A bird’s eye view of the site for the ‘State University Hospital’

Dec. 1958: The site for Upstate University Hospital. Courtesy Upstate’s Health Sciences Library and Onondaga Historical Association

This aerial photograph—taken on a snowless day in December 1958—was used in the site planning for the “State University Hospital,” now known as Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, New York.  Two and a half years after this photo was taken, construction bids were awarded and ground was broken for the downtown hospital that opened fifty years ago.

In the foreground of the photo is Irving Avenue lined with houses, as it was in 1958. Today the bustling Syracuse street is lined with physicians’ offices, education buildings, hospitals, and parking garages.

Prominent in the photo is Weiskotten Hall (with the u-shaped walkway), which was, and still is, home to medical school classrooms, research labs, and administrative offices of Upstate Medical University. Tucked behind Weiskotten Hall is what was then City Hospital, the infectious diseases hospital that became an Upstate academic building in the late 1970s. (Upstate absorbed many of the services provided by that hospital.) At the right of the photo above is the Syracuse Memorial Hospital, which was built in 1929 and is now the older section of Crouse Hospital.

In the background (at the top of the photo) are the Pioneer Homes, the first housing project constructed in the state of New York (in 1938), and one of the first five built in the United States. Recently, Upstate and Pioneer Homes launched a grassroots healthcare partnership called Healthy Neighbors.

Feb. 1958. Architect's rendering of the site of the hospital. (Colorized drawing is rotated so view is similar to photo above). Blue shows proposed hospital; purple shows Weiskotten Hall and green shows the proposed bridge between the two SUNY buildings.

Kiff, Colean, Voss & Souder, an architectural firm from New York City, designed Upstate University Hospital. The 1958 architect's drawing, at right, shows the proposed location of the hospital.

The photograph above, which can be found in both the collection of Upstate’s Health Sciences Library and the Onondaga Historical Association, is part of a timeline display that will be unveiled at both the downtown- and community-campus hospitals on February 7.

As part of the 50^th anniversary, Upstate University Hospital is interested in gathering the perspectives of our neighbors, patients, alumni, retirees, employees, and others.

If you have a memory to share, contact the hospital anniversary committee through Susan Keeter, [email protected], 315-464-4834. Thank you.