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Revision as of 18:17, 18 July 2007
- This article is about Utica in New York, USA. For other places with this name, see Utica.
City of Utica | |
|---|---|
| Downtown Utica Downtown Utica | |
| Nickname: Handshake City | |
 | |
| Country | United States of America |
| State | New York |
| County | Oneida |
| Incorporated | 1832 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Timothy Julian |
| Population (2000) | |
• Total | 60,653 |
Utica, New York is a city in the State of New York and the county seat of Oneida County. The current mayor of Utica is Timothy Julian. The City of Utica is situated within the region referred to as the Mohawk Valley and the Leatherstocking Region in Eastern New York State. Utica has an extensive park system, with winter and summer sports facilities.
Like many industrial towns and cities in the northeastern Rust Belt, Utica has experienced a major reduction in manufacturing activity in the past several decades, and is in serious financial trouble; many public services have been curtailed to save money. Suburbs in Utica have begun to experience suburban sprawl; this is common in many Upstate New York cities, which are suffering from what the Sierra Club termed "sprawl without growth," although, recently, notable efforts have been made to revitalize the Downtown and Oneida Square areas of Utica by plans for the construction of quality apartment housing.
The arrival of a large number of Bosnian immigrants over the past several years has stanched a population loss that had been steady for more than three decades. Bosnian immigrants now constitute about 10% of the total population of Utica. The city's economy is heavily dependent on commercial growth in its suburbs, a trend that is characterized by development of green sites in neighboring villages and does little to revitalize the city itself.
History
Utica was first settled in 1773, on the site of Fort Schuyler which was built in 1758 and abandoned after the French and Indian War. The city's name, which was said to have been picked out of a hat [citation needed], is after Utica, Tunisia.
During the American Revolution the original settlement was destroyed by Tories and Native Americans. General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben turned General George Washington's Continental Army voluteers into a more-professional fighting force. The settlement was eventually rebuilt. Utica was incorporated in 1832.
Utica's location on the Erie Canal stimulated its industrial development. The middle section of the Canal, from Rome to Salina, was the first portion to open in 1820. The Chenango Canal, connecting Utica and Binghamton, opened in 1836, and provided a further stimulus for economic development by providing water transportation of coal to Northeast Pennsylvania.
F. W. Woolworth opened his first store in Utica in 1878, but the store failed within a year.[1]
By the late Nineteenth Century, Utica had become the home of the textile industry of the United States, but, by mid Twentieth Century, virtually all of the textile mills closed and migrated to the American South. In the wake of the demise of the textile industry, Utica became a major player in the tool and die industry, which thrived in the the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries, eventually declining in the late Twentieth Century. Like the textile industry before it, the machine tool industry largely forsook Utica for the American South, with one notable example being The Chicago Pneumatic Company, which shuttered its extensive manufacturing facility in Utica in 1997 and relocated to Rock Hill, South Carolina.
In the early and mid-Twentieth Century, Utica had become a major manufacturing center for radios, manufactured by the General Electric company, which, at one time, employed some 8,000 workers there, and was once known as: "The radio capital of the world." However, by the mid-1960s, General Electric had moved its radio manufacturing to the Far East. In the early 1990s, GE's Light Military Electronics operation in Utica was sold to Lockheed Martin and soon closed altogether. In 1996 the former Lockheed facility was purchased by Oneida County's Industrial Development Association for lease to ConMed Corporation (founded by Utica local Eugene Corasanti) for use as a manufacturing facility and the company's worldwide headquarters, bringing 500 new jobs to the area. [2]
The Utica Psychiatric Center, the first psychiatric center in New York State, has been open in Utica since 1843.
Because of the decline of industry and employment in the mid to late twentieth century, Utica became known as "The City that God Forgot." In the 1980s and early 1990s, some of Utica's residents could be seen driving cars with bumper stickers that read "Last One Out of Utica, Please Turn Out The Lights," clearly taking a more humorous stand on their city's rapid population loss and continued economic struggles.
Geography
The Erie Canal, the Mohawk River, the New York Barge Canal, and the New York State Thruway pass through the north part of the city. The city is adjacent to the border of Herkimer County, New York.
Utica is located at 43°5′48″N 75°13′55″W / 43.09667°N 75.23194°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (43.096569, -75.231887)Template:GR in the Mohawk River Valley region of New York State.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 43.0 km² (16.6 mi²). 42.3 km² (16.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.57%) is water.
Snowfall
Average Season Snowfall : 98.9"
2004-05 Final Snowfall Total: 93.4" 2005-06 Final Snowfall Total: 106.8"
Demographics
| Historical populations[3] | |
|---|---|
| Census year |
Population |
| 1840 | 12,782 |
| 1850 | 17,565 |
| 1860 | 22,529 |
| 1870 | 28,804 |
| 1880 | 33,914 |
| 1890 | 44,007 |
| 1900 | 56,383 |
| 1910 | 74,419 |
| 1920 | 94,156 |
| 1930 | 101,740 |
| 1940 | 100,518 |
| 1950 | 100,489 |
| 1960 | 100,410* |
| 1970 | 91,611* |
| 1980 | 75,632* |
| 1990 | 68,637* |
| 2000 | 60,651 |
| 2003 | 59,947 (Est.) |
| * Source document from Oneida County, not Census Bureau. Document here. | |
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 60,651 people, 25,100 households, and 14,231 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,432.3/km² (3,710.0/mi²). There were 29,186 housing units at an average density of 689.2/km² (1,785.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.42% White, 12.92% African American, 0.28% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.16% from other races, and 2.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.79% of the population.
There were 25,100 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. 37.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,916, and the median income for a family was $33,818. Males had a median income of $27,126 versus $21,676 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,248. About 19.8% of families and 24.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.0% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.
Cultural venues
Utica contains several different music venues. Utica Monday Nite features exceptional Blues and Jazz musicians from the area. Utica is also home to the Utica Symphony Orchestra.
Utica is the home of the Stanley Theatre for the Performing Arts, a 2,945 seat Mexican-baroque movie palace, built in 1928, and designed by prolific theater architect Thomas Lamb, that is fully restored and serves as the premier cultural showcase for the region. The theatre is undergoing a major renovation in 2007 to enlarge the stage area and attract large productions.
Utica is the home of the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute Museum of Art, housed in an imposing International-style building, built in 1960, and designed by noted architect Philip Johnson, that was considered by Philip Johnson to be his finest work.
Utica is the home of the Utica War Memorial Auditorium, a 4,000 seat multi-purpose area, built in 1959, and was fully renovated in the 1990s. The "new" Madison Square Garden, in New York City, was modeled after the Utica War Memorial Auditorium.
Utica has an impressive public library which was founded and funded locally, and is not a Carnegie library. The Utica Public Library was founded in 1838, and its current home, a handsome structure on Genesse Street, was dedicated in 1903, and extensively renovated in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Open throughout the year, The Children's Museum of History, Natural History, Science and Technology attracts local visitors and global tourists.
The Utica Zoo is home to the world's largest watering can. The 2,000 pound can is 15 feet 6 inches in height and 12 feet in diameter. [citation needed]
Utica is home of the Hotel Utica, a Renaissance Revival structure, built in 1912, that was meticulously restored in 1999-2001, and was patterned on the restoration of The Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., at a cost of $13 million, by Joseph R. Carucci and Charles N. Gaetano. It is currently part of the Clarion Collection hotel chain.
Annual events
Utica is the site of the annual Boilermaker Road Race (the largest 15K road race in the United States), and the Running Hall of Fame. Universities in Utica include Utica College, State University of New York Institute of Technology, Pratt at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Mohawk Valley Community College, and Utica School of Commerce. Nearby colleges include Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Herkimer County Community College in Herkimer, New York, and Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. The Stanley Theater of Utica is one of the best known theatres in the eastern U.S.
In the winter, Utica hosts Central New York's largest winter festival, Snowfari. The event draws thousands of winter recreational enthusiasts while raising funds for the Utica Zoo. Snowfari offers regional qualifiers for Winter Empire State Games events, SBX (snowboarder cross), mountain bike races, and The Cardboard Sled Race, to name a few events.
Throughout the summer, Utica has a celebration of Visual Arts, Performing Arts, History and Heritage, called Utica Monday Nite.
Education
Utica is the home of Mohawk Valley Community College, which was founded in 1946 as the New York State Center of Applied Arts and Sciences at Utica, and was the first community college established in New York State.
Utica is the home of Utica College, founded in the 1946, as a four-year college affiliated with Syracuse University. While Utica College became fully independent from Syracuse University in 1995, its undergraduates still receive Syracuse degrees. Utica College was originally an urban campus in the Oneida Square area of the city. In 1961, it relocated to a modern 128-acre campus on the west side of Utica. Currently a new science wing and additional buildings are being added to the campus.
Music and Art
Utica is also home to a thriving art community, largely due to the existence of the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute Museum of Art and community art space The Resonance Center, as well as the Central New York Community Arts Council.
Local inventions
The "Union Suit"- a type of red-colored long underwear jumpsuit with a buttoned flap on the backside was invented in Utica. [citation needed]
The first color newspaper, "The Utica Saturday Globe" was published in Utica. [citation needed]
The Utica Crib was named for the New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica where it was heavily used in the 19th century to confine patients who refused to stay in their beds.[4]
Food and drink in Utica
Unique foods that are popular in the area include:
- Halfmoons (a black and white pastry made with a large (5") dark chocolate cake style cookie iced on one half with white cream frosting and the other half with dark chocolate frosting) [citation needed]
- Tomato Pie (a type of rectangular thick-crust pizza with a sweet tomato sauce, served cold) [citation needed]
- Chicken Rigatoni (Chicken Riggies as called by the locals) Riggie Fest occurs every May in the city. [citation needed]
- Greens (a generally spicy dish made of escarole with various ingredients (depending on recipe) such as potatoes, sausage, hot peppers) [citation needed]
- Jelly Buns (Jelly Bun month is February at Holland Farm's Bakery). The bakery sells around 70,000 Jelly Buns during this month. [citation needed]
Utica has many offerings of ethnic food, mostly Italian but also Greek and Lebanese. There are also more and more Bosnian stores and restaurants.
Several widely distributed beers are brewed at the historic F.X. Matt Brewery including The Saranac line of beers, and Utica Club, a naturally-aged pilsner beer, which was the first beer to be sold in the United States after Prohibition was repealed. Other famous sites include Utica Zoo, Munson Williams Art Museum, Children's Museum, Baggs Square, the Oriskany Monument, and the Val Bialis Alpine Ski Area, located in Roscoe Conkling Park, right in the heart of Utica, which is one of the few municipal ski areas in the United States.
Notables from Utica
- Joe Bonamassa, musician
- Steven Brill, film writer/director
- Dave Cash, baseball player
- Gary Chalmers, school superintendent on The Simpsons (fictional)
- Wayne R. Felton, Bishop
- Annette Funicello, actress
- Ward Hunt, Supreme Court Justice
- Mark Lemke, baseball player
- Ron O'Neal, actor
- Tiffany Pollard, reality star
- James Schoolcraft Sherman, politician
- Isaac Singer, inventor
- Will Smith (football player)
- Andy Van Slyke, baseball player
- Steve Wynn, developer
- James Zogby, political advocate
- John Zogby, pollster
External links
Media Outlets
Television Stations
- WKTV-NBC NEWSChannel 2 - Central New York's NBC Affiliate
- WUTR- Central New York's ABC Affiliate
- WFXV- Central New York's FOX Affiliate
Newspapers
- Observer-Dispatch - Utica's daily newspaper
- The Daily Sentinel - Rome's daily newspaper
- The Evening Telegram - Herkimer's daily newspaper
- The Evening Times - Little Falls' daily newspaper
- The Oneida Daily Dispatch - Oneida's daily newspaper
Educational institutions
- Hamilton College
- Herkimer County Community College
- Mohawk Valley Community College
- Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
- SUNY Institute of Technology
- Utica School of Commerce
- Utica College
