Armory Square is a small neighborhood on the west side of
Downtown Syracuse, New York. It began life as a busy commercial and industrial area just to the west of the central city. After World War II, Syracuse's central city became less and less populated as more housing and business facilities were built in the suburbs. In the 1980s, plans were first made to transform the languishing district into a small shopping/arts/nightlife district surrounding the former Syracuse Armory . These plans came to fruition during the 1990s, when new stores and restaurants opened, and several new buildings were constructed in a compatible style to the middle and late 1800s and early 1900s architecture dominating the district.