Most people may expect a crawl in downtown Syracuse to happen on weekend night out. Not this crawl.

On Sunday, April 23 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., the music of three organs in Cathedral Square churches will bring Syracuse residents Downtown for the Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association’s fifth Organ Crawl.

“It’s a very interesting showcase of a part of downtown that some people may not realize exists,” Alice Maggiore, communications manager of Downtown Committee of Syracuse, said. “We have four of the area’s most beautiful churches within a mile radius in that Cathedral Square neighborhood. It’s just so unique that there’s such a special niche and talent in organists.”

For the first time, the event will host a female organist, Syracuse University professor Anne Laver. She will close the event at the third church of the crawl, Park Central Presbyterian Church’s Parish House.

The event will kick off with Joseph Downing playing at Plymouth Congregational Church, followed by James Potts at St. Paul’s Syracuse, the downtown Episcopal church.

Courtesy of Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association

Anthony Catsimatides, Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association’s president, said that the churches, among other things, have helped make the downtown area a more accessible place for people to visit and spend time.

The Organ Crawl began in 2009 to support the finances of the association’s “Design Your Street” project, which Catsimatides and other members created to revamp the neighborhood’s look by hanging flower baskets and banners on all the neighborhood’s lampposts.

Spanning from Harrison to Fayette streets and Salina to Townsend streets, Cathedral Square was the first neighborhood to partner with the Downtown Committee and hang flower baskets, Catsimatides said.

“When we started, there were around 75 flower baskets,” Catsimatides said. “The last time I spoke to the Downtown Committee, they said, with the other neighborhood associations, they now have over 300 flower baskets that they put up every June downtown.”

Courtesy of Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association

Catsimatides said last year’s event hosted about 150 people across the four churches, including the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which is currently being renovated but plans to host next year’s event.

With help from the Onondaga Historical Society, each church presents its own history about the church itself as well as its organ.

“The Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association really does a good job in pulling out the story and the human element,” Maggiore said. “Also, bringing the organs to life themselves. The organs have personalities, and each one sounds a little different. It’s a really cool listening tour, and you learn historical facts on the way.”

Tickets for the event can be purchased online through Eventbrite for $12 until Thursday or at the event on Sunday for $15.

Published on April 18, 2017 at 9:43 pm

Contact Connor: cbfogel@syr.edu