Tag-Archive for » Chautauqua NY «

Mar
27

Palestine Park At Chautauqua Institution

Denise
Thanks for stopping by again!

Palestine Park is a scale model of the holy land, which includes cities, hills, rivers, and seas in their approximate correct geographical location. This park is located on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York.

Vintage postcard of Palestine Park

Towards the Miller Tower in Miller Park you will find a large plaque with information on the park. This will aid you in understanding the park if a tour is not in progress.

Palestine Park is laid out along the southwestern side of Chautauqua Lake, near Miller Tower. Chautauqua Lake portrays the Mediterranean Sea. This park creates a ‘mirror-image’ of the actual land, which is on the east coast of the Mediterranean.

A large mound of stones represents Mount Hermon and an artificial stream represents the Jordan River.

There are small hills that represent biblical landmarks such as Mount Tabor and the Mount of Olives. Markers have been placed that represent sites of biblical significance which include Bethsaida, Jerusalem, Jacob’s Well and Jericho to name a few.

The park was one of Chautauqua’s first landmarks.

In 1874, Chautauqua founder Rev. John Heyl Vincent gave his friend Dr. W. W. Wythe the task of laying out Palestine Park as a visual aid for teaching Biblical history and geography to Sunday school teachers, which were some of Chautauqua’s first visitors.

The present Palestine Park is 350 feet long with a scale of 1.75 feet to the mile. Over Chautauqua’s history the park has been redone numerous times but has stayed true to scale. The park has become a featured area of the lakefront.

Educational guided tours are offered through the park each Sunday and Monday at 7 p.m. during Chautauqua’s nine-week summer season. Tours can be canceled for weather so check ahead.


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Mar
23

Chautauqua Lake vintage scenic postcard

Denise

This vintage postcard of Chautauqua lake is the North shore in the town of Chautauqua.

The postcard is an art color tone postcard and is a genuine Curteich-Chicago “CT Art-colortone. It was picked up at an estate sale.

Chautauqua Lake has a unique and history laden past. It is rich in American Indian history, played important parts in wars and exploration and is a geographic heaven for geography buffs with the glacier lakes and heavy fossil deposits left from the ice age.


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Jan
24

Postcards of Chautauqua Institution

Denise

Finding postcards at antique stores and auctions can be a learning experience. And many of the postcards are beautiful. The older style of hand painted photographs are among my favorite to find.

The last postcards I found were of images drawn by Jane E. Nelson. Nelson is known for her beautiful renditions of building and scenes on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution.

This postcard by Nelson is of the main gate of the Chautauqua Institution. For those of you not familiar with the Chautauqua Institution, it is a gated community for cultural learning located in Chautauqua County NY. The Institution provides a nine week summer schedule of learning and cultural activities for all ages.

Kellogg Hall has a long and interesting history at the Chautauqua Institution. The building originally sat a few blocks from the location it occupies today.

It was used for many years for Special Studies offices and classes. Currently it houses the Chautauquan Daily Newspaper and offices while it waits for renovation for its next use.

Jane E. Nelson has produced  a large selection of postcards of homes and scenery of the Chautauqua  grounds. She  had has  many drawing in books and currently has a 2010 Chautauqua Institution calendar at the Chautauqua Bookstore for sale.


Category: Chautauqua County  Tags: , , ,  One Comment
Jan
02

Chautauqua County NY Winter Activities

Denise

Chautauqua County NY is know for its winter wonderland effect. Many areas have a high snowfall, which is great for cross county skiing, skiing, and other winter events. Peek and Peek is also one of the local ski resorts.  If you enjoy winter activities there will always be an event for you to attend.

Sis Tearing It Up - Part 2
Creative Commons License photo credit: fincher69

Chautauqua County benefits from two bodies of water, Lake Erie and Chautauqua Lake. Chautauqua Lake being a more tranquil body of water provides a winter paradise for skaters, skiers and ice-fishing enthusiasts. The beauty of the lake when it is frozen over is a must see site.

There are many places to cross-country ski. You can select groomed trails, or head out near the lakes or Chautauqua Gorge. The peace and solitude of the outdoors at this time of year is amazing. Just make sure you dress warmly – the cold seems to hit you all at once.

Another favorite event for many are the horse-drawn sleigh rides on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. This year they began Dec 26 and will run through Feb. The Chautauqua Institution Bookstore, which is open year-round, has tickets available for the event.

The annual Ice Castle Festival in Mayville is held in February. If weather conditions are good, and if there is enough ice in the lake, a castle is made from ice. The event kicks off with a parade, followed by a variety of other activities and competitions.

In 2009 the winter weather warmed up before the event. The committee was afraid the ice castle would melt before the weekend event. So they took a lesson from the Amish community in preserving ice during the warm months of summer. They filled the ice castle with snow and brought in many barrels of hay and packed around the castle to act as insulation. The bales were left in place until the unexpected warm weather left.

When the cold weather returned, the hay bales were removed to reveal a frozen and preserved ice castle. The castle construction crew then finished the castle in record time, creating a unique castle with an almost mythical history.

The 2010 ICE Festival will be held the weekend of Feb. 12-14 at Lakeside Park in Mayville. The winter event will also have a new name beginning with the 2010 festival – the President’s Day Weekend ICE Festival.

The Cool Jazz Festival runs in conjunction with the Ice Castle Festival. It’s quite an event with a variety of music at all the area restaurants, clubs and hotels.

And last but not least is the Snowflake Festival at the Audubon Center located just outside of Jamestown NY. This event, to be held Saturday February 6 offers snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, sledding, sleigh rides, and a variety of entertainment.


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Oct
08

Fall In Chautauqua New York

Denise

Predictions for the leaves turning are at 55% for this coming weekend in Chautauqua County and Warren County.

two and a half
Creative Commons License photo credit: psyberartist

Many people travel for hours to see the leaves peak in N.W. NY. and PA. Between Chautauqua Lake, the Allegheny reservoir, the Great Lakes and the rolling foothills each scene holds the beauty and peace of fall.

For a relaxing trip the Chautauqua Lake Erie Wine trail combines fall reflections in lake Erie with two lighthouses, one in Westfield, NY and the other in Dunkirk, NY. The Chautauqua gorge is also beautiful at this time of year.

Bemus Point is also enjoyable, particularly if you dine at one of the restaurants on the Chautauqua Lake. Often after dinner we take a walk in the village and end up sitting on the porch of the Lenhart Hotel to watch the sun set over the water. Once in a while we will see the Chautauqua Belle or Summer Wind on one of its lake tours.

And if you have time for a canoe trip, floating down the Conewango Creek and through the remains of the glacial lakes just past Jamestown NY near Akeley Pa offer a peaceful and colorful ride at this time of year. You may see the Canadian Geese gathering for their migrating flight. I haven’t seen the Blue Heron lately so they must be headed south.

Fall isn’t complete to me without a trip to the Kinzua Dam, Lookout Point and if time permits, the Tionesta Scenic point. Many throughout the history on Warren PA have admired the hills and mini waterfalls in the Kinzua area.

Check out the original article,  Colors of the National Allegheny Forest at Allegheny Almanac for  Fall images by Chris Lareau.

The weather look great for a weekend of fall photography. I better make sure I have extra batteries for the camera!


Category: Chautauqua  Tags: , , , ,  One Comment

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