Hanover Square, Syracuse, New York

Over the years, Downtown Decorations has had the opportunity to work on many projects in the Syracuse, New York area. Our company is based in East Syracuse, so these projects are always especially exciting for us. We are happy to be a part of the beautification efforts, and hope our décor brings added life and energy to Central New York.

Recently, we had the pleasure of producing new banners for Hanover Square in downtown Syracuse. The triangular-shaped public park is the center piece of the Hanover Square Historic District, which was the first commercial district in Syracuse. The square was built back in 1834 and has been on the list of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1976. The area is still thriving today. It is the venue for many festivals, as well as a popular place to drink and dine.

The new banners feature a picture of the park’s gorgeous fountain with the words Hanover Square Est. 1834. Printed in orange, black and white, we think these banners add even more style to the already charming downtown hot spot.

Getting to Know the Team: Cyndy LaRosa (Office Manager)

Cyndy (second from left) and her family celebrating her daughter's graduation

Cyndy LaRosa is Downtown Decorations office manager and resident fitness expert. Cyndy grew up in Parma, OH, where she also earned a degree in Marketing/Business and an AFAA National Certification for Group Exercise Instruction. After marrying her husband, Vic, she relocated to Rhode Island and worked for companies like Gillson and the YMCA. And although “it’s fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A,” Cyndy ended up moving once again, this time to Syracuse, New York. Over the years, Cyndy worked for a variety of companies in the Syracuse area, including Baron Advertising, Gregory Advertising, Gallo Displays, Dr. Ninos, CWR Manufacturing, Stickley and Syracuse Commercial Floors. Along the way, she also had three children, Alisha (24), Regina (22), and Paul (20). At Downtown Decorations, she performs a ton of tasks, including purchasing, invoicing, accounts receivable, human resources, and assisting with the warehouse. And as if she isn't already busy enough with all of her DDI work, she finds time to wake up at 4:30 a.m. four days a week to teach Boot Camp and Spin & Abs fitness classes at both Aspen and Pacific Health. In her free time (it’s surprising that she could find any), she enjoys relaxing in the swimming pool, reading, walking, hanging out with her family and friends, and her all-time favorite – traveling to different destinations. It’s easy to spot Cyndy in the office, she’ll be the one perched on a fitness stability ball instead of a chair. 

Geisinger Health System

Just a few months ago, Downtown Decorations began working with Geisinger Health System on an exciting custom banner and flag project. The prestigious northeastern Pennsylvania health care system has two hospitals in the Wilkes-Barre area, numerous clinics throughout the northeastern part of the state, and a primary care facility, Geisinger Medical Center, located in Danville. Geisinger Medical Center has received numerous national recognitions over the years, including being named one of top 100 hospitals in the country and being designated a Magnet Hospital. Only 6% of hospitals nationwide are honored with the Magnet recognition.

For this project, Downtown Decorations produced more than 20 custom flags and nearly 150 banners. The banners and flags were then installed at different Geisinger locations across the state. Pictured in this post are the banners and flags at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.

Each banner and flag features a picture of Geisinger Health System founder Abigail Geisinger, the phrase “Make it the Best,” and the number 100 for their upcoming centennial celebration. In 2015, Geisinger will be celebrating 100 years. We are proud to have been able to produce these truly unique and captivating banners and flags. Congratulations to Geisinger on 100 years!

IDA Conference

We are excited to be taking part in the 60th annual International Downtown Association Conference and Tradeshow in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada!  As a longtime active member of the IDA, we look forward to this conference every year. It will give us the opportunity to meet with representatives from downtowns across the world.

According to IDA officials, "this year's annual IDA conference and tradeshow will focus on intensification of downtown and districts worldwide. Successful revitalization and continued urbanization across the globe has turned our city centers into dynamic places of change. With more businesses, more employees, more residents, and more visitors choosing downtowns, demand for increased services and amenities is at an all-time high."

We encourage everyone to stop by and see us at booth #402 during the tradeshow. Downtown Decorations President Ted Peterson will be available to answer any decor questions you might have. See you all next week!

Little Italy, Syracuse, New York

For the past five years, Downtown Decorations has been producing banners for Little Italy in Syracuse, New York. The thriving downtown neighborhood emerged around the year 1883, when Italian immigrants first moved to the area to help construct the West Shore Railroad, but wasn’t officially designated Little Italy until 2003. Today, the main street in the neighborhood, North Salina Street, is lined with bakeries, cafes, restaurants, bars and shops. The Little Italy neighborhood is important to Syracuse residents, because over 14% of the city’s population is of Italian descent. We’re thrilled that we got the chance to work on this project. We think the vibrant green and red banners really pop, adding even more life to the energetic neighborhood.

Sankofa: The Soul District

The South Salina Street corridor, a once thriving neightborhood on Syracuse, New York’s Southside, is now troubled with crime and economic hardship. In the past 30 years, little has been done to help revitalize this historic neighborhood. That's until now.

The City of Syracuse, the Southside Community Coalition and other neighborhood groups have come together to transform the area and bring it back to what it once was. The corridor will now go through a renovation period that will include the repaving of streets and the construction of a brand new community park. The entire project is being called Sankofa, which is a word from the Akan language of Ghana that translates to “reach back and get it.”

Officials decided that first step in rebranding the area was to add new banners with the word Sankofa and an image of a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its back that is often associated with the word. Downtown Decorations was contacted to produce these banners and we couldn't have been more proud to help out with this project. Our banners now line the streets of the corridor, inviting change and rejuvenation. We hope they will help breathe new life into the area and aid in bringing this neighborhood back to the thriving community it used to be. To learn more about the Sankofa project, watch this report from WSYR-TV.

Laredo, Texas

Downtown Decorations collaborates on numerous projects each year with cities and organizations throughout the great state of Texas. Our clients in the Lone Star State go all out when it comes to decorating for the holidays. Like the saying goes, everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes their décor projects.

Last year, we were contacted by the city of Laredo, Texas to work on their décor for the 2013 holiday season. The city is the 3rd most populated US-Mexican border city after San Diego and El Paso, so we knew we had to come up with something that would amaze the large number of visitors. We produced a stunning 34 ft. giant Christmas tree lit with warm white LED lights, adorned with a festive red and gold deluxe ornament package, and topped off with a 4 ft. snowburst tree topper. Visitors can spot the tremendous tree out front of the Laredo Energy Arena.

We’re happy to be involved with so many décor projects in Texas and we can’t wait to see everyone at the Texas Municipal League Conference next month in Houston!

Morrisville State College

Each year, Downtown Decorations collaborates with colleges and universities across the country. Typically, we produce collegiate light pole banners for the schools, but we have also worked on other unique custom décor projects. A great example of this is the large commencement banners we designed for Morrisville State College in Morrisville, New York.

The small upstate college is part of the State University of New York and is home to over 3,500 students. Morrisville State College has been considered one of the most technologically advanced colleges in the nation and The New York Times once called it “a college at the forefront of a technological revolution.”

We began working with the school back in 2010. Since then, we have produced many different light pole banners for them, including the “In Motion” and the “Welcome to Morrisville” designs pictured in this post. In addition to the light pole banners, we also produced large commencement banners for the school in 2012. The elegant crisp white commencement banners feature gold frayed trimming and the college’s seal printed in forest green. We love the way they turned out and we are happy the school will be able to use them for years to come.

Mount Holly, New Jersey

In 2013, we had the opportunity to work on an exciting banner project with Mount Holly, New Jersey. The township, which is located in Burlington County, is a short 35 minute drive from Philadelphia. This unique project gave us the chance to create banners that were not only striking and colorful, but honored the men and women in our armed forces. The crisp blue banners that were designed for this project feature the logo for the nearby Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The base, which was established in October 2009, combines the United States Air Force’s McGuire Air Force Base, the United States Army’s Fort Dix, and the United States Navy’s Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst. We’re extremely proud to have been a part of this project and we think the banners look superb lining the streets of Mount Holly.

The Bulletin: July 18

Source:: Life

• CityLove: Explore Seattle by Instagram (NTHP)
• Dubai to build world's biggest mall with 100 hotels, climate-control (Chicago Tribune)
• World's Best Cities 2014 (Travel and Leisure)
• Campaign launched to raise $50,000 for downtown seasonal decorations  (The Post-Star)
• July Downtown of the Month: Downtown Partnership of Baltimore (IDA)

- Follow Downtown Decorations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram -

Washington College

We’re about a month away from the start of the fall semester at colleges around the world. Schools are preparing for the return of old students and the arrival of new ones. One of the best ways that a campus can provide a warm welcome is with collegiate banners. Downtown Decorations has worked with schools from across the country on these type of projects. Recently, we collaborated with Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland to update their banners. We started working with independent liberal arts college in 2012 and have produced banners for them every year since. This year, the college went with a crisp maroon colored banner featuring the school’s logo, George Washington’s signature. We think the new banners look great and can’t wait to work with Washington College again in the future.

Got Holiday Decorations? Start Planning Now!

The 2014 holiday season is quickly approaching. By the time we know it, buildings and streets across the globe will be adorned with holiday decor.  Now is the time to start planning your program.

Downtown Decorations can add holiday excitement to your municipality, downtown, shopping center, casino, event center, commercial building or campus. We offer custom wreaths, garland, bows, lights, ornaments, banners, pole decorations, giant trees and many other décor items. All of our products are manufactured to the highest standards of construction while maintaining an upscale look.

We have worked with clients of all sizes from across North and South America. We pride ourselves on the ability maximize value while creating the most visually impressive environments imaginable. Our design team can create any vision that a client might have.

For more information on both interior and exterior holiday décor programs, visit the Downtown Decorations website or call 877.369.6332 to speak with a representative.

Trinity University

Downtown Decorations recently completed this unique and exciting banner project for Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. These colorful and creative banners are now on display outside of the stunning Northrup Hall, which was designed by renowned architect Robert A.M. Stern. Half of the custom banners feature inspirational words like Discover, Grow and Become. The other half showcase some outstanding photos of student athletes, student musicians and students in the classroom. We are thrilled with the way this project turned out. We think the banners add even more pop to this lively and energetic campus.

Wegmans Veggie Welcome Banners

At Downtown Decorations, we pride ourselves on having strong relationships with our clients. Oftentimes, we work with companies, downtowns, casinos, colleges, shopping centers, etc. throughout the year on multiple projects. One of the clients we work with in this capacity is Wegmans Food Markets. We collaborate with the popular supermarket chain on lighting projects, holiday projects, and banner projects like the one featured in this post.

We produced these "Veggie" welcome banners for the Wegmans store in East Syracuse, New York. The banners feature a variety of vegetables, creating a colorful and fresh vibe that leads customers from the parking lot into the store. We think this project turned out great and really exemplifies a vibrant summer atmosphere.