Kiwanis Shares History with Convention Site

The Syracuse Marriott Downtown, formerly the Hotel Syracuse, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year -- and it has been a part of Kiwanis history nearly as long.

The district's first convention took place in 1918 in Syracuse, before the Hotel Syracuse was built. In 1926 Kiwanians returned to Syracuse for our first convention at the Syracuse Hotel, and would return again in 1942 for our 25th Anniversary Convention. Other conventions have been held there as well, most recently in 2018.

Attached is the September 1926 edition of the Empire State Kiwanis Courier (the predecessor of the Empire State Kiwanian). It was billed as the convention issue. Unfortunately no registration form was included so we don't know the costs. The Hotel Syracuse had previously placed an ad in the Courier listing its regular rates beginning at $3 a night.

Three notes about the attached issue of the Empire State Kiwanis Courier:

• The printed date on the cover is wrong it is not 1925 but 1926 (notice the hand correction).
• It was the tradition then that the last item voted on at a convention was where to hold the next convention. Clubs campaigned. Notice the ads placed by the Brooklyn Club and the Alexandria Bay Club. Alexandra Bay won but it was quite controversial. For one, Alex Bay was a relatively new club; it was the first village and smallest location to ever host a New York District Convention and being in the Thousand Island region it was remote. Picture how long it took to get there in 1927!
• All 47 Kiwanis Clubs in the district were in attendance in Syracuse in 1926 with a total registrations of 1100, making it the largest convention to that date.

View the Empire State Kiwanis Courier from 1926.

This page updated June 17, 2024

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