La Casita Cultural Center – Syracuse University

Located in the historic Lincoln Building in the city of Syracuse's Near Westside neighborhood, the model concept for La Casita at Syracuse University can be traced to Spanish Harlem and the South Bronx.  José (Chema) Soto set out to build a wooden structure similar to the houses that were once typical of the rural Puerto Rican regions and throughout the Caribbean.  With the help of neighbors, La Casita de Chema (today, Centrol Cultural Ricón Criollo) was created as a bright, lively, and sustainable space for Puerto Rican and other Latino communities to gather, celebrate their culture and traditions, host events, play music, dance, or simply visit.  Following in these footsteps, Syracuse University established La Casita Cultural Center.

La Casita's interior was designed by Syracuse University professor, architect Jon Lott, to honor the Center's mission in the New York City-based Casitas tradition.  Jon Lott drew inspiration from the Rincón Criollo Cultural Center in the Bronx and developed a model that incorporates the outdoor/indoor aspect of the original Casita.  The Center's different spaces were designed with input from Syracuse University faculty, staff, and students, as well as from local residents of the Near Westside.