Franklin Square, Syracuse

This article is about the Syracuse, New York neighborhood. For the Nassau County, New York hamlet, see Franklin Square, New York.

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Franklin Square

Franklin Square is a former industrial neighborhood, turned residential and commercial, in Syracuse New York. Officially it is part of the larger Lakefront neighborhood, which in turn is one of Syracuse's 26 officially recognized neighborhoods.

History

The neighborhood sprang up as a result of the salt industry centered on Onondaga Lake in the early years of the 19th century. During the 19th century over 12 million tons of salt were produced in the area. After the Civil War, with the salt industry on the decline, Franklin Square became an automobile production area. The H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company, from which the neighborhood's name comes from, produced cars in this area from 1902 to 1934. Another prominent employer was transmission producer New Process Gear which operated multiple factories in the area before moving to the Syracuse suburb of DeWitt.

Rebirth

By the 1980s nearly all of Franklin Square's industry had vanished, leaving one million square feet (300,000 m²) of unused space. In 1987, the Syracuse-based Pyramid Companies, which were also developing the nearby super-regional Destiny USA shopping mall, began a revitalization process. Most of the former factory space has been converted into apartments and office space. New buildings in the square's style have also been built.