A Syracuse apartment building connected to “The Great Gatsby” author F. Scott Fitzgerald is expected to be demolished this spring.

The building at 501 Catherine St. once housed Fitzgerald — who also wrote the classic American novel “Tender Is the Night” — and his family sometime when he was 5 to 7 years old, according to Syracuse.com.

The apartment complex was damaged last November in a fire started by a neighboring apartment complex, according to Syracuse.com.

Paul Driscoll, commissioner of the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, said he and his team did not find out about the Fitzgerald connection until a few weeks ago. They were informed by the Onondaga Historical Association, he said.

“My office has been working on acquiring or demolishing (this building) for more than a year,” Driscoll said. “This information is very new.”

But despite the new information, the building is still scheduled for demolition, Driscoll said, and it will be replaced by 50 new housing units. The vacant complex has racked up numerous code violations and is an easy target for trouble, he said. Ultimately, the health and safety of the people living in the city is more important, Driscoll said.

“Demolition is a last resort, (it’s) not like we jumped to that,” he said. “I’m more worried about people alive.”

Harvey Teres, an English professor at Syracuse University, said he was surprised and had no idea Fitzgerald once lived in the city. But Teres said he doesn’t think the short period Fitzgerald spent had a major influence on his writing.

“I mean, if he had been there during a lengthy period of time — his childhood or his adult life — that would be different,” Teres said.

 

Driscoll said Fitzgerald lived in three different apartment complexes while he was in Syracuse: the one on Catherine Street, another one demolished years ago and one that has been renovated. The renovated apartment building is on James Street, according to a 2013 Syracuse.com article.

“We feel good that at least one of (the) three places he lived at has been preserved,” Driscoll said.

Samuel Gruber, cultural heritage consultant and former president of the Preservation Association of Central New York, said he is not surprised the building will be demolished, and added that he’s only disappointed a lot of Syracuse buildings are lost.

Gruber said complications such as private ownership of the buildings and limited monitoring has resulted in these losses.

“We need to have more people involved, more attention, more media coverage,” Gruber said.

Nevertheless, Gruber said there has been progress toward preservation and fewer demolitions in recent years. He said demolitions during the 1970s and ’80s often resulted in empty lots, but now he hopes nicer-looking and more purposeful buildings will replace the older ones.

The plan is for the remaining Catherine Street apartment complex to be demolished hopefully by April of this year, Driscoll said. The new units will have residents by this time next year, he added.

The 50 new units will either be all in one building or spread across multiple buildings, Driscoll said. Twenty-five of the units will be permanent support housing for those with substance addiction, while the other 25 units will be general affordable housing for people who make just less than the median income, Driscoll said.

Driscoll said the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development is working with central New York and the state of New York to provide permanent support for people with substance abuse issues.

There has been some talk about commemorating Fitzgerald’s stay at Catherine Street, Driscoll said — possibly by selling some of the building’s bricks.

Published on January 26, 2016 at 11:04 pm

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