Post by Clipper on Oct 20, 2021 7:36:40 GMT -5
wibx950.com/iconic-utica-observer-dispatch-building-to-be-auctioned-off/?fbclid=IwAR3Zb5NUCZfijGDtCDy9bPvOe2ubThuGugMg8hFjStNcl1KlFZYu6bLje68
It is a sad day for Utica and for those that are employed there. I am sure that if Dave Griffin were still with us he would have a long and detailed history of both the Observer Dispatch as well as the building.
Most of us remember when there was two papers a day. The Daily Press in the morning and the Observer dispatch in the afternoon. I delivered the OD for a short time as a teen and had a girlfriend at one time who's father was a typesetter when the paper was still printed with lead type. In late 1999 I went to work there as transportation manager, insuring that the papers got onto trucks, into carrier's cars, and out the door.
One particular night that I will never forget was the night of Y2K. The stress and anxiety that was present on the night of Dec. 31, 1999 as midnight approached was unbelievable. Nearly every department head as well as Publisher Donna Donovan were in the building in near panic as the clock rolled from Dec 31, 1999 to Jan 1, 2000. The paper was still rolling off the press, across the dock and out the door, and only department heads were glued to their computers hoping that their systems didn't crash. Everyone took a deep breath and sigh of relief when absolutely nothing happened.
The E edition was relatively new, but even then the circulation numbers for the print edition were declining, and the ancient behemoth 3 story high Goss printing press was showing it's age with increasingly frequent breakdowns. It was not too many years after I left that they started moving the printing operation around from place to place. It was printed in Ithaca for a short time, and then in Binghamton, and I think it is printed in Syracuse now. The 16 company vans and company drivers were eventually replaced by contractors.
Our newspaper here is suffering the same decline in printed customers that the OD does. The circulation numbers are in decline, and the delivery service is terrible. They can't keep delivery people, and the ones that they do hire are frequently undependable and don't last. If it were possible I would only subscribe to the Wednesday edition for the grocery ads and on Sundays. I can read my normal daily paper in about 10 minutes, from front page to the last page of the classifieds and much of what I read in the paper is a day old and I have already seen it on the TV news. Some mornings I can read the entire paper while leaning on the gate to the back yard in the short time it takes the dog to wander, sniff, and do her thing.
When and if the printed editions of newspapers completely cease to exist it will be a sad day for those of us who used to take our newspaper with us to work, or peruse the morning paper over coffee and breakfast at our local diner or coffee shop. Reading the paper was always a part of my morning routine. With the reduction in the size of the paper and it's content I miss that relaxing start of my day.
The building is a beautiful structure but would need major renovations to subdivide or repurpose. The new addition that was built on the West end of the building is home to the huge printing press and the press is so big that the press would have to be taken down and a major hole would have to be made in the wall in order to remove it. There is no large access door to the press room through which it could be removed.
It will be interesting to see who buys the building and how it will be repurposed. It has one freight elevator in the rear of the building and only one very small personnel elevator inside the front entrance. I just hope that it does not end up being demolished as a victim of so called "progress".
It is a sad day for Utica and for those that are employed there. I am sure that if Dave Griffin were still with us he would have a long and detailed history of both the Observer Dispatch as well as the building.
Most of us remember when there was two papers a day. The Daily Press in the morning and the Observer dispatch in the afternoon. I delivered the OD for a short time as a teen and had a girlfriend at one time who's father was a typesetter when the paper was still printed with lead type. In late 1999 I went to work there as transportation manager, insuring that the papers got onto trucks, into carrier's cars, and out the door.
One particular night that I will never forget was the night of Y2K. The stress and anxiety that was present on the night of Dec. 31, 1999 as midnight approached was unbelievable. Nearly every department head as well as Publisher Donna Donovan were in the building in near panic as the clock rolled from Dec 31, 1999 to Jan 1, 2000. The paper was still rolling off the press, across the dock and out the door, and only department heads were glued to their computers hoping that their systems didn't crash. Everyone took a deep breath and sigh of relief when absolutely nothing happened.
The E edition was relatively new, but even then the circulation numbers for the print edition were declining, and the ancient behemoth 3 story high Goss printing press was showing it's age with increasingly frequent breakdowns. It was not too many years after I left that they started moving the printing operation around from place to place. It was printed in Ithaca for a short time, and then in Binghamton, and I think it is printed in Syracuse now. The 16 company vans and company drivers were eventually replaced by contractors.
Our newspaper here is suffering the same decline in printed customers that the OD does. The circulation numbers are in decline, and the delivery service is terrible. They can't keep delivery people, and the ones that they do hire are frequently undependable and don't last. If it were possible I would only subscribe to the Wednesday edition for the grocery ads and on Sundays. I can read my normal daily paper in about 10 minutes, from front page to the last page of the classifieds and much of what I read in the paper is a day old and I have already seen it on the TV news. Some mornings I can read the entire paper while leaning on the gate to the back yard in the short time it takes the dog to wander, sniff, and do her thing.
When and if the printed editions of newspapers completely cease to exist it will be a sad day for those of us who used to take our newspaper with us to work, or peruse the morning paper over coffee and breakfast at our local diner or coffee shop. Reading the paper was always a part of my morning routine. With the reduction in the size of the paper and it's content I miss that relaxing start of my day.
The building is a beautiful structure but would need major renovations to subdivide or repurpose. The new addition that was built on the West end of the building is home to the huge printing press and the press is so big that the press would have to be taken down and a major hole would have to be made in the wall in order to remove it. There is no large access door to the press room through which it could be removed.
It will be interesting to see who buys the building and how it will be repurposed. It has one freight elevator in the rear of the building and only one very small personnel elevator inside the front entrance. I just hope that it does not end up being demolished as a victim of so called "progress".
