redevelopment continued with a redesign in the 1960s. However, this change also caused the square to have increased numbers of people who "seemed" homeless or were dealing drugs, according to Syracuse University professor R. Van Deusen Jr. Later history and redevelopment Redevelopment work in 1981 led to the installation of two pyramid-shaped cascading fountains, partially made with bricks from the Erie Canal. Nine years later the Jerry Rescue Monument was dedicated in the square. In the 1990s Syracuse city leaders sought to repeat the success of developing Armory Square at Clinton Square, aiming to make the square an attractive location for business and real-estate development. At the time, the square hosted few businesses, namely The Post-Standard, banks, and an office building. Work began to redevelop the square in 2001, rerouting Erie Boulevard. The project also saw cleaning of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and addition of an information kiosk. Trees that had been planted in the 1960s were removed. A 2002 analysis of the square's redevelopment published in GeoJournal described the neighborhood around Clinton Square as having undergone gentrification in the years leading up to the 2001 project, highlighting rules banning hot dog vendors and a movement to ban "alternative press street boxes". Since 1990 the square has hosted an ice skating rink during the winter. In 1991 Syracuse's Jazz Fest was first held in the square, its first music festival. The Jazz Festival was the first major festival, and others have followed, including Oktoberfest, the Great Northeast Blues Fest, the New York State Rhythm and Blues Festival and Festa Italiana. In 2000, Ray Charles performed in the square for a crowd estimated at 35,000 people. Syracuse's municipal Christmas tree lighting is traditionally a major event in the square; in 2001 the Syracuse Herald-American wrote that it attracted an average of 15,000 people when the weather was not inclimate. Since 2013 Clinton Square has held Syracuse's municipal menorah in addition to the Christmas tree. The tree, traditionally sourced from a state forest, has been an artificial one since 2018. The tree lighting ceremony was virtual in 2020. References Sources External links Clinton Square with Wieting Opera House, 1872 Clinton Square, 2010 ErieCanal.org, 2006 Early Clinton Square - Syracuse Then and Now, 2010 Parks in Syracuse, New York