Fort Ontario State Historic Site presents its next “History on Tap” event with Oswego City Historian Mark Slosek. The Wednesday, Sept. 6 program highlights urban renewal on Oswego’s west side. It begins at 7 p.m. in the Riverview Room at G.S. Steamers Restaurant, in the Clarion Inn, 70 E. First St., Oswego. Admission is free.

Slosek’s presentation, “Before and After Urban Renewal,” features an illustrated PowerPoint of buildings and streets on the west side of the Port City. In 2022, Slosek presented a similar program that focused on buildings and streets on the city’s east side. The illustrations he will present show the differences in the city’s layout before and after the urban renewal movement of the mid-1960s.

Mark Slosek is a retired school administrator and former history teacher whose career in public education spanned 39 years. He received a Bachelor of Arts in history and education from Niagara University, a Master of Arts in history and a Certificate of Advanced Study in school administration from SUNY Oswego. Slosek spent 30 years of his career at the Fulton Junior High School, first as assistant principal and then as principal.

For more information about the “History on Tap” programming, contact Fort Ontario State Historic Site Office Manager Caroline Lamie at 315-343-4711 or caroline.lamie@parks.ny.gov. Updates and program information will be posted on the Friends of Fort Ontario Facebook page.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more – which are all visited by 78 million people every year. 

For more information on any of these recreation areas visit www.parks.ny.gov, download the free NYS Parks Explorer mobile app or call 518-474-0456. Visitors can also connect on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

LOOKING BACK ON OSWEGO’S URBAN RENEWAL – Oswego City Historian Mark Slosek (pictured) presents “Before and After Urban Renewal” at the next “History on Tap” program, Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. The presentation shows photos of the city’s west side before and after the urban renewal movement in the mid-1960s. The program takes place in the Riverview Room of G.S. Steamers Restaurant at the Clarion Inn, 70 E. First St., Oswego. Admission is free.