The Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) Museum and Research Center is a unique community resource, founded in 1862, to collect, preserve, and exhibit the history of Onondaga County and to inspire people’s understanding that the history we share, as a community, is the foundation for our future together. The OHA, a 55,000 square foot facility located at 321 Montgomery Street in downtown Syracuse, New York, is housed in the historic 1906 former home of the New York Telephone Company. Strategically positioned between the County Court House and City Hall, the OHA is located amongst the city’s business, arts, government, cultural and entertainment venues and is situated on the Connective Corridor, linking Syracuse University and downtown.
The OHA contains the only comprehensive, general history museum in Onondaga County, with over 75,000 artifacts and items representing over 200 years of local history including industry, transportation, domestic life, clothing, furniture, art, entertainment, sports, and ethnic diversity. The 13,000 square feet of museum space contains both permanent and temporary exhibit galleries, as well as an auditorium and a small gift shop. The 5,000 square foot Research Center consists of archival storage and a reading room/library which contains hundreds of thousands of items including photographs, biographical files, censuses, cemetery records, newspapers, books, block files, architectural drawings, maps, and corporate, school, military, and government records. The rest of the building houses administrative offices, as well as storage and work areas for the Association’s vast collections.
In addition to exhibits, the OHA hosts many educational programs including lectures, story telling, reenactments, docent-led tours, as well as history-related entertainment such as concerts and recitals. The facility is also available for community events. The educational outreach programs travel to schools, businesses, libraries, and clubs throughout the county. In addition to in-house exhibits, the OHA has developed many off-site permanent and temporary exhibits, which are housed in a variety of facilities throughout the county. The OHA also writes articles, books and contributes to a variety of publications in order to bring the stories, images, and accomplishments of Onondaga County to the community and to the rest of the world. The Research Center also provides outside authors and researchers with information and images, which are used in papers, articles, brochures, cards, invitations, and books with worldwide distributions. The OHA hosts a website, publishes a regular newsmagazine for members and offers audio tours of its exhibits.
