History is discovered

Architectural stone discovered

Architectural stone discovered

The Kirkpatrick Street Pump Station is a critical component of Onondaga County's efforts to improve water quality in Onondaga Lake.

The pump station's construction site shared land with facilities of the Syracuse City Department of Parks and Recreation. That land included City storage of irreplaceable architectural elements of an old courthouse, the County's third courthouse that was located on West Genesee Street in downtown Syracuse until the middle of the 20th century.

The stones were collected for salvage, Sept 5, 2001.

The stones were collected for salvage, Sept 5, 2001.

The stone had been stored on the site adjacent to the old pump station—and seemingly forgotten. It was found on rotten wooden pallets and sinking into the soft earth.

WEP retrieved the stone and preserved it. City personnel transported it to secure storage at the airport. It is now a part of the community's history that has been saved.

The historical stone was shrink-wrapped in plastic and placed on plastic pallets, Nov 7, 2001.