Reasons to be cheerful

When you stack Syracuse up against other cities, you actually end up with a lot of reasons to be cheerful about living here. Yeah, we get into our scraps about what’s the best way to improve it. But at least people really care! Listening to people who have lived elsewhere is often enlightening:

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Two fighters from Eastwood

Do any Walkable Eastwood readers remember Cliff Hart? The “Blond Bomber Boxer”? Golden Gloves champ? Maybe this bit about the Eastern Golden Gloves Finals from a New York Times article (March 7, 1946) will stir your memory, or at least your soul: Continue reading Two fighters from Eastwood

Get on the bus!

This news has nothing and everything to do with Eastwood. Nothing, because it is about an event that doesn’t take place in Eastwood. Everything, because Eastwood, although quite village-like and distinct, is still within the city. What happens elsewhere in the city, for good or for ill, most definitely impacts us. Well, this one is a goodie! So I’m passing along this press release:

‘Get on the Bus’ trip visits CFAC and Syracuse Symphony April 4

On Friday, April 4, the public is invited to join the fourth “Get on the Bus” free Connective Corridor bus ride to get a taste of Syracuse’s multicultural art and culture. The Connective Corridor bus travels the 1.5-mile signature strip of cutting-edge cultural development connecting University Hill with downtown Syracuse. Continue reading Get on the bus!

Thank you for PAC and its coordinator

On Monday, October 1, at 10:00 a.m., Mayor Matthew Driscoll and Common Council President Bea González held a reception to introduce the members of the City of Syracuse Public Arts Commission. On hand a half hour early were at least a couple dozen friends of the arts who gathered to thank the City for the Public . . . → Read More: Thank you for PAC and its coordinator

A serious blow to town-gown relationships

Syracuse is fortunate to now have a Public Arts Commission in recognition of the fact that art – and the creative people it attracts – make for a healthier, more economically viable city. Why? Because we’re human and we want to have fun, enjoy beauty, get our thoughts provoked once in awhile, and feel like we average folks can enjoy some excellence in the cultural life of the city. People want to live in a city that treats them like people. And people come to a city to see art… and spend money while they’re there. Continue reading A serious blow to town-gown relationships

Floating Galleries Launch

Floating Galleries of Syracuse transforms vacant storefronts into 24/7 exhibits. The aim of this project is to give local artists and agencies and opportunity to display their work, while fostering economic development by drawing attention to available retail properties.

Floating Galleries is a volunteer organization, which emerged from The Syracuse Public Art Task Force in 2007.

Floating Galleries . . . → Read More: Floating Galleries Launch

Latte art and flamenco guitar

Matt and Rachel Godard were celebrating the opening of their Cafe Kubal last Saturday, so we stopped by to see how he was coming along with the latte art. Sure enough, he was ready for filming! Thanks to Dan Hunter, who kindly did the filming, we have a video so you can see how this . . . → Read More: Latte art and flamenco guitar

Latte art and really good decaf

The other day I happened into Cafe Kubal, where Matt Godard is roasting some of the finest coffee in upstate New York. Who should be there behind the bar but Chris Deferio, the man I think of as The Ithaca Latte Artist:

latteartdeferio2.jpg

I’d seen him in action at the Carriage House Cafe, where he’s the head barista and director of coffee education (now there’s a job!). Well, he’s been teaching Matt a thing or two, which means that even when Chris is back at his regular job, we in Eastwood can still watch our latte turn into something beautiful as well as delicious.

Continue reading Latte art and really good decaf

Help kick off National Historic Preservation Month

Please join the Central New York’s Arts & Crafts Society and the Preservation Association as they celebrate National Historic Preservation Month.

Saturday May 5, 2007
Palace Theater, 2384 James Street, Eastwood

10:00 am on the 2nd floor: Registration begins

10:30 am
Honorable Matt Driscoll, Mayor of Syracuse
Opening remarks

11:00 am
Jonathan Massey, SU School of Architecture
Claude Bragdon: Modernism & Preservation

NOON: Gourmet Luncheon – . . . → Read More: Help kick off National Historic Preservation Month

Syracuse Public Arts and the “coolness factor”

I think a lot about what makes property values – yours and mine – rise in an urban neighborhood. I’ve concluded that it it is, in part, a certain “coolness factor” that is part reality and part perception. What strikes you when you walk through Little Italy or Armory Square? No, neither of them is perfect, but people want to be there for some reason. Downtown apartments are renting for as much as twice what they are in other parts of the city. Why? Because it’s so cool to live where density and diversity make it so interesting!

Continue reading Syracuse Public Arts and the “coolness factor”