State Tower Building lobby

The lobby of the State Tower was originally designed with virtually all brass and marble. In later years, wood rather than brass decoration was installed in the lobby for cost reasons, notably around the newsstand.

In 2003, the State Tower lobby was remodeled, but not without provoking criticism. The Preservation Association of Central New York blasted the redesign in the Syracuse Post-Standard in a piece titled Re-"muddling" a Local Landmark. Instead of a renovation that preserved the original lobby, the owners instead remodeled - removing and replacing or covering up original items that were worn or damaged rather than restoring them or commissioning reproductions. However, some of the criticisms in the piece are not entirely accurate. No marble walls were covered with plaster, although the plaster wall sections at mezzanine level were covered with new sheetrock and the marble behind the brass friezes was painted. Only a small section of ceiling was demolished, although much of the original ceiling was eventually covered with tin panels.

That the renovated features are so jarring is a point driven home when additions and changes to other Syracuse buildings are considered. The Gridley Building is actually two sections built ten years apart. The SA&K Building (City Hall Commons) and the Butler Building each had three floors added on top while the Larned Building and many others around downtown had a top floor added years after construction. The Onondaga Savings Bank (M&T) building had its ground floor completely changed inside and part of the exterior rebuilt. Similarly, the landmark Syracuse Savings Bank building was gutted and rebuilt in the 1930s. In each of these instances, the architects were so skilled and the changes so gracefully integrated that passersby have no inkling that they were not originally as they’re seen today. That cannot be said of the new State Tower canopies or of the facade on the garage.

Among other things, some of the original marble in the lobby was painted over, notably behind the brass filigree above the doors. Inside the Warren and Genesee Street vestibules, original 1928 artwork depicting the Iroquois nation trading with settlers was also painted over.

The State Tower is unusual in Syracuse in having no security or information desk, virtually the only large office building downtown without one, aside from the Atrium building. The Atrium has a desk, but it sits vacant and unused.

The public spaces of the State Tower originally had terrazzo floors, each square made from stone chips and mortar and separated by brass spacers. The lobby floor was covered by polished marble (or perhaps slate) tiles during the 2003 renovation. Since all of the hallways on the upper floors retain their terrazzo floors (except for one which was inexplicably carpeted), this means the lobby no longer matches the rest of the building.

In the section between the elevators, mismatched seams between tiles take a winding path, switching back and forth six times rather than forming straight, continuous lines (see picture at right). There is a height difference between the lobby floor and the elevator thresholds, since the overlaid marble tiles and mastic add as much as 3/16 inch to the height of the floor.

The marble has proven much less durable than the terrazzo. While the latter had survived over 70 years relatively unscathed, the marble has already lost its sheen in high traffic areas and numerous tiles have cracked and chipped. Over the edges of floor beams between the elevators, cracks have propagated almost the full width of the lobby.

The polished marble created a safety hazard by becoming very slippery when wet, what some organizations deem a Class 1 surface. Tile specialists such as The Tile Doctor specifically say, "Keep in mind that polished marble is very slick when wet." To alleviate the problem at the revolving doors, sandpaper-like grip strips were placed on the marble. This, however, failed to cure the problem. Sizeable portions of marble remain between each strip, keeping the doorways slippery enough that “caution” signs had to be posted on the doors throughout the winter of 2004-2005. Worse, the strips were laid down in a sloppy, asymmetrical radial pattern which clashed with the grid pattern of the tiles.

The owners had all the brass in the lobby and its entrances stripped then clearcoated. This was done to eliminate the daily duty of polishing the brass. Instead of hiring a metal refinishing company familiar with the process, the building awarded the contract to the lowest bidder, a small painting company with little to no experience in the field. Brass was “cleaned” with a combination of harsh chemicals, sandpaper, steel wool and Scotchbrite. The procedure softened and damaged raised detail on the brass. In one case, brass plating was completely destroyed on a piece of trim, so the trim is silver rather than brass colored. Then the brass was sprayed with lacquer. The lacquer has not proven to be a good oxygen barrier and streaks of tarnish are appearing even on non-wear surfaces such as the elevator doors. The lacquer has worn away on all the contact surfaces, peeling off the pushing surfaces on the doors. The problem is especially acute on the inside of the revolving doors, where the rubber and felt sweeps have scrubbed large sections of lacquer away, leaving dark, corroded brass.

Also as part of the lobby renovation, black marble tiles (of the same kind as used on the floor) were placed around each elevator door and a triangular sconce installed above each.

In an era of change and simplification, the State Tower’s elegantly proportioned logo with its mix of bold and fine lines was eliminated. It was replaced on lobby and building ornamentation by a simplified version. The general opinion is that like the other changes to the building, it lacks the grace and finesse of the original.

The State Tower interior is a mixture of dated decor on some floors with badly maintained renovations on others.