PROGRAMS & EVENTS
Historic Ithaca is pleased to offer a wide variety of programs and events that serve our mission. Events throughout the year include walking and driving tours, lectures, hands-on workshops, our annual That Old House Tour, and our annual Ithaca City Cemetery Tours. Please see our Facebook for the most up-to-date listings as well as upcoming events below.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Erie Canal Ribbon Cutting & Tour
Saturday, October 7, 2023
10:00am
Stewart Park
Meet along the Cayuga Waterfront Trail by the Picnic Pavilion
Join us for the ribbon cutting of “Ithaca’s Waterway to the World”, a new interpretive sign created by Friends of Stewart Park and made possible by the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.
This event will be followed by a tour of historic Stewart Park hosted by Friends of Stewart Park, Wharton Studio Museum & Historic Ithaca. The tour will focus on the park's history and its current revitalization.
Silent Movie Month Historic Theater Tour
Saturday, October 14th
11:00am
Harold Square Building on Ithaca Commons | 125 E State St, Ithaca, NY
Cost: $12 payable at start of tour
(cash or check made out to Historic Ithaca)
October is Silent Movie Month in Ithaca! Join Historic Ithaca and Wharton Studio Museum and relive Ithaca's movie palace heyday on a guided walking tour of its historic theaters and their original locations. We'll stop at many of the theater buildings that are still standing -- along with the locations of theaters that no longer exist -- and delve into Ithaca's heyday as the "biggest little movie city," when our very own Wharton, Inc. Studios produced many of the movies that were being shown in these downtown theaters one hundred years ago. Our walk will end at the Canopy Hotel's Strand Cafe, named for Ithaca's famous Strand Theatre. Writers and historians Roger Kimmel Smith and Pat Longoria will lead the tour.
Town of Ithaca Town Hall Tour
Saturday, October 21st
9:30 am
215 N. Tioga St. Ithaca, NY
Join Historic Ithaca on a guided tour of the Town of Ithaca Town Hall. A fine example of Beaux Arts Classicism, the former post office was designed by federal architect James Knox Taylor and built in 1910. The tour is free, but there are limited spots available so registration is required.
Ithaca City Cemetery Tours
Ithaca City Cemetery, University Ave, Ithaca, NY 14850
Cost: $5 payable at start of tour
(cash or check made out to Historic Ithaca)
Learn about the Ithaca City Cemetery's evolution from village burying ground to Victorian landscape for the dead as we walk through various sections of this 16-acre municipal cemetery and green space. Tours will last about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Fee: $5 per person
(collected at the start of the tour cash or check only); free for children under 12.
We recommend wearing sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate clothing. Some topics such as the discussion of death might not be appropriate for small children. The tour requires uphill walking and walking on uneven terrain.
Saturday, October 21 at 2:00pm
Sunday, October 22 at 11:00am
Sunday, October 22 at 2:00pm
PAST EVENTS
The Walk and Talk program was made possible in part by a grant from the Tompkins County Tourism Program
Pleasant Grove Cemetery Walk & Talk
Explore more than two hundred years of Tompkins County History on a guided walk through the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in the Village of Cayuga Heights. Once known as "a little country graveyard," the cemetery formally established during the Civil War, preserves the histories of the county's early farm families and charts the area's transition to a university suburb influenced by the founding and expansion of Cornell University. Join local historian Patricia Longoria to "read" gravestones for the stories they tell of the people whose lives are commemorated in stone.
Upon arrival please meet at the cemetery's entrance. Please park at Community Corners and walk down to the cemetery. There is no parking on the street in front of the cemetery and a very small driveway at the cemetery that does not allow for adequate parking.
Caroline Center Church Walk & Talk
Join us for a visit to this beautiful historic church tucked into the small crossroads of Caroline Center near Brooktondale. The original church was built in 1825. The new church was built in 1866 after the original structure burned down. After being closed for many years, the church reopened in 1988. Parking is available at the church site. Join us to learn more about this historic church.
Brookton's Market Walk & Talk
Join Beth Harrington and Sarah Michelle and learn about the history of this original general store in the hamlet of Brooktondale. The winner of a Preservation Award from Historic Ithaca, the building continues to operate today as a locally-owned small business for over 100 years, currently serving as a grocery/deli and tavern that prioritizes locally sourced goods. Participants can park in the parking lot beside the store, grab breakfast, and meet under the tent on the front patio. After the talk participants will be able to visit the local Brooktondale Farmer's Market at the Brooktondale Community Center (524 Valley Rd with on-site parking.)
Freeville Walk & Talk
Friends joined Historic Ithaca for a Walk and Talk through Freeville with Kristin Olsen and Jeanne Grace and learn about the rich history of the village! This tour went through the Genung Preserve and included about a mile of walking.
Brookton Cemetery Walk & Talk
Join Beth Harrington and Sarah Michelle and learn about some of Brooktondale’s famous residents as we tour the historic Brookton Cemetery. After the talk participants will be able to visit the local Brooktondale Farmer's Market at the Brooktondale Community Center.