According to blog Syracuse Then and Now , the front steps are steep because one property owner on the block refused to sell, forcing the building into a smaller-than-planned site. The architect decided to squeeze the stairs, not the building.
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Fourth County Courthouse
All images copyright © Kenneth Grant / photos taken July 2018 with Canon 5D Mark iii
1906 , 401 Montgomery Street , Archimedes Russell , Beaux Arts , Columbus Circle , Fourth Onondaga County Courthouse , historic , landmark , Melvin King , Montgomery Street–Columbus Circle Historic District , National Register of Historic Places , New York , NRHP , NY , Syracuse