New York: The Heart of History, Art and Culture

Lovers of history, art and culture are right at home in New York State!

By: Empire State Development

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Photo By: Darren McGee, NYS Dept. of Economic Development

Photo By: arren McGee, NYS Dept. of Economic Development

Ellis Island -- the gateway through which more than 12 million immigrants passed between 1892 and 1954 – was reopened to the public as a museum in 1990. Nearby, the Statue of Liberty continues to shine as a beacon of freedom. Today, the yearnings of those seeking the promise of freedom and the opportunity for a better life in America are reflected in New York's rich cultural heritage.

Following the assassination of President William McKinley on September 14, 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26th President of the United States in the library of friend Ansly Wilcox's home. The home, at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, is now known as the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site.

At Rochester’s the National Museum of Play at The Strong, travel through 4 adventurous decades of the revolutionary Sesame Street children's television series. Dozens of interactive components invite children to explore concepts about letters, words, numbers, and diversity. And, yes, you can walk up the famous 123 Sesame Street stoop!

In the southwestern corner of New York State, the Athenaeum Hotel sits grandly on a tree-shaded hill overlooking picturesque Chautauqua Lake on the grounds of the world-renowned Chautauqua Institution. Serving guests in style since 1881, and now listed on the National Historic Register, this Victorian treasure is a full-service hotel appointed to make your stay a relaxing respite.

An artist paints at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. Byrdcliffe is a regional center for the arts located on a 250-acre mountainside campus in Woodstock, N.Y. Byrdcliffe also has an arts and performance center located in the village, and offers an integrated program of exhibitions, performance, classes, workshops, symposia, summer residences, and artist housing, embracing all disciplines of artistic endeavor in a collaborative spirit.

Experience 19th-century rural and village life firsthand through authentic demonstrations and interpretative exhibits at the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. The museum includes a Colonial Revival stone barn, a recreated historic village circa 1845, a late- 19th-century Country Fair featuring The Empire State Carousel, and a working farmstead. Its outstanding collection of more than 23,000 items encompasses historic objects ranging from butter molds to carriages, and hand planes to plows.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s roots in New York City date back to 1866 in Paris, France, when a group of Americans agreed to create a "national institution and gallery of art" to bring art and art education to the U.S. The Museum is home to over two million objects, tens of thousands of which are on view at any given time, including the largest collection of Egyptian art outside of Cairo, and the world's most comprehensive collection of American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts.

Widely celebrated as one of the world’s leading sculpture parks, Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, in Orange County, has welcomed visitors from across the globe for fifty years. Located only one hour north of New York City, its pristine 500-acre landscape of fields, hills, and woodlands provides the setting for a collection of more than 100 carefully sited sculptures created by some of the most acclaimed artists of our time.

A glassblowing demonstration at The Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, NY, the foremost authority on the art, history, science, and design of glass. It is Home to the world’s most important collection of glass, including the finest examples of glassmaking spanning 3,500 years. In addition to live glassblowing, visitors can take part in the daily make-your-own-glass experiences, creating work in a state-of-the-art glassmaking studio.

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New York

New York: The Heart of History, Art and Culture

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