In the 1930s, pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, horse-drawn carriages and trains all ran on the same Syracuse streets. 

"On Washington Street, the trains just barreled down to the station so, as you could imagine, as cars sort of took over American streets in the 1920s, the idea that you had these gigantic locomotives and all the train cars coming was incredibly dangerous," said Onondaga Historical Association History Curator Robert Searing. 

Three train stations were built over time in Syracuse, but they all interrupted city streets.

"Discussions had been taking place for a while about getting the trains out of the streets," Searing added. "[It's] very reminiscent to what we're listening to now to ironically rip down 81 whereas the discussion back in the thirties was we've got to elevate the railroad."

Despite concern from business owners, New York Central Railroad broke ground on a station along Erie Boulevard in 1933. Three years later, doors opened. 

"Granite structure, huge cathedral 21-foot high ceilings, marble everywhere, shiny new aluminum, murals, big magnificent clocks. It was meant to make you feel the wealth of not only the Central Railroad, but the city," Searing said.

The total project cost about $23.5 million. It carried a cargo of invaluable memories and powered economic growth.

"Syracuse was sort of able to weather the storm to a certain degree during the Depression, but like all other places, they were hit very hard," Searing said. "This actually created about $17 million to construction jobs in the construction of the station."

The rise of popularity in cars led to the station's closure in 1962. 

"It was sold to a developer that wants to turn it into a sort of a shopping center. It becomes an automobile dealership for a little while," Searing added.

Then in 1964, it reopened as a Greyhound Station. It was then sold to Charter Communications in 2001 and now serves as a hub for information.

The city's former railroad tracks have since been redesigned into Interstate 690.

"These long trodden trails, they just keep changing as technology changes but these routes are essentially the same because the city has literally developed and grown up around them," said Searing.