Goethe-Schiller Monument

"It is through beauty that we arrive at freedom." - Friedrich Schiller "Music is liquid architecture; Architecture is frozen music." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe [Goethe-Schiller Monument wikipedia page]

Nighttime pictures of I-81

Sacred Places Symposium

Grace Episcopal Church in Syracuse (courtesy of wikipedia)

The Preservation Association of Central New York will be hosting a statewide conference to discuss the preservation and potential uses for scared buildings next weekend. The conference will be held on Saturday, November 16th at St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral (310 Montgomery St in Downtown Syracuse).

Local case studies being examined include Grace Episcopal Church, designed by Horatio Nelson White, and the former African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, designed by Charles Erastus Colton.

The symposium costs $40 for the general public and $25 for PACNY members. More information including registration can be found on the PACNY website.

Saving historic places of worship is something that needs to be looked at more seriously as the years move on and as parishes close / merge, organized religion membership dwindles, and by the mere fact that we just don't build places of worship as beautifully as we used to. It's a topic I've been meaning to tackle on this blog for quite some time (and I'll get around to it), so I'm glad that these type of discussions are happening before time runs out on these beautiful pieces of architecture.

Champs-Élysées: Paris, France

Comparing Paris to Syracuse is kind of like, well, comparing a fine Cabernet Sauvignon to a glass of salt water. But the hopeless dreamer in me believes that one day Syracuse's post-Interstate 81 land, a 1.4 mile stretch of highway running from Pearl Street to Adams Street, could somewhat resemble Champs-Élysées in Paris (albeit on a much smaller scale and perhaps incorporating ideas of mass transit).

Obviously, if the boulevard concept is ever realized (which is one of several options being considered by the state), a city like Syracuse cannot realistically expect the exact same results as Paris; especially right from the get-go. Still, it never hurts to think big and to dream. Even without having visited it, you can feel how alive the street is. It emanates from the pictures.