Marcy

Understand

thumb|250px|A street scene featuring a clock and the Carlile Building, built in 1884 Utica is a city of approximately 60,000 residents in Oneida County, NY, along the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal. It is the seat of government for Oneida County and its largest city. Like many Central New York place names, the name "Utica" is classical: it was first the name of an ancient Phoenician settlement in North Africa, near Carthage.

Settlement in Utica dates to the colonial area, as depicted in the novel and movie Drums Along the Mohawk. Utica became an urban industrial center during the industrial revolution, particularly in textile production. Frank Winfield Woolworth launched a "five-cent store" in Utica in 1878 which soon closed; the next year Woolworth's "five and dime" in Lancaster (Pennsylvania) proved successful. Like most American industrial cities, Utica has suffered from population loss and urban decay since the 1970s. However, the popular conception that has made Utica the butt of jokes in TV shows like The Office and The Simpsons is an exaggeration. Contemporary Utica, in addition to its historical points of interest, is a multi-cultural city with a restaurant selection and local arts scene that are robust for a city of its size.

The Utica-Rome area, situated between Syracuse and Albany, is served by Interstate 90. This article also covers the suburbs of New Hartford and Yorkville.

Buy

thumb|250px|Looking south on Genesee St.

Eat

Utica has a long history of welcoming immigrants, from Italians and Poles who came early in the twentieth century to work in the mills, to the present-day influx of immigrants from places as far-flung as Bosnia and Burma. The variety in restaurants is just one of the marks these diverse cultures have left.

Drink

thumbnail|Utica as seen from the southern hills thumbnail|Tour of the Saranac Brewery

Go next

Rome is Utica's twin city, home to Fort Stanwix of Revolutionary War fame. Also to the west are the Vernon Downs racetrack, Sylvan Beach on Oneida Lake, and the Turning Stone casino, situated on the Oneida native reservation. Little Falls to the east holds historical points of interest as well. The Adirondacks are accessible to the north-east, via a picturesque drive through Amish country. Syracuse is about 55 miles to the west, Albany about 95 miles to the east.