Dennis Connors, 73

Former executive director and curator at the Onondaga Historical Association writes a new book featuring some of the mansions that once graced James Street in Syracuse

By Mary Beth Roach

Q: Can you give our readers an overview of your new book The Gilded Age on Syracuse’s James Street?

A: There were about 20 houses that were on James Street, a couple of which are left but most of which are gone. Also, there’s photos, an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction is an overview of the history of James Street —how did it go from being really out in the country to this boulevard of mansions to a commercial strip that it is pretty much now. What were the forces and the decisions that were made over the years that that drove all those changes? And then besides an historical overview of the houses and people that live there, there’s what I call architectural observations, where I discuss the style of the house, what makes it particularly interesting or unique or what makes it of a certain style. Each house is its own chapter.

Q: What are some of the names of the families that owned the houses that our readers would recall?

A: The Barnes Mansion, sometimes called the Barnes-Hiscock Mansion, eventually became the Corinthian Club. That is one of the mansions that survived. Judge Hiscock was judge of the Court of Appeals, a fairly famous lawyer and jurist in the Syracuse area. Some of us know the Hamilton White House on Fayette Park and the White Memorial building. Those are both related to the extended White family and they were involved in a couple of the houses on James Street. Everson — people associate Everson with the museum, but there’s two buildings that used to stand on James Street that are both related to the Everson Museum, directly or indirectly. One is the home of Helen Everson, whose bequest is what eventually generated the present Everson Museum. And the Lynch Mansion stood on James Street. That was where the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts was located for many, many years. The Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, which was kind of a predecessor to the Everson, was located at a large mansion on James Street, at the corner of State and James. Now, it’s the site of a gas station.

Q: What was it that sparked your interest in James Street as opposed to another neighborhood in Syracuse?

A: When I came to Syracuse, I would explain I’m the director of the Preservation Association. We’re trying to save old buildings. Invariably, somebody would say, ‘Oh my gosh, you should have seen James Street back in its heyday.’ It seemed to be something that permeated through the psyche of people in Syracuse, especially ones that were old enough to remember when it was in its heyday. From my research, I knew that there were mansions on West Onondaga Street and Genesee Street, a lot of around Fayette Park. It was clear that in the memories of people in Syracuse, James Street stood head and shoulders above the other streets.

Q: Was there anything in your research that surprised you?

A: A lot of houses that had these elaborate gardens. The Barnes-Hiscock Mansion had probably one of the most elaborate on James Street, probably one of the most elaborate in Central New York. Other mansions also had greenhouses, orchards in their yards and some of these houses had three to four acres of land around them. There’s a whole sort of landscape horticultural history to James Street. We touched on it to a certain extent.

Q: What is it that fascinates you about local history and keeps you coming back to it and keeps you involved writing about it even after you’ve retired?

A: I’ve always had an interest in that goes way back to when I was in high school. Maybe I got it from my mother who used to tell family stories. And she would tell stories that her mother, my grandmother, told her.

“The Gilded Age on Syracuse’s James Street” is expected to be published in mid-April. Those interested can pre-order it through the Syracuse University Press (press.syr.edu) as well as Amazon.com and thriftbooks.com.