The First Ward Cemetery -- an historic site in Syracuse that had become weathered and eroded over the years -- recently received a facelift from a mixture of good old-fashioned corporate community responsibility and future-oriented technology.

The law firm of Gilberti Stinziano Heintz & Smith PC -- long established in Syracuse and with offices in Albany, Rochester and New York City -- joined with Spectra Subsurface Imaging LLC, an office of The Spectra Environmental Group, with offices in Syracuse, Utica, Albany and Poughkeepsie, to perform the renovation of the site. Spectra utilized underground Imaging Technologies Ground Penetrating Radar (UIT GPR) on the project, a tool that can essentially “see” underground. GPR technology has been used to locate and map underground utilities as well as subsurface conditions of roadways and bridge decks.

The First Ward Cemetery was originally founded in 1829 in the Village of Salina. Later, the Villages of Salina and Syracuse merged to become the City of Syracuse. Today, the site is one-square-block bounded by Bear, LeMoyne, Second North and Grant Streets.

Many regional notables are interred at the historic site, including Syracuse’s first postmaster general, the first president of the Village of Salina and a number of locally prominent families.

In 1938, a tragic accident claimed the life of a young boy, and at the same time, steered the destiny of the cemetery as well. Francis Thomas, then four years old, was killed while playing in the cemetery when a monument fell on him. The day after his funeral, irate neighbors toppled headstones and the city re-graded the site, naming it Chestnut Park. Over time, nature took its course, the land became park-like, grass and trees overgrew, and the plot lost its visible identity as a cemetery.

Enter Nancy Mulcahey Condolora, a 20-year neighborhood resident who undertook an effort to befriend and beautify the plot. Her efforts drew the attention of Syracuse Post Standard newspaper columnist Dick Case, who wrote an article highlighting Condolora’s efforts. The column caught the attention of Joshua Heintz, a partner at Gilberti Stinziano Heintz & Smith -- a firm acknowledged for its expertise in environmental issues but also known a commitment to the civic good in its hometown. “We saw an opportunity to benefit the community by adding our resources to the effort to improve the First Ward Cemetery,” said Heintz. “You could say we adopted it with a commitment to respecting its history.”

Gilberti attorneys Rebecca Neri and Kim Wolf Price took the lead for the firm. In addition to a thorough clean-up, a plan was made to locate and restore the original pathways so those walking on the property could respect gravesite locations. Neri says it was imperative to locate and confirm the original paths of the site.

She contacted a local landscape design firm -- Environmental Design & Research -- that agreed to re-design the plot and new public pathways as its contribution to the project and the community.

The question arose, however, of how to locate and verify what was underground without disturbing sacred space. Neri and Price reached out to Spectra Subsurface Imaging to utilize the firm’s UIT Ground Penetrating Radar System.

Spectra has an established industry reputation for subsurface imaging and mapping capabilities using the UIT GPR technology, the most advanced subsurface imaging process available in the nation.

Spectra Environmental President Bob LaFleur immediately involved Spectra Subsurface Imaging President Tom Madison and Spectra Director of Geophysical Services John Ciampa to bring the advanced technological capabilities of the UIT system - determined to be the correct technology for the subsurface assessments needed in this project - to the First Ward Cemetery.

On May 17, the UIT GPR system began the underground survey work. Ciampa designed a survey plan, then made a series of passes with the GPR machinery, ultimately totaling swaths 40 feet in width. The work was underway to locate signs of historic pathways below, and to identify other items beneath the surface including gravesites, buried headstones and markers.

Data collected was sent to UIT headquarters and “interpreted” using advanced signal processing software to provide detailed 3-dimensional radar images of the subsurface, similar to CT scans used in medical sciences. Maps were produced showing subsurface conditions at different depths, and in the case of the First Ward project, surveys at depths of one foot and six feet were done.

The GPR survey successfully demonstrated that the primary pathways originally crossed the property from corner to corner rather than from side to side as was generally believed. Subsurface anomalies were highlighted utilizing the technology as well, including foundations, walls, gravesites, headstones and even tree roots.“We knew how powerful and sophisticated the UIT technology was for subsurface imaging applications from our prior successful work in utility location and assessment of roadways and bridges,” said Ciampa. “The First Ward Cemetery project was a different venue, an archeological effort, but UIT technology proved the right choice.”

A vigorous clean-up was held on June 9 that included litter removal, raking and cutting brush was held. By noon on that day, the parcel was looking better than it had in decades, and a sense of purpose, respect and pride was evident.

“In the First Ward Cemetery project, we used the technology of the future to benefit the sacred history of the past,” said Ciampa.

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