Syracuse, NY. 2020

While staying in Utica, we discovered there was not much to do, so we ventured to nearby cities to discover good eats, fine art, and explore. One of these explorations days we found ourselves in Syracuse, NY. What brought us here exactly? Donuts and good coffee. As any great day  starts, we pulled up to a donut spot called Glazed and Confused.  Then we headed to get a fresh coffee at Cafe Kubal just around the corner. I purchased a bag of coffee beans, Ethiopia Aricha, for later and we ate our sweet treats while drinking freshly made coffee beverages.  

Next we wandered around the area, discovering several fantastic local shops. After window shopping for a while we found ourselves in Clinton Square. Named after DeWitt Clinton who was the 6th governor of New York and largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton Square has a gigantic sculpture, Soldiers and Sailors monument, honoring Civil War Veterans. This is a gathering place for thousands of people through out the year where many seasonal festivals and celebrations take place. The Erie Canal used to come through Syracuse to this location in the 1800s but was later filled in. 

Before we left this area of Syracuse for lunch we HAD to visit the spectacular architecture of the Niagara Mohawk Building. It is an Art Deco Classic style building that used to be head quarts to Niagara Mohawk Power Company but is now a National Register of Historic Places as the Niagara Hudson Building. The architecture is absolutely stunning. Talk about attention to detail. 

For lunch we ventured over to a highly sought after restaurant called Phoebe's. What lured us here were the many excellent reviews and the elegant interior. Phoebe's lived up to the reviews too! The food was delicious, Freshly made, and healthy! If you are ever in Syracuse, I recommend making a reservation here. Their pricing is incredibly fair and they have a coffee bar too! We did not try the coffee bar but maybe someday we will be back to try it. 

Of course we could not go to Syracuse without investigating their art museum. We were pleased to find out Everson Museum of Art was open. Our temperatures were taken at the door and we were asked a couple of questions before entering. Admission was discounted because of the pandemic, we happily paid. It looked like there were a few areas under renovation but being in the building was participating in art already! Everson was designed by the world renowned I. M. Pei! Their new structure was opened to the public in 1968, gifted to the city by Helen Everson. Syracuse's art museum was founded in 1857 by William Fisk Comfort, an art historian who also helped bring us the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Before Emerson Museum of Art was built and opened, nearly 100 years prior, the art museum was held in several local locations. I believe that Everson only collects American art. 

Over all we had a lovely day in Syracuse but we only spent about 6/7 hours there. I bet there is a lot more to discover. What we did see, we loved. I hope you enjoy all the pictures.