The James Pass Arboretum was established by the City of Syracuse, New York, through the philanthropy of Adelaide Salisbury Pass and family with the guidance and cooperation of the State College of Forestry (now SUNY-ESF) to be a classic arboretum in the tradition of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, that is, a museum of woody plants designed for education and horticultural display."Property Given by Pass Family for Arboretum", Syracuse Herald Journal, March 22, 1925 p16 & 22"Revisioning an Historic Landscape: The James Pass Arboretum", Syracuse, New York. Typed and bound project report, 279 pages, 7 tables, 97 figures, 1994 Aida A. Khalil
History
On March 22, 1925, Syracuse Mayor John Henry Walrath announced the gift of land consisting of 12.1 acres, adjacent to Burnet Park by Adelaide Pass and family. The land would be used as a municipal arboretum and named for Mrs. Pass' late husband James Pass.
Development would be conducted by the City of Syracuse, New York with the cooperation of the State College of Forestry in Syracuse, today called State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. From statements made by Mayor Walrath, F. Franklin Moon, Dean of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry"Calls City Fortunate in Site for Pass Arboretum" Franklin Moon Dean of NYS College of Forestry for Syracuse Herald Journal, March 22, 1925 p22 and Adelaide PassJames Pass Arboretum Community Forest Restoration Project Resource Guide Brochure distributed by the City of Syracuse Parks Dept. made possible by a grant from NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation Urban and Community Forestry Program Printed by the City of Syracuse, Office of Community Services - Print & Graphics there was agreement that the James Pass Arboretum would be a classic arboretum in the tradition of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston MA. and Highland Park in Rochester NY. It would be an outdoor museum of woody plants displayed for educational and horticultural purposes, to serve as a demonstration ground for students, homeowners, commercial growers, and horticulturalists. That objective was confirmed by Mayor Charles Hanna in 1927 when he stated that "it was expected that the arboretum would be used by the forestry and landscapes departments of the Forestry College and by public school classes".REVISIONING AN HISTORIC LANDSCAPE THE JAMES PASS ARBORETUM Syracuse, New York. Typed and bound project report, 279 pages, 7 tables, 97 figures, 1994 Aida A. Khalil Appendix H
James and Adelaide Pass
In 1884 James Pass succeeded his father Richard Pass as superintendent and eventually president of the Onondaga Pottery Company which ultimately became Syracuse China. In 1890 he formed a partnership with A. P. Seymour, Pass & Seymour which manufactured porcelain and electric supplies. He served as president of the U. S. Potters Association and was known to have manufactured the first X-ray machine in the Syracuse area. James Pass married Adelaide Salisbury in 1890 and had three children: Eleanor S, Richard Henry and James Salisbury.REVISIONING AN HISTORIC LANDSCAPE THE JAMES PASS ARBORETUM Syracuse, New York. Typed and bound project report, 279 pages, 7 tables, 97 figures, 1994 Aida A. Khalil
James Pass died in 1913.
Mrs. Pass died 19 months after making her gift to the city. Her November 10, 1926 obituary describes her as a benefactor of worthy charity and invariably associated with every movement designed to increase health, comfort, and happiness of the less fortunate element of the community. Few women gave so freely and helpfully of money or time to charitable work in this generation."SET BURIAL OF MRS. PASS FOR FRIDAY" Syracuse Herald November 10, 1926 p29
Early development
In 1926 plans were drawn by Harold A. Smith and Clarence E. Howard A survey was completed during early summer of 1926."PASS ARBORETUM IS SURVEYED FOR FALL PLANTING" Syracuse Herald Sunday Morning July 25, 1926 p12
Grading was completed during the summer of 1927 so that planting could begin that Fall."City Starts Development of Arboretum" Syracuse Herald August 29, 1927 p2 Planting of 56 trees provided by members of the Pass family had begun by November 5, 1927. Individuals and organizations had also offered trees to be planted as memorials.BEGIN PLANTING IN PASS ARBORETUM Syracuse Herald November 5, 1927 p6
On December 9, 1928, Clarence E. Howard, chief engineer with the planning, parks and recreation commission, submitted a 5-year plan of development to Mayor Charles Hanna. The first two improvements were to be construction of water mains and laterals on the grounds and erection of an ornamental fence. The plan called for 100 trees to be planted annually. Later it was planned to complete the drainage system and develop a series of walks. A lake with floral display was also contemplated. Establishment of a shrub garden and erection of a comfort station and work room would complete the project. 14MAYOR GETS PLANS FOR DEVELOPING PASS ARBORETUM Syracuse Herald Dec. 9, 1928 p4 2nd section The commission of the Arboretum recommended that each year a very substantial amount be included in the bond issue for the maintenance and growth of the Arboretum until it became fully established.REVISIONING AN HISTORIC LANDSCAPE THE JAMES PASS ARBORETUM Syracuse, New York. Typed and bound project report, 279 pages, 7 tables, 97 figures, 1994 Aida A. Khalil appendix H, Chronology: Fall 1927: The property was formally annexed by the city in early 1929.
During the summer of 1929 the arboretum was fenced."CITY WILL FENCE PASS ARBORETUM" Syracuse Herald March 21, 1929 p3
In October 1929 the stock market crashed and there is little documentation of progress on the 5-year plan. Most of the work documented in news reports was labor-intensive work relief projects including grading, some planting and installation of a pond with fountain in the northeast corner."City's Improvement Program Calls for Many New Projects" Syracuse Herald, October 27, 1931"Bad Weather Hampers City Park Workers" Syracuse Herald, December 14, 1931 p3"Grading Work By City to Aid 600 Jobless" Syracuse Herald, June 5, 1932 2nd section p7"Plant 15,000 Evergreens in Burnet Park" Syracuse Herald, November 13, 1932 2nd section p3
Nationwide, growth of cities, increased leisure time, rising unemployment, elimination of streets as safe play areas and increased number of retired people were all factors in the perceived need for new recreation facilities. In many cases expansions of parks was funded by the federal government which placed recreation facility development near the top of its expenditure list. Money literally poured into subsidized recreation park design and construction, often through WPA projects.
Syracuse's century of progress dating from the arrival of the Erie Canal came to an end with the stock market crash in 1929. During the 1930s, the city's population decreased slightly, businesses suffered, the tax base declined and unemployment grew rapidly. Abandoning its earlier efforts at comprehensive planning, the city dissolved its planning commission in 1932 and turned its attention to relief programs for the thousands without jobs.
The Tuesday following Black Tuesday was election day and Syracuse elected Rowland Bristol Marvin as its new mayor. Mayor Marvin had run a campaign based upon "orderly retrenchment" and "to spend less money"."Marvin Asks $625,000 Bond Issue, Smallest in Years" Syracuse Herald American March 23, 1930 p19
Post-development period 1935–1964
The Protected Site Application 1994,PROTECTED SITE APPLICATION PART C, SECTION VII ZONING RULES AND REGULATIONS for Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board by Marc Morfei Landscape & Prospect Landscape Architects and Cultural Resource Planners 239 E. Water Street, Syracuse, New York 13202 July 1994 Revisioning an Historic Landscape 1994 and No Effort Wasted 2007No Effort Wasted Michele Buckstrup for Upstate Gardner's Journal 3200 East Avenue, Caledonia, New York 14433 published May–June 2007 Volume Thirteen Issue Three each cite the original planting plan to identify "the number of proposed taxa of trees totaled approximately four hundred and seventy four (474) representing around one hundred (100) deciduous tree species and sixty (60) coniferous tree species. And the number of proposed shrubs and small trees totaled two hundred (200) species. In addition to the tree and shrub species there were seventy six (76) proposed vines of thirteen (13) different species and the combined number of proposed perennial and ground cover species was thirty two (32). .REVISIONING AN HISTORIC LANDSCAPE THE JAMES PASS ARBORETUM Syracuse, New York. Typed and bound project report, 279 pages, 7 tables, 97 figures, 1994 Aida A. Khalil P48 But those figures do not add up. It seems that one miscounted and the others used those figures. Another count of Appendix C of the Protected Site Application and Appendix E of Revisioning an Historic Landscape, which appear to be identical show the plan to be for 282 deciduous trees of 141 taxa, 428 conifers of 93 taxa, 3,250 shrubs of 276 taxa, 76 vines of 13 taxa and ground cover taxa to be 32 for a total of 555 woody plant species. In addition the formal shrub and hedge display section 5C of the original plan was not included in either of those appendices. Section 5C planned for 1,741 shrubs, sub-shrubs, vines and ground covers of 139 taxa. Using the plant list Appendix C from the Protected Site ApplicationPROTECTED SITE APPLICATION PART C, SECTION VII ZONING RULES AND REGULATIONS for Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board by Marc Morfei Landscape & Prospect Landscape Architects and Cultural Resource Planners 239 E. Water Street, Syracuse, New York 13202 July 1994 p22-32 and the plant list from Sec 5cREVISIONING AN HISTORIC LANDSCAPE THE JAMES PASS ARBORETUM Syracuse, New York. Typed and bound project report, 279 pages, 7 tables, 97 figures, 1994 Aida A. Khalil p268 it would be more accurate to say that the original plan called for 5,000 - 6,000 woody plants of over 600 species.
Aerial photographs taken in 1938 and 1964 show no significant development of the collection in the James Pass Arboretum other than trees planted before the 1938 photograph had grown.PROTECTED SITE APPLICATION PART C, SECTION VII ZONING RULES AND REGULATIONS for Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board
In Revisioning an Historic Landscape the author states that only a portion of the plants in the original plan were planted and that it was not clear from the photographs how many of the shrub species had been established.REVISIONING AN HISTORIC LANDSCAPE THE JAMES PASS ARBORETUM Syracuse, New York. Typed and bound project report, 279 pages, 7 tables, 97 figures, 1994 Aida A. Khalil p49
In the Protected Site Application, the author notes, that planting had been complete by the time of the 1938 photograph. He notes that there had been a dramatic loss in species diversity by 1994 estimating that there was at least 200 trees of over 70 species and that approximately 65% of the trees present at the time of his study date back to the original planting circa 1927. He states further that of the 474 taxa on the 1927 plan 137 were present at that time. The map attached to the application showed 148 specimens of 70 species from the original planting present in 1994. He also concludes that "it is certainly possible, if not likely, that only a portion of the trees shown on the original plan ever made it into the ground".PROTECTED SITE APPLICATION PART C, SECTION VII ZONING RULES AND REGULATIONS for Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board by Marc Morfei Landscape & Prospect Landscape Architects and Cultural Resource Planners 239 E. Water Street, Syracuse, New York 13202 July 1994 p5