National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown
In 1905, the Mills Commission was appointed to determine the true origin of baseball. It took three years for the committee to credit Abner Doubleday for devising the game at Cooperstown, New York in 1835. By 1935, plans were being made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the national pastime in Cooperstown, at the time, home to a little museum of baseball artifacts. Plans to celebrate the anniversary led to the creation of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the building of a museum dedicated to the national pastime.
The first inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, and Walter Johnson. Official dedication of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was in 1939 when the museum opened in Cooperstown. It is now one of the world’s most recognized attractions. Exhibits include Planet Baseball, celebrating the international face of baseball, Hall of Fame Art, Women in Baseball, Ballparks, and the African American Baseball, Pride & Passion exhibit, which honors the Negro Leagues and contributions of African American players.
Located on Main Street, in the charming old city of Cooperstown, the museum collection includes more than 35,000 baseball-related objects, such as bats, balls, gloves, caps, awards, trophies, baseball cards, and more. The National Baseball Library houses the largest collection of baseball information. To date this collection includes over 2.6 million items, such as photographs, and movie images.
The annual Hall of Fame Weekend, typically the last weekend in July, features the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and the annual Hall of Fame Game. Special events and exhibits are featured year round.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown is open seven days a week and is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. The Giamatti Research Center is open Monday through Friday and is closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day and on Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.
Niagara Falls State Park
One of the world’s natural wonders is Niagara Falls located on the Niagara River separating New York State from Ontario, Canada. Originating in Lake Erie, the river flows quietly on its way to Lake Ontario. Half a mile before the Falls, the gentle river transforms into swift, swirling rapids and splits into two tributaries at Goat Island, just before plunging down the Falls. Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side is 173 ft high and over 3,000 ft wide. The American Falls are about half as wide, but higher at 182 ft.
These enormous, magnificent waterfalls are top attraction in Niagara Falls State Park. However, there is more to see in American’s oldest state park, including the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center, the nighttime illuminated American Falls, the Cave of the Winds, where you see the thundering falls from within the cave, the Festival Theater, Niagara Scenic Trolley, Aquarium of Niagara, and more. Sightseeing tours at the bottom of the falls or from observatory points are awe-inspiring.
At the Visitor Center guests find the Festival Theater, a gift shop and dining options. Outside the center, one and a half acres of lush gardens features over 60,000 flowers depicting the Great Lakes region’s water and land masses. The Visitor Center has fascinating exhibits on how the waterfalls formed, the discovery, famous visitors, and information on the geology, ecology and wildlife of the park. Capturing the imagination of the world since French priest first recounted his travels of 1678, it was an 1804 visit by Jerome Bonaparte (Napoleon’s brother) and his new bride who may have started the long tradition of honeymooning at Niagara Falls. To this day, Niagara Falls is one of the top destinations in New York and North America for travelers from all over the world.
When the Industrial Revolution’s boom of factory building along the Niagara River threatened to destroy the Falls’ natural beauty and ecosystem, people took action. In 1885, the Niagara Reservation (now the Niagara Falls State Park) was created. This was the first state park in America, and the law created at the time changed the way that natural resources could be exploited to the point of destruction. Though the valuable hydroelectric generating stations still exist, the mills and factories are gone. At Niagara Falls State Park visitors are encouraged to enjoy the beauty of the park. Hiking trails follow along the Niagara River Gorge.
Niagara Falls State Park is open year round. The Visitor Center is closed Christmas and New Year’s Day. Park attractions may be seasonal.
The Statue of Liberty National Monument and Liberty Island
It is an international symbol of freedom. For millions of people, one beacon of light shined bright, offering a new hope - a new beginning. It symbolized freedom from religious and racial persecution; freedom from poverty; and freedom from tyranny. For over one hundred years, American’s top attraction was seen from the side of a boat or a ship, and was the welcoming symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty – a gift from France – is located on the 12-acre Liberty Island in New York Harbor.
Today, over 5 million visitors per year make a pilgrimage to see the Lady of Liberty monument. The Statue of Liberty exhibit, located in the statue’s pedestal outlines the history and symbolism of the statue. Artifacts, photographs, videos and oral histories are all part of the historical information. Tours of the Statue of Liberty offer visitors a view inside the statue visible through a glass ceiling. The statue’s observation deck provides panoramic views of the New York City skyline and New York Harbor. The crown is not accessible and the torch was closed in 1916.
The significance of the Statue of Liberty is summarized on the inner walls of the statue pedestal in the words of a sonnet entitled “The New Colossus”, written by Emma Lazarus in 1883.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! cries she
With silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
The Statue of Liberty National Park is open daily and is closed on Christmas.