Dispatches from the Samuel Center

218-222 No. Salina Street Syracuse

I love sharp photos in the CSNY Collections like the one below, but who the eight people are remains a mystery, at least to me. If only we knew more, it’d be much more interesting. Kieffer Brothers operated in Syracuse at the address above from the second half of the 19th century until after World…

will van dorp
1–2 minutes
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I love sharp photos in the CSNY Collections like the one below, but who the eight people are remains a mystery, at least to me. If only we knew more, it’d be much more interesting. Kieffer Brothers operated in Syracuse at the address above from the second half of the 19th century until after World War 2, but that address today is a parking lot if you look at Google street view maps.

Here’s a version more tightly cropped. Two woman and six men here . . . are they standing on a boat? If so, that would mean an approximate date, no later than ___ for the photo. heading east or west? Was there a special occasion?

Any ideas?

Many thanks to Bill Hecht for cleaning up the photo and sending it along.

3 responses to “218-222 No. Salina Street Syracuse”

  1. Lee Rust Avatar
    Lee Rust

    The women’s clothing styles look like 1890-1910 and fedora hats started coming into style about 1900. The billboard in the left background clearly shows the corner of an event poster with a date of “Aug 28” and the fuzzy weekday shape looks a lot like “Monday”. If so, the picture would likely date from either 1899, 1905 or 1911.

    The Oswego Canal was just east of the Kieffer plant on Salina St, and the barge’s rudder post is visible just behind the lady seated at left, so the vessel was headed north. The hazy silhouette of a tall building at the upper left margin matches that of the present-day Bank of America tower as seen from I-81… which today follows the same local path as the Oswego Canal.

    Reply
    1. will van dorp Avatar
      will van dorp

      Good to hear from you, Lee. I always enjoy your thorough detective work, like the 1899, 1905, or 1911 detail. Also, i recall how startled I was the first time I recognized the “Bank of America” building on a vintage image of Syracuse.

      Reply
  2. Lee Rust Avatar
    Lee Rust

    Some folks enjoy crosswords and Wordle. For me, it’s exploring the details in old photos.

    Reply

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