The Mission Restaurant: Syracuse Wesleyan Methodist Church - Syracuse, NY
New York
The Mission Restaurant, formerly the Syracuse Wesleyan Methodist Church and a stop on the Underground Railroad Syracuse, NY
Credit: www.themissionrestaurant.com
PROJECT DETAILS
Project Name: The Mission Restaurant
Location: Syracuse, NY
Reuse: Restaurant
Historic Name: Syracuse Wesleyan Methodist Church
Denomination: Methodist
Address: 304 E Onondaga St
Construction Date: 1846 - 1847
Date of Closure: 1980s
Date of Reuse: 1988
The warm atmosphere inside the Mission Restaurant allows its guests to quickly forget the cold, snow covered ground that dominates the Syracuse, NY landscape for up to six months a year. Filled with Mexican décor, the restaurant serves Pan-American cuisine: a combination of fresh, homemade Mexican, Southwestern, and South American specialties featuring Latino ingredients.
This restaurant is housed within the former Wesleyan Methodist Church, which is the oldest existing church structure in Syracuse. The Wesleyan sect was formed by John Wesley, who parted ways with the Methodist church due to his belief in the abolition of slavery. If walls could talk, this structure would have a first-hand account of American history.
The church's anti-slavery beliefs, and its strategic location at a crossroads on the way to Canada, made it an ideal stop for participants in the Underground Railroad. In the restaurant's basement remains evidence of the aid for fugitive slaves. A tunnel, which helped to prevent protection, is flanked by a long bench, which was used as a resting place, and a furnace which kept the travelers warm on cold winter nights. The walls served as a canvas for the artwork of the tunnel's passer-byes. Seven clay faces where excavated from the site and are now housed at the Onondaga Historical Association museum in Syracuse.
The church is also associated with the Women's Suffrage Movement, and hosted a speech by Susan B. Anthony. The site was originally purchased by Lawyer Vaughn Lang, who bought the church in 1988 after its congregation left the building. He saved the historic church from demolition, and proceeded to invest half-a-million dollars to restore the church into an office and restaurant. The property is today owned and operated by chef, Steve Morrison, who created the Mission Restaurant.
The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is part of the Syracuse, NY “Freedom Trail”.
For more information, visit www.themissionrestaurant.com.
Submitted by cbird at: March 6, 2009
wonderful and amazing food, service and ambiance. check it out!!