West of downtown Syracuse [1], at the juncture of West Fayette and West Genesee Streets, is the “Gateway to Tipperary Hill.” Syracuse’s oldest Irish neighborhood, Tipperary Hill is known for its upside-down traffic light at the intersection of Tompkins and Lowell Streets—the only one in the country.
When the stoplight was first installed, right-side-up, its lenses were immediately destroyed by irate citizens who did not want British red placed above Irish green. The city’s fathers, realizing this was one battle they could never win, reversed the lenses to accommodate the neighborhood.
In the heart of today’s Tipperary Hill, now only about half Irish, stands the Cashel House (224 Tompkins St., 315/472-4438), packed with goods imported from Ireland. Across the street, Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub (100 S. Lowell Ave., 315/476-1933) boasts both human- and leprechaun-size doors, along with Irish pub grub.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/new-york-state/the-finger-lakes/syracuse/sights/downtown-sights