I drove through Syracuse once on the way back from Canada. I was too tired to stop and explore the city, pluse it was late at night anyway. For those who have visited what is your opinion of the city?

What is the downtown like?
Are there dense neighborhoods?
Is the city still holding its own or improving?

eh, syracuse is ok. downtown has a lot of historic buildings and between SU and clinton square...it appears to have life to it. there are some nice dense old hoods throughout the city. syracuse, economically, has seen better days and just eeking along now like the rest of new york.

Syracuse's downtown is looking better than I can remember in a long time, but unfortunately the rest of the city (with a couple of exceptions) is declining. There's a lot to see there for a city of its size, and I'd definitely recommend stopping if you have the time. If you're into art the Everson is a must-see.

Architectural Highlights:
Niagara Mohawk Building
Syracuse Savings Bank (now Bank of America)
Gridley Building
State Tower Building
Everson Museum of Art
University Block
County Courthouse/Columbus Circle
City Hall
Armory District
Crouse College (SU)
Hall of Languages (SU)
Hendricks Chapel/Quad (SU)

Syracuse is pretty decent, at least parts. Despite being one of Upstate's "better performers" of late, you don't really get that impression just driving though, however. At least I didn't.

Overall though, it's not bad for a city it's size, by any measure. I'm sure you could easily kill a few days there.

Probably the least talked about city on the NE forum...definitley the least talked about in Upstate NY. I've only been to Syracuse twice; and it just didn't impress me too much. Sort of like a bigger version of Utica (which I'm more familiar with because my grandpa lives there) , only with a big ass university in the middle of it.

^^ Technically the SU campus isn't in the middle, rather the city grew up around it. That and the salt trade. (Hence the SU nickname of Saltine Warriors prior to Orangemen.) Also a decent trade center being at the first major crossroads on I-81 (biggest trucking corridor in the US), and Hancock Int'l is a major cargo terminal, last I heard. Not that that stuff lends itself to tourism, it doesn't.

The SU campus is pretty nice (I know it somewhat as my gf went there), and I was just at a wedding a few weeks ago in Thorden Park, which seems to function sort of as Syracuse's "Central" or "Delaware" park.

Obviously the big draw in Syracuse is the Carousel Center (which is impressive, but massively overrated IMHO, when you have duplicate stores in the same mall...), but like I said, you could kill a few days there, though I don't know about visiting explicitly.

It's a cool city. I passed through it once. :cheers1:

Reminds me a bit like Hartford...but only a bit.