Syracuse China
Updated January 2018 | By Matthew Christopher
Syracuse China was originally established as the Onondaga Pottery Company in 1871, and specialized in earthenware. Struggling to remain viable as a business, they introduced china to their production in 1886. It was a success, and nine years later the back of their china bore the Syracuse China stamp. Their clientele included railroads, hotels, and restaurants.
According to the Wikipedia entry on the company, "In 1921, the company built a new factory at 2801 Court Street on 300 acres (1.2 km2) in Lyncourt, New York, a suburb north of Syracuse to produce its hotel ware... The plant was opened on June 7, 1922. It was the first linear, one-floor plant in the American china industry." Syracuse China produced many lines and during World War II developed undetectable ceramic anti-tank mines.
In the early 1970s the company was struggling to compete with lower-priced Asian wares. New management took over in 1971 and was renamed the Syracuse China Corporation. As series of mergers and ownership changes followed, with the factory ultimately coming under the ownership of Libbey, Inc. Libbey ultimately shuttered the plant on April 9, 2009, laying off the remaining 275 workers, choosing not to retire the name but rather to manufacture abroad. As a parting gift each remaining worker was given a commemorative plate with scenes from the company's past and the inscription, "Though the world may change around us, our history remains the same."
The developer who purchased the land allowed me to photograph the remains of the factory and outlet store during demolition. Though I didn't speak with him for very long, he seemed appreciative of the plant's past. When Libbey closed the facility they left behind tens of thousands of crates of unglazed dinnerware; the developer held an event in 2014 where people could load their cars with as much of it as they wanted for $10 with the proceeds going to a local daycare and neighborhood association. Hundreds of people, many of whom had worked in the factory or had family members who did, showed up. far exceeding the expected crowd. Most of the factory is gone and the site is now a commercial plaza, with a truck center and paper factory occupying part of the footprint of the legendary company that had operated on that site for nearly a century.
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Syracuse China was originally established as the Onondaga Pottery Company in 1871, and specialized in earthenware. Struggling to remain viable as a business, they introduced china to their production in 1886. It was a success, and nine years later the back of their china bore the Syracuse China stamp. Their clientele included railroads, hotels, and restaurants.
According to the Wikipedia entry on the company, "In 1921, the company built a new factory at 2801 Court Street on 300 acres (1.2 km2) in Lyncourt, New York, a suburb north of Syracuse to produce its hotel ware... The plant was opened on June 7, 1922. It was the first linear, one-floor plant in the American china industry." Syracuse China produced many lines and during World War II developed undetectable ceramic anti-tank mines.
In the early 1970s the company was struggling to compete with lower-priced Asian wares. New management took over in 1971 and was renamed the Syracuse China Corporation. As series of mergers and ownership changes followed, with the factory ultimately coming under the ownership of Libbey, Inc. Libbey ultimately shuttered the plant on April 9, 2009, laying off the remaining 275 workers, choosing not to retire the name but rather to manufacture abroad. As a parting gift each remaining worker was given a commemorative plate with scenes from the company's past and the inscription, "Though the world may change around us, our history remains the same."
The developer who purchased the land allowed me to photograph the remains of the factory and outlet store during demolition. Though I didn't speak with him for very long, he seemed appreciative of the plant's past. When Libbey closed the facility they left behind tens of thousands of crates of unglazed dinnerware; the developer held an event in 2014 where people could load their cars with as much of it as they wanted for $10 with the proceeds going to a local daycare and neighborhood association. Hundreds of people, many of whom had worked in the factory or had family members who did, showed up. far exceeding the expected crowd. Most of the factory is gone and the site is now a commercial plaza, with a truck center and paper factory occupying part of the footprint of the legendary company that had operated on that site for nearly a century.
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