Marriott Syracuse Downtown to host celebration in August for 100th anniversary

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Earlier this month, NewsChannel 9 announced that Marriott Syracuse Downtown, or former Hotel Syracuse, and the Onondaga Historial Association (OHA) opened a new exhibit, “Stalwart in Structure, Beautiful in Design” on its 100th anniversary.

Now, the City of Syracuse has announced it also has plans with the hotel to celebrate its 100th birthday this summer.

“This is a community hotel, owned and built by the community over 100 years ago…” said Ed Riley, founding partner and managing member of Hotel Syracuse Restoration. “The celebration will be similar to when the hotel first opened 100 years ago, a three-day celebration.”

On Tuesday, March 5, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh stated that as part of the celebration of 100 years, the city wanted to make sure that the community was very much involved in the three-day celebration this summer.

“In City Government, we often talk about our parks as our community’s backyards and when you think about this hotel…This hotel in many ways is our community’s living room,” said Mayor Walsh. “As we celebrate this special anniversary, it’s about the community and looking at the organizations that are gonna be supported on these efforts.”

According to Riley, the three-day celebration will start on Friday, Aug. 16, and end on Sunday, Aug. 18 at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown.

The celebration will support local nonprofits including the Rescue Mission Alliance of Syracuse, McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center, Food Bank of Central New York and the Onondaga Historical Association.

According to Riley, the first day of the celebration will include a formal upscale dinner, the second day will be similar to the hotel’s New Year’s celebrations with a 1920’s themed party supporting local non-profits, and the third day will be an open house and block party on the Warren St. entrance.

“We will have the hotel opened up and host a ghost tour, and you’ll be able to go through the entire hotel,” said Riley.

Robert Searing, the curator of history at the Onondaga Historical Association, said OHA is beyond excited for this celebration and to show the rich history of the hotel.

“I moved to Syracuse in 2006 and this hotel was boarded up and from what I understand, slated for demolition from 2008-2009, and I remember thinking how sad it was. So to see it now, back to life, restored to its original grandeur, I think it’s such an important symbol of the city’s resilience,” said Searing. “The fact it’s here, it’s been through the ups and downs of this community for 100 years, from the roaring 20s through the depression and the hard times in the 70s and 80s, to see it come back, you can’t say enough about the partnership with Ed Riley and what Ben Walsh did before he was mayor with the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency. It’s a symbol of the city and of the perseverance of this community.”

Some iconic rooms and paintings in the hotel include the 1940s mural of significant Syracuse moments that was restored in 2014 after being covered up for years since the 1980s and the cloud mural in the famous ballroom.

Guests can explore all that and more this summer when the Marriott’s birthday bash begins. More information about the celebration will be released as we get closer to the date.