Although by 1855 the glories of Syracuse Revivalism were completely typical of the national scene, the "Golden Age" had a late start in life here, architecturally speaking. In 1825 when the Revival was well under way further east, a mere hamlet of 500 inhabitants, who had been thrown together by an early call of salt, existed near the edge of Onondaga Lake. Minor cross-road settlements circling, the outskirts were tied together with corduroy trails. Minor backwoods culture and meager profits of a foundling industry obviously could not be synthesized with a new Greece.
In that same year, however, the Erie Canal was opened to traffic and at this settlement it crossed the Genesee Turnpike and the Oswego Canal. Such a powerful juncture changed the hamlet overnight to a roaring boomtown. The Turnpike continued to bring culture, but the canal brought new essential immigrants and easily reached markets and the salt industry, in turn maturing, offered wealth and prestige. By 1830, Greek facades that might have been set in the refined settings of Boston or Philadelphia had begun to shove their stout faces among crude shacks and stepped gables along the mud ruts of Genesee, James and Fayette Streets. The Greek Revival was soon firmly rooted. So completely did the settlement "go classic" that it was even known for a time as "Corinth and its present name, "Syracuse", yet recalls an ancient Sicilian city. The "Carpenter's Classic" came with as much of its vitality and ingenuity as anywhere else. However, the belated impetus undoubtedly accounts for some non-typical factors which should be considered.
From a national standpoint, the Greek Revival was as much the result of natural evolution as of the socioeconomic conditions already mentioned. But here, the more obvious influence of evolution was of little importance until after the style was established. The Greek Revival and the true birth of Syracuse as a community coincided so closely that the early transitional structures on pages 29, 35, and 35, are exceptional.
It would seem, therefore, that the Greek Revival in Syracuse, off to a late start but skipping the transitional phases, would be contemporary with the eastern seaboard. Such was not the case. Although the minds of the people were in a Greek comatose state and they could skip timid introductions, it is to be assumed that being so little removed from provincialism, they could not accept the sophisticated phases then in force and so they turned to the earlier rugged interpretations as a starting point.
To the minds of the people and to a late start in life, then, may be attributed the anachronism of the Revival in Syracuse - the almost total lack of transitional structures and the fact that most examples post date the generally accepted periods for their particular phase. The early 'forties, not the 'thirties were the best years experienced by the Revival in Syracuse.