History of Syracuse, New York
Syracuse (International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA: {{IPA|[ˈsɛɹəkjuËs]}}, sometimes pronounced {{IPA|[ˈsɪɹəkjuËs]}} or {{IPA|[ˈsiɹəkjuËs]}} by non-natives) is a city in Central New York|Central New York, United States|USA. According to the United States Census 2000|2000 census, the city population was 147,306, and its metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the county seat of Onondaga County, New York|Onondaga County and the economic and educational hub of Central New York, a region with over a million inhabitants. Syracuse is also well provided with convention sites, with a Oncenter|downtown convention complex and the Empire Expo Center directly west of the city, which hosts the annual Great New York State Fair. Syracuse was named after the original Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse, a city on the eastern coast of Sicily, Italy, with which it shares some similarities, including a formerly important salt industry and a neighboring town of Salina, New York|Salina.
The city has functioned as a major Crossroads (culture)|crossroads over the last two centuries, first between the Erie Canal and its branch canals, then of the Rail transport in the United States|railway network. Today, Syracuse is located by the intersection of Interstates 90 and 81, and Syracuse Hancock International Airport|its airport is the largest in the region.
Syracuse is the home of Syracuse University, a major research university, as well as several smaller colleges and professional schools.
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