Re-Utica: Orin Domenico's Passionate Essay

And now that I've alerted you to a new literary magazine in our fair city, I want to share part of an essay from the first issue of Doubly Mad.

The title is "Prayer for the Resurrection of Utica." The author is Orin Domenico, part owner of Cafe Domenico and The Other Side, and sponsor of many events and efforts to bring life back to our city, including the new magazine:

   "….One step to redeeming and rebuilding our cities is to re-imagine them as what American historian and social philosopher, Lewis Mumford, called them: “the greatest of all human works of art.” Cities are products first of human imagination and creativity. I return to James Hillman, who suggested that the “flowing imagination which founded the city in the first place can be re-found. It is planted in our midst always ready to flower—if we begin, not with the ‘problem’ of what needs to be changed, or moved, or built, or demolished, but begin with what already is here, still stands and sings of its soul, still holds the spark of the mind that initiated it.”

Kim Domenico, Wm. Welch & Orin Domenico

Kim and I didn’t move to Utica 22 years ago to address the city as a problem. Our approach in building the Café Domenico and The Other Side has always been to celebrate Utica as the cool place that it already is; to sing of and embrace the preservation of its great architecture and parks, its neighborhoods and small businesses, its bars, cafes and restaurants, its vibrant music and arts, its exotic mix of ethnic cultures, cuisines and people.

  A second step to redeeming Utica is to recognize that to love the soul of the city we must also come to know and love better the land on which it was built, this dark, damp, soulful river valley. The geography of Utica is not a “geography of nowhere,” such as Commercial Drive, with nothing to distinguish it from similar non-places across the continent. Cities—like cultures—arise in relation to particular places; they are unique expressions of the climate, the landscape, the soil from which they spring. Rejecting the sameness of globalization, we must remake Utica in the image of this place, build a local economy in relation to this land.

  Finally, we must ever recall that the driving force of redemption is sacrifice. If we would redeem Utica we must be willing to give our lives to it, to a future here for its children, without thought of personal return beyond the joy of living as if love matters. I finish with a few more words from James Hillman, who said, “I don’t believe love interferes with business or efficiency or the tax base or retail sales or any of the rest—at all. I think the city is built on human relations, of people coming together, and love would increase, if anything, the very things that are desirable in a city.”

 

Doubly Mad

The second issue of Doubly Mad is out and on sale at various locations, including Cafe Domenico. It is edited by William Welch.

In case you haven't heard:

"Doubly Mad is Utica’s own independent journal of literature, arts and ideas! Four years ago, Orin and Kim Domenico started a small publication which they hoped would be a forum for ideas in the Utica area. Now under new editorial leadership, Doubly Mad has returned! We are devoted to publishing fiction, poetry, essays, and artwork. You name it, we’d like to see your work! If you have somethin...g you would like to share with us and readers throughout the city, submit it to doublymad@gmail.com. We’re also looking for anyone who would like to volunteer. We need readers to help us with incoming submissions and people to spread the news about Doubly Mad throughout the region. Come double the madness in Utica!"


You can find this info and more at --  http://www.facebook.com/DoublyMad

Upstate Architecture: Whatever Happened to the Sherman House?

I've quoted my friend, Jeff Boehlert, on this blog before. He knows a thing or two about houses and is interested in local architecture.

He has come across some unanswered questions about a house that used to stand on Genesee Street during Utica's "golden" years. Back when the manufacturers hadn't left the area, when the elms lining Genesee Street hadn't died away from Dutch Elm Disease, when the population had grown to around 100,000 people, when the railroad station was central to both business and pleasure.

 

The above house, portrayed in both a photograph and a post card, belonged to James S. Sherman ("Sunny Jim"), Vice-President of the United States under President William Howard Taft. He was born in Utica, a Hamilton College graduate, a lawyer, mayor of Utica and Representative in Congress. Have you ever noticed all the Sherman Places and Sherman Streets in our city? Hmmm. Well, James Sherman was the inspiration. He had three sons: Sherrill, Richard and Thomas. But I can find out very little about them, or about his wife. They all went on to successful careers--so the brief internet bios say. Where are the Shermans today?

Meanwhile, "Sunny Jim," served his first four year term in D.C. and then, during the re-election campaign in 1912, succumbed to Bright's Disease, a kidney disease, and died a few weeks before the election. 25,000 - 30,000 people showed up in Utica for his funeral, including President Taft.

30,000 people, Vice-President of U.S.

So what did our city do to his beautiful house. Here's what Jeff found out:

"It was an outstanding house on Genesee St., unique, beautiful. Instead of our leaders fighting to make such a treasure a national landmark and/or museum, they allowed it to be torn down as if it had no historical significance what-so-ever. An A&P grocery store was built on it's site-- most likely in an effort to increase the city's commercial tax base. It's my understanding that it was torn down in the 1940's. I'd love to know why, who the players were and how such a horrible decision came to be. Was it public knowledge that the house was to be demolished, or were the people left in the dark?  How wonderful it would be to have The Sherman House here, both for us and for those who pass through our city from other parts of the country and from around the world." 

Thanks to Jeff's interest, I am planning to go to the Historical Society and see if I can find out why the house was torn down, as there is no information on the internet. I will post whatever I can find.

If anyone knows anything about this house or the Sherman family, please respond to this post. I would love any information.

Meanwhile, here is what the Sherman "lot" between Jewett and Clinton Streets looks like today. First, it was an A&P Market. Now it is the home of Rite-Aid, etc. And a parking lot.

Photo by Jeff Boehlert

And below is a photo that shows the house that stood next door to Sherman's. It can be seen in the old photographs of the Sherman house. 

Photo by Jeff Boehlert

Upstate Summer: Dog Days

Dogs of summer. The dog days. We found this guy in a little alley in Hamilton, waiting for his owner. Let sleeping dogs lie, as they say. 

Hamilton, NY on a bright July Sunday

Although citizens of the Utica area often say nothing is going on around here, I find walls like this one wherever I go, filled with event flyers, news of exhibits and shows, sales, etc. Maybe we need to ask ourselves how we define "nothing." Or, conversely, how we define "something."

Upstate Summer: Oneida Lake

You might enjoy a good gossip in the shallow waters of Sylvan Beach,

or get yourself a tattoo, wine, or some worms at the other end of the lake in Brewerton.

Opening Day at the Oneida County Public Market

It was overcast, of course, and the numbers small, some venders familiar, some just starting up. But the Utica Coffee was hot and good and the silence soon broken by acoustic guitar. We felt certain that we were witnessing another example of new life and hope for our broken-down Upstate city. We bought a quart of strawberries.

 

What's Wrong With City Hall

This morning I had to go to City Hall to get a permit for a garage sale. I forgot to take pictures, so I am using a standard photo from Google Image, but I will go back and take photos so you can see the plastic lawn chairs out front in Hanna Park and the uninspired fountain, not to mention the overall, overwhelming ugliness of the building and the parts in need of repair.

As if to provide me with the perfect metaphor, on the bench in front of the building a couple in jeans and dirty tee shirts were smoking and reading the classifieds.

When I went inside, the large lobby was virtually empty and in the city clerks' office several people were standing around expressing their opinions regarding a colleague, I assume.

What is wrong with Utica is exemplified by our current City Hall (see above) and our old City Hall (see below), which the city tore down in the 1960's. Why would any city officials destroy such a magnificent architectural treasure and worse, rebuild in its place this piece of utilitarian nothing that nobody will remember or want to remember. I'm sure they cited heating expenses at the time or parking problems or any excuse to explain why they had no foresight or vision for the city's future.

There would be no London or Paris if the citizens of those cities had torn down every building that became expensive to keep up. The architecture a city preserves will repay it many times over in the future--and that applies not just to great cities but small cities like Saratoga Springs, Cooperstown, and   Skaneateles, NY. to name a few.

But not Utica. My experience in City Hall this morning is what defeats me here, what leaves me, in spite of all the local efforts this blog has been noting of late, feeling hopeless about Utica.