Museum studies students to commemorate historic Tipp Hill neighborhood over St. Patrick’s Day weekend

Museum studies students to commemorate historic Tipp Hill neighborhood over St. Patrick’s Day weekendMarch 06, 2006Matthew R. Snydermrsnyder@syr.edu

A group of undergraduate and graduate students in the museum studies program in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at Syracuse University will celebrate the city’s Irish heritage by commemorating the historic Tipperary Hill neighborhood over St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The students have been working under the guidance of instructor Mary Elisabeth Lang, adjunct professor in VPA.

“Tipperary Hill: Syracuse’s Emerald Isle” is a one-time exhibit featuring historic photographs, maps and newspaper clippings of the Tipp Hill neighborhood, gathered from the archives of the Onondaga Historical Association Museum and Research Center (OHA) and the Erie Canal Museum. The exhibit will be in place during and after the City of Syracuse’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 18, from noon-6 p.m. at The Hotel Syracuse, 500 South Warren St.

Students also hope to include an oral history component and will provide visitors to the exhibit with the opportunity to record stories and memories of Tipp Hill, which will later become a permanent part of the OHA collection. A memory book, providing a historic overview of the neighborhood with maps, photographs and shared memories of residents past and present, will also be available for purchase.

The book costs $10 and is dedicated to Syracuse’s St. Patrick’s School, which will close its doors at the end of this school year, in recognition of its more than 95 years of excellence in Catholic education. The book will feature a cover design by one of the school’s current students. Additionally, students from the school will submit drawings for the exhibit, which will later become part of the OHA’s permanent collection.

All proceeds from the event will be donated to the OHA to aid in ongoing cleanup efforts following a recent water main break that compromised the facility and its operations.

“This is an incredibly important project to our class because we are working to raise funds for a local organization in its hour of need,” says graduate student Erin Smith. “This event not only celebrates the historic Tipperary Hill neighborhood, it also reaches out to individuals, organizations and local businesses for their involvement and support. The entire process, particularly working on a fundraising experience to benefit a community organization, has been truly exciting for our class. We are happy to give something back to the local community.”

For more information, contact the museum studies program through Jennifer Reich at 443-4098 or Erin Smith at 442-7169.