TOP 20 Other Things You Didn't Know Were From Syracuse, NY

The Follow up to the popular Top 20 Inventions You Didn’t Know Were From Syracuse, NY Syracuse, NY has always been a center of innovation. I bet you’ll be surprised to find out about some of the stories penned here, people from here and the trivia tidbits in this countdown. Learn more about Syracuse’s illustrious history on a NOexcuses distinctive neighborhood tours - www.noexcusessyr.com Be sure to check out #takeatour videos produced each week by the Syracuse New Times to learn about these inventions and more in short videos created by Michael John Heagerty with Christi Smith & Ty Marshal #didyouknow - use this tag to check out awesome facts by NOexcuses about local inventions, people, places & things! #315protip - up-to-date tips about happenings around town from NOexcuses. © Copyright 2015 - Michael John Heagerty -Edits by Ty Marshal - All Rights Reserved.

1. DUMBO penned in Syracuse, NY

Michael Barrier / Via michaelbarrier.com

#didyouknow "A tale of Two Helens" - Dumbo (1941) was Disney's fourth animated classic film and supposedly saved the corporation from financial ruin. It was made to recoup the financial losses of FANTASIA. However, Helen Aberson along with the help of her husband at the time Harold Pearl and local illustrator Helen Durney penned the children's book "Dumbo, the flying Elephant" in 1938. In 1949, Helen A. sold the story to Roll-A-Book publishers locally, who shortly there after sold it to Disney.

#315protip - There's no flying elephants, but the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park has Asian Elephants that can grow to weigh up to 11,000lbs. Plus they're on display 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., 362 days a year Plan your trip!

2. Hearing is Believing - Movietone sound for motion pictures

Via jaxonfilmfest.wordpress.com

#didyouknow The Movietone sound system is an optical sound-on-film method of recording sound for motion pictures that guarantees synchronization between sound and picture. Theodore "theo" Case invented Movietone in his lab he created to study the photo-electric properties of materials.

#315protip The Palace Theater of Eastwood plays films all year round including the popular Brew & View series. These films use variable track film & sound when projecting! Check their site for upcoming schedule.

3. The Birth of BYRNE DAIRY in a basement!

Photos by Samuel Gruber / Via mycentralnewyork.blogspot.com

#didyouknow "The Milkman's Son" The next time you're chomping on Dinosaur BBQ and you notice the un-assuming terracotta triangular triumph across the street you might want to order a tall glass of milk to wash it down with. The Byrne Square building was erected in 1920 and originally meant for selling rubber tires as a showroom. A failed dairy business in the basement led to Matthew V. Byrne taking a stab at it - aka the birthplace of BYRNE DAIRY! To this day a locally owned family business with nearly 50 shops throughout the region.

#315protip - Byrne Dairy’s average farm is only 35 miles from it’s plants where they receive around 50 million pounds of milk each month. Milk that they use to make ice cream. Speaking of ice cream did you know that Gannon's downtown location is open all year round? Check them out - new flavors developed all the time!

4. Shake your CABOOSE

Bob Purdy Collection / Via gino.cdfw.net

#didyouknow "How we roll" The Auburn Syracuse Railway can lay claim to the invention of the caboose in 1840. According to the tales the conductor was tired of being out in the elements hanging off the train in the open, so he built an enclosed car of wood. Here are some railway workers engaged in shenanigans complete with a goat on the roof of this Caboose that connected cars of the Utica & Mohawk Valley to our local rails.

#315protip - Trains have always been a common theme in Syracuse's history. The last remaining street rail in the city can be found at perseverance park directly across from the White Building that houses Clark's Ale House. Grab yourself a roast beef sandwich with horsey mayo (ask for a side of mayo behind the counter and then mix in your own horseradish to taste!) and walk the rail while you shake your caboose!

5. From above-ground, to the UNDERGROUND railroad...

Via flickrhivemind.net

"Can you Dig it?" The oldest religious building in our city looks like a small red church built in the simple Greek revival style. If you've never been inside the former Wesleyan Methodist church, it should be your MISSION. While you're sitting in the brightly colored, highly decorated purveyor of Picante Puerco burritos and Plantains take note, you're enjoying Papaya juice just above one of the busiest stops along the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. The church members of that time were active in abolitionist activities, publishing and support for women’s rights.

#315protip Visit the permanent exhibit at the Onondaga Historical Association, less than a mile away on Montgomery street. You can view some of the faces carved into the clay and dirt walls from the tunnels exhumed beneath the MISSION. You'll learn why the faces were carved and more about Syracuse's role in the Freedom Trail and Underground Railroad!

6. Stolp's Woods and the freshest water in the North East

2009 Strathmore Series #1 - The Res. by William Christopherson / Via absolutearts.com

#didyouknow Today the area known as Woodland Reservoir is located high above the Strathmore neighborhood. In the late 1800's it was once a small wooded area called Lilly's Grove known for picnics and pleasure parties. Until 1890 when the city seized the grove to create the new water system for Syracuse, drawing from Skaneateles Lake. It took the water four days to arrive and fill the new res. The old res. was called Wilkinson res., today we know it as Hiawatha Lake at Upper Onondaga Park!

#315protip - The Woodland Res. has some of the most spectacular panoramic views of the city! There are few times that the view isn't worth the climb, but there are a few days that you should think about getting up there early - The fourth of July and Memorial Day! You can literally see all the fireworks from here to Liverpool! Plus you can jog/walk your dog around the pathway!

7. VIP After Life - Marcellus Caskets

Audra Paszkowski at The National Museum of Funeral History / Via audraski.blogspot.com

#didyouknow Besides being presidents, what do Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy have in common? Besides the obvious answers #didyouknow they were all buried in Marcellus Casket Company's handmade VIP caskets.

#315protip - The shell of the building that once housed the Casket Company partly burnt down, but a NYC company has repurposed wood from the structure for high-end bespoke flooring. You can have a piece of history as your hardwoods if you've got the dough. Learn more here.

8. Captain BROWN - The other Brown.

Robert Messenger / Via oztypewriter.blogspot.com

#didyouknow Sure there's SU captain Jim Brown who is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional athletes in the history of the United States. Then there's captain of industry Alexander T. Brown whose inventions include the Smith Typewriter and the hundreds of other patents that he created (Learn about others via Top 20 Inventions You Didn’t Know Were From Syracuse, NY)

But #didyouknow that he also was rumored to keep a Brown Bear in a cage inside his massive Carriage House behind his castle-esk victorian on West Onondaga street? Oh and Gordon Wright was the Architect who designed it 1895.

#315protip - At one point in time A.T. Brown was the president of the four largest manufacturing companies in Syracuse, NY. Odds are you've used a device that he had a patent on, In fact I'm positive you have - because you've ridden a bike, used a stopwatch or used a pneumatic tire, or typed out a paper on a vintage typewriter (The list goes on...) Check out the Public Art Task Force's project Rack Pack featuring brightly colored bike racks around town that dually act as public art.

9. Believe it or Not - The Mizpah Towers

He Shi / Via cusescapes.tumblr.com

#didyouknow The Mizpah Towers is the ONLY building in Syracuse to ever be listed in Ripley's Believe it or Not. It has combined use as a hotel on the top 3 floors and a church on the ground 2 levels. It was based on and inspired by Canterbury Cathedral, one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It was also designed by Gordon Wright! PS - Mizpah is the Hebrew word for "Watch Tower." The Towers have seen better days and is currently a sanctuary for birds (not what Gordon had in mind I'm sure.)

10. Earthy & Crunchy - Granola invented here!

Via bchistory.org

#didyouknow Dr. James Caleb Jackson, a local nutritionist, amongst other things is credit with inventing the first cold-ready to eat cereal. He developed it at Glen Haven on the south side of Skaneateles Lake, it was called Granula. Dr. Kellogg, who visited Glen Haven started producing a similar product, he was sued and changed the name to GRANOLA.

#315protip - Check out local Groovy Granola is all natural and always made with high quality ingredients in small batches by hand. They use local New York State Maple Syrup and Honey whenever possible. It is then baked slow at a low temperature. visit their site for more info - groovy granola

11. Nice Flat Old Sport - F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in Syracuse as a boy

Via notable-quotes.com

Quote by F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, Tender is the Night

#didyouknow As a young man F. Scott Fitzgerald lived on James Street at The Kasson Flats, which is known as Syracuse's first apartment building? He lived here from January 1901 to September 1903. Maybe he dreamed of penning Gatsby while he glanced upon the Barnes-Hiscock House or the Century Club each just a few short blocks away from his temporary residence.

#315protip - The Barnes Hiscock Mansion was originally built in 1853 by George and Rebecca Barnes, who were ardent abolitionists. Did you know the Barnes Hiscock Mansion is available for weddings, showers and other private parties? Talk about Swanky! Learn more about booking here.

12. Not so Weeping Willows - Willow Weaved Baskets in Liverpool

Diane / Via city-data.com

#didyouknow That when the salt industry was declining a German immigrant named John Fisher saw opportunity along the shores of Onondaga Lake in Liverpool? He is credited with the first willow shoot weaved basket. There was even a period of time that Liverpool, NY was producing more baskets than anywhere in the world.

#315protip - Get handmade weaved baskets from local artisans at Eureka Crafts in Armory Square all year round.

13. All you need is a Wish - Real Life Aunt Jemima lived in Syracuse

Via changeoffaces.wordpress.com

#didyouknow Anna Short Harrington, born in 1897 in South Carolina and moved to Syracuse, NY with a dream to cook for a living. She had her five children to support and was the 3rd incarnation of Aunt Jemima? Quaker Oats found her cooking at the Fair in 1935. She played the role for 14 years, made good money, bought a large house and rented rooms and would make pancakes for breakfast 3 times a week! The house was demolished for the coming of interstate 81.

#315protip - Aunt Jemima would be proud of the flapjacks that are served up at local diner Stella's. They are open 7 days a week and always busy with a motto that says it all "EAT IT. You'll Like It!" If it's just you or you + 1 and there is room at the bar, saddle up - you don't have to wait to be sat and your coffee will be filled up twice as fast!

14. Rest in Comfort - Comfort Tyler's son-in-law created first standardized clothing in 1880's

Via findagrave.com

#didyouknow The towering pyramid at Oakwood Cemetery, now sealed for all time, holds the remains of members of the Longstreet and Tyler family lines. Cornelius Tyler Longstreet, (1814-1881), who built the mausoleum, was a successful merchant in the wholesale clothing trade. It is said he created the standardized clothing in the 1880's. He lived in Yates Castle (Now Syracuse University's Crouse Memorial College - designed by Archimedes Russell) during his later years. His pyramid mausoleum is one of the most curious at Oakwood.

#315protip - You know who else makes homemade clothing for sale locally - Lilipad Creations - original handmade fashions for the everyday haute mamas. Check them out!

15. Rats! - mousetrap patent belonged to Syracuse native from England

Via mylearning.org

#didyouknow That the Patent Office has issued over 4,400 mousetrap patents, however, only about twenty of those patents have made any money? Well, Robert E. Dietz ( a lantern manufacturer) held an English patent issued by Queen Victoria in 1873 for a self-setting animal trap better known as a mousetrap.

#315protip - You can find a huge antique version of the mousetrap on display amongst hundreds of other collectibles at Behind the Iron Gates at the edge of Tipp Hill. Get lost in the largest collection of local antiques under the roof of a victorian home that is full of old rare and unique items!

16. Babeous Corpus - First Female to practice law in U.S. Supreme Court

Via britannica.com

#didyouknow American feminist and lawyer, Belva Ann Lockwood, was the first woman admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court. Did you also know she ran for president of the U.S. twice? She attended and graduated from Genesee College (forerunner of Syracuse University) in 1857. Moved to D.C. and proceeded to become one of the most effective advocates of women’s rights of her time. You go girl.

17. Near or Far - Ner-A-Car first & only motorcycles manufactured in Syracuse, NY

Via usscootermuseum.com

#didyouknow The ONLY motorcycle to be manufactured in Syracuse was the Ner-A-Car, designed by Carl Neracher in 1918. There were 3 models each low-riding foot forward style bikes with friction drive transmissions and a top speed of 35mph. Popular with woman riders since they could wear long skirts and ride still. The Ner-A-Car won several medals for reliability in long-distance road trials, including the team prize in the 1925 ACU 1000 mile Stock Machine Trial. Only 10,000 were made in Syracuse!

Crouse-Hinds Company founder Huntington B. Crouse and agroup of investorsfunded the Ner-A-Car Corporation, which began production of Neracars in October 1921.

18. The Yellow Fellow from Syracuse - Most popular bicycle ever?

Via oldspokeshome.com

#didyouknow The E.C. Sterns model The Yellow Fellow from Syracuse was manufactured by the thousands at the Syracuse, New York plant and "made the name of the city familiar in almost every corner of the world." The model was produced in one-seater, two-seater tandems, triplets and sextets. Slogans were many but some popular included "Ride a 'Stearns' and be content" and "Where'er one turns, He finds a Stearns." On August 14, 1896, Eugene A. Neidert rode a Yellow Fellow up the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. and every newspaper in the country caught wind of it! by 1901 they were selling a chainless model (see above photo.) The company motto was "ridden in every civilized country on the globe" (and they were!)

#315protip - Need a spare? Is your chain loose? Need a tune-up? Mello Velo bike shop on Westcott has got you covered and then some. They have Spin nights that are conducted using your own bicycle and a stationary trainer on Wednesdays! And popular Thursday night group rides when the weather breaks!

19. Nickel for your thoughts - Chief John Big Tree

Via ithankyouarthur.blogspot.com

#didyouknow Chief John Big Tree was a member of the Seneca Nation and an actor who appeared in 59 films between 1915 and 1950. His profile was familiar to millions as the face of the Indian Head Nickel. As a Hollywood actor, as the profile on the Pontiac car emblem and as the face on the nickel he represented an image of Native Americans for a generation. (there's plenty of debate over whether or not he was one of the 3 chiefs used to make the composite of profiles to create the face on the coin to this day.)

20. Island of Coneys - Hoffman Coneys (Lists make us Hungry)

Kathy Watts / Via shelteredgirlmeetsworld.com

#didyouknow Let's set the slang straight - Rochester = White Hots, Syracuse = Coneys! They originated in the 1920's and have been a staple of Central New Yorkers diets every since. Your neighborhood butcher shop - Hoffman's, sharing 134 years of experience, old world craftsmanship and classic flavors with a national audience is the original! If you're in the mood for one cooked up right head to Heid's of Liverpool and opt for the "Mixed Double" don't forget the spicy German Style Mustard to go on top!

#315protip - In 1932, Hofmann's created the Snappy Griller, that has led to the cult following it has to this day. People from all over the country order Snappy Grillers to get a taste that only Hofmann can create. So bring a bag to the next cookout and be the envy of the picnic.