Now we’re facing what was Bagg’s Square. I want you to stop and look at this huge monstrosity.
Joe’s talking about the bridges. Keep walking – and again, stop when you get in between the two bridges.
You’re standing in what was once Bagg’s Square.
Why did they build such a gargantuan bridge that destroyed Bagg’s Square, and kind of bifurcated east and west Bagg Corridor. Very simple. During when that was built in 1970 this neighborhood was what sociologists would call a “throwaway neighborhood.” Everybody had moved out of here, all the businesses had moved out. So nothing was here. And they thought – we oughta bring the people right off the thruway and into downtown Utica and help develop downtown Utica. How do we do that? Well let’s build bridge straight from where the thruway exit is right into Utica. That’s how that bridge came in.
Now, let’s head back toward Main Street. On the left, there’s a stone wall surrounding a little park. It’s kind of blocked by trees, but you can see the front wall along Main Street.
The stone wall – its significance is that’s the footprint of what used to be here. It’s called Bagg Commemorative Park. Because it commemorates the Bagg’s Hotel. It was on this site. Now was it originally that big? No. Bagg’s Hotel originally was a small two-story wooden structure. It sat right in the middle of this lot.
The wooden tavern was built in 1794. And over the years it was expanded until it filled this lot.
There’s a stone building in the middle of the lot now. We’ll head on down the sidewalk and stop right in front of the door to the building.