UTICA, N.Y. -- Standing tall on the corner of Hotel and Liberty Streets, overlooking downtown Utica, is what used to be considered the hub of the community; Mechanic's Hall.
"It begins with workers coming together, really trying to form a charitable organization to help other poor mechanics who may be down and out on their luck. Then it gradually crystallizes from there into a building," said Utica College adjunct professor of history Christopher Fobare.
Built in the early 1800's, the first-floor of the building was designed for stores. The second housed a library and reading room.
More than a century ago, the third-floor was the place to be for activists visiting Utica.
"Over the course of time it becomes much more than simply workers or mechanics coming together, it actually becomes about the community coming together as well because it's an open public lecture venue," said Fobare.
Many traveling on the Erie Canal would stop in Utica, speak at the Hall, and visit the Oneida Institute.
"We associate the Erie Canal with commerce, but really the Erie Canal is also a place where ideas flow," said Fobare. The first large public lectures began in the 1840's.
Several human rights advocates spoke there including women's rights advocate Susan B. Anthony. Many discussions centered on the topic of slavery.
One of the more famous abolitionists there was William Lloyd Garrison.
"There are not just white abolitionists there but the most famous black abolitionist who speaks there is Solomon Northup,We don't quite know exactly what he says, but given when he speaks there which is in 1854, it is at the height of debates over slavery," said Fobare.
"Utica is kind of a launch pad for abolitionist ideas and further west in western New York you have what's called a "Burned-over District". It's called that because of this sort of religious fervor that springs up, really starts in Utica and pivots to the west," said Utica College center for historical research intern Nolan Cool.
Utica's Civil War draft was held at the building on August 28, 1863. But by the late 1800's, it was no longer the popular place it had been.
The building switched hands many times. Arvind Patel has owned it since 1991.
"What impressed me was just look at the building. It's just like a giant standing building. I never saw 13-foot ceilings and all that before," said Patel.
Patel has worked in it for years, but has put it up for sale.
"My hope for Mechanic's Hall is simply that it is recognized and gets used for something more. It really has a story to it," said Cool.
The Landmarks Society of Greater Utica placed Mechanic's Hall on their endangered buildings list in 2014.