LINKS TO SYRACUSE
I was born in Syracuse, and my Dad grew up there, and his Dad, who was
an obstetrician and family doctor, and worked at Syracuse General
Hospital. Though we moved when I was five, I went back for a year in
college, to study at Syracuse University, and I’ve always been kind of
attached to the place.
Yesterday I found this great website about Syracuse:
There’s
historical stuff, stuff about urbanism, renewal, redlining, and a great
section on historical preservation with advice for the old home-owner,
which is me.
On days when it hits 10 degrees and I’m feeling
personally guilty for the geopolitical oil problem, it’s helpful to be
reminded that old homes are not just fossil fuel guzzlers. As a rule,
we are actually better insulated than homes built from the 40s to the
70s. And, as one document on the website reminded me, old windows are
not just sieves. They are only slightly less efficient than vinyl
windows, which can warp and crack over time. (And with some fresh air
blowing through now and then, we don’t have to worry about radon and
other toxins!)
Every city needs a website like this and a place
to discuss the truth about whether our short-term livelihoods depend on
the continued proliferation of sprawl, architectural ugliness and
obsessive consumerism. Our cities need us, they need to keep us. One
reason we bought this old house is I felt it needed us to take care of
it and honor its history.
I sometimes wonder if my children will
stay connected to the town where we’re raising them, or run off for
greener pastures. Provocative article along these lines at Syracuse
Then and Now: The Rise of the Creative Class