The Golden Age of Onondaga Lake Resorts

The Golden Age of Onondaga Resorts brings to life an era that should not be forgotten when great resorts lined the west shore during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Four of the seven largest resorts were amusement parks with an amazing variety of attractions, including roller coasters, carousels, dance pavilions, shooting galleries, and bowling alleys. Others featured picnic groves beneath majestic maple and chestnut trees.

Many people are familiar with the history of the east shore of Onondaga Lake, thanks to the recreation of a 1650’s French Mission to the Iroquois and the Salt Museum. It was the west shore that was developed as a resort community when the east shore was covered with marshland and thousands of deteriorating solar salt sheds. Today only the Haley West Shore Trail crosses the area and the surrounding land has reverted to a mostly natural state. Markers erected to indicate the resorts’ locations have fallen victim to vandals.

In this book the author portrays what the west shore resorts were like about 100 years ago and describes each resort in detail based on contemporary news accounts, interviews, historical postcards, and library and historical society archives. Each resort had its own unique character and appeal. For example, White City rivaled Coney Island with its amusement rides, and Rockaway Beach catered to the sporting set. Some were backed financially by trolley companies that offered promotions to increase ridership to the resorts.

While a marina and a yacht club exist on the east shore of Onondaga Lake today, the original yacht club, a focus of much social activity around the turn of the century, was on the west shore. Most Syracusans today pass along the west shore on Rte. 690 to and from the city, or visiting the New York State Fairgrounds, never realizing they are driving close to the last of the resorts, demolished in 1954 for the Rte. 690 right-of-way.

The final chapter of the book explores the future of Onondaga Lake Park and proposed expansion plans. In the past, politicians and planners have attempted to make Onondaga Lake a recreational playground, instead of a dumping area for industrial waste. Today federal, state and local leaders are again trying to create a renaissance for Onondaga Lake as a recreational site after years of neglect. As these plans for renewal begin to transform the lake, it is an opportune time to become acquainted with the "Golden Age of Onondaga Lake Resorts."