From the tradition-rich soil of Syracuse University sprouts a crop of landmarks steeped in history. Students walk by these monuments every day, but they may never stop to wonder what lies beneath them. 

Place of Remembrance

The Place of Remembrance, a monument to those lost in the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, marks the midpoint of what has been dubbed ‘The Gateway to the University.’ In the background, the Hall of Languages stands guard over the engraved names of the 35 students killed in the bombing on their way home from studying abroad.

Before the memorial’s construction, there was a flooding problem with the steps leading up to the Hall of Languages, said Mary O’Brien, Syracuse University reference archivist. ‘They figured, ‘Hey, as long as we’re going to have this Place of Remembrance, we might as well redo the whole thing.’ And that’s what they did,’ O’Brien said.

Crouse Chimes

The first lines of Syracuse University’s alma mater read, ‘Where the vale of Onondaga / Meets the eastern sky / Proudly stands our Alma Mater / On her hilltop high.’ No building embodies those opening lines more than Crouse College. John Crouse expressed a wish that the building be endowed with chimes, which would ring out over the ‘vale of Onondaga.’

The brothers of Delta Kappa Epsilon dutifully rang the bells, O’Brien said. During World War II, when all the men went off to war, the tasks fell to the sisters of Alpha Phi. Anybody associated with the university can join the Chimemasters, the group now responsible for ringing the Crouse Chimes.

Sacco and Vanzetti

In 1967, when Syracuse University installed the Ben Shahn’s mural mosaic portraying the famous Sacco and Vanzetti case to the side of Huntington Beard Crouse, the university still had a mural program. Many of the murals on campus, O’Brien said, remain remnants from that era, and The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti is no exception.

Invited to create a mural dedicated in honor of Richard Evans III, an SU student killed in a motorcycle accident, Shan decided to install the mosaic on the side of HBC. Despite the controversy inspired by the case, the university community widely accepted and praised the mural.

Kissing Bench

Donated by the Class of 1912, the Kissing Bench was the first gift given to the university by a graduating class. The legend of the Kissing Bench began sometime after the bench was donated. Several versions of the myth of the kissing bench exist, all involving eventual matrimony.

‘The present myth is that if you sit on the bench and kiss, then you will eventually get married,’ O’Brien said.

Robin Hood Oak

The Robin Hood Oak has been a part of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry for the majority of the college’s history. The legend behind this majestic oak is that in the 1920s, a professor from the college went on a trip to London. There he went to Sherwood Forest and visited the mighty oak in the center of the forest, where the legendary hero and his band of followers purportedly hid.

‘While he was there, he picked up some acorns and brought them back,’ O’Brien said. ‘He planted them, and the oak grew.’

The Robin Hood Oak is such an important and iconic part of the ESF campus and culture that the college has a service award named after it.

‘Basically, the Robin Hood Oak Award recognizes a senior student who has made outstanding contributions to the college and to the general public,’ said David White, ESF media relations coordinator. Students are nominated and then a committee of ESF students decides who earns the award, White said.

Holden Observatory

Finished in 1887, the diminutive Holden Observatory was the second building built on campus. Designed by Archimedes Russell, this tiny yet imposing Romanesque building moved from its original location to make room for Eggers Hall in 1991. Despite its new location, Holden still had an unimpeded view of the night skies. Now located between Crouse College and the College of Law, Holden — a national landmark — is no longer an operating observatory.

rlmcgover@syr.edu

Published on November 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm