Armory Square has another new attraction turning heads downtown.

Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor and New York state Senator John DeFrancisco flipped a switch that turned on the lights in the new SU Warehouse in Armory Square.

The Warehouse will become the new home of the School of Architecture as Slocum Hall undergoes renovations.

The several hundred freshmen students visiting downtown as part of opening weekend’s events stopped and turned their heads toward the former Dunk & Bright warehouse while Cantor and DeFrancisco conducted a 10-second countdown leading up to the building’s lighting.

‘We’re gonna light that building up like a candle,’ said Gary Spears, a radio disc jockey with Galaxy Communications before introducing Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll.

The new warehouse was lit by over 300 blue and yellow lights. When Cantor and DeFrancisco flipped the switch, hundreds of blue and white balloons were released into the air.

Driscoll said bringing the university to Armory Square is like a ‘new city within the old,’ and there is a new ‘flow of ideas, people, food and music.’

The event, hosted by Galaxy Communications, was one of the many opening weekend activities designed to introduce the incoming freshman class to SU life. Students were bused downtown where they could shop and mingle throughout Armory Square. Some businesses set up tables along the street selling their merchandise and handing out information and advertisements.

The Warehouse sits at the edge of Armory Square on Walton Street. The building is currently being renovated and is set to open in January 2006.

‘Every inch of that first floor will be opened to the creativity of Syracuse,’ Cantor said.

Published on August 28, 2005 at 12:00 pm