and the mortuary chapel designed by prominent architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee in 1879. The greenhouse was demolished in 1945, but the other structures remain extant. And though they are still impressive, they have all fallen into significant states of disrepair. The closing of the historic entry gate turned the once formal space into an area of the cemetery rarely visited. Lack of use led to abandonment, which has led to further deterioration and vandalism. Oakwood Cemetery is one of Central New York’s most important historic landscapes. The entry gate, office building, and chapel represent significant examples of the landscape’s historic architecture. Preservation Association of Central New York listed Oakwood’s Historic Entrance Area as an “Eight that Can’t Wait” in 2018, recognizing its ongoing threats as well as the opportunities for preservation tied to the I-81 project.
With the relocation of the main entrance, the historic structures that once greeted cemetery visitors fell into disuse and disrepair. The historic office building (left) and Silsbee Chapel (right) are important pieces of the cemetery’s built environment, but they are both at risk of being lost due to prolonged deterioration. Restoring access to this part of the cemetery could inspire renewed interest and restoration efforts for these historic buildings.
In an effort to improve transit patterns and accessibility, the The Federal Highway Administration and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) initiated the I-81 Corridor Study in 2008. According to the NYSDOT website, “The purpose of the I-81 Viaduct Project is to address the structural deficiencies and non-standard highway features in the I-81 corridor while creating an improved corridor through the City of Syracuse that meets transportation needs and provides the transportation infrastructure to support long-range planning efforts.” Although issues like “structural integrity” are among the listed priorities, it should also be explicitly stated that the construction of I-81 bulldozed through African American neighborhoods — and those neighborhoods have suffered tremendously because of it. The Southside neighborhood is Oakwood’s closest neighbor to the west. Including restored access in the I-81 project plans would benefit both the cemetery and the Southside.
The project is coming to a close, with public comments open until October 14 before final decisions are made. Back in August, the League co-signed a Letter-to-the-Editor urging Oakwood to be taken into consideration in any plans to reconfigure I-81. We urge you to make your voice heard as well. Comments can be submitted online, by phone, or by mail. Oakwood is a point of civic pride, an important part of Syracuse’s history, and it deserves to be recognized as such.
Pictured are just a few examples of the monuments, mausoleums, and grave markers seen throughout Oakwood. Victorian rural cemeteries like this function almost like outdoor galleries or sculpture parks because of the care and expense paid in creating such intricate burial plots.
On a recent visit, I was given a tour by a few members of the Historic Oakwood Cemetery Preservation Association. I went specifically to see the historic entry area and get a better sense of how I-81 fundamentally changed the fabric of this landscape. But walking through the cemetery put those buildings into context. Rural cemeteries like Oakwood are equivalent to public parks, places to gather, be in nature, and admire truly impressive works of art and architecture. Oakwood has no shortage of incredible mausoleums and other sculptures scattered through its 160-acres. Oakwood has so much to offer as a place of civic pride. Making sure its neighbors feel welcome seems like an obvious way to celebrate what Oakwood meant, and continues to mean, for the people of Syracuse.