Home to the Original Cuts of The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind

George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the world’s oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 as an independent, non-profit museum. It combines the world’s leading collections of photography and film with the stately pleasures of the landmark Colonial Revival mansion and gardens that George Eastman called home from 1905 to 1932. The Museum is a National Historic Landmark. Mr. Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company, is heralded as the father of modern photography and motion picture film.

World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the Museum is also a leader in film preservation and photograph conservation, educating the top archivists and conservators from around the world.

Mr. Eastman (1854–1932) built his home at 900 East Avenue between 1902 and 1905. He created a unique urban estate complete with 10.5 acres of working farm land, formal gardens, greenhouses, stables, barns, pastures, and a 35,000-square-foot, 50-room Colonial Revival mansion with a fireproof structure made of reinforced concrete.

Mr. Eastman’s house presented a classical facade of decorative craftsmanship. Beneath this exterior were such modern conveniences as an electrical generator, an internal telephone system with 21 stations, a built-in vacuum cleaning system, a central clock network, an elevator, and a great pipe organ, which made the home itself an instrument, a center of the city’s rich musical life from 1905 until Eastman’s death in 1932.

Mr. Eastman’s will bequeathed his estate to the University of Rochester for 10 years. His close friend Rush Rhees, then president of the university, resided here until 1935, succeeded by the Valentine family. Following World War II, the university transferred the estate to a board of trustees, which formed to establish a museum of photography, attracting precious artifacts from around the world to a center of study, care, and exhibition.

The George Eastman House Museum of Photography was chartered in 1947. Today the Museum’s full name is George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. The Museum’s mission from the outset was to collect, preserve, and present the history of photography and film. The Museum opened its doors to a diverse public audience in 1949, displaying its core collections in the former public rooms of Eastman’s house.

The Museum’s original collections–including the Medicus collection of Civil War photographs by Alexander Gardner, Eastman Kodak Company’s historical collection, and the invaluable, massive Gabriel Cromer collection from France–attracted significant additions over the next 40 years. Entire archives, corporate collections, and artists’ lifetime portfolios have been donated to the Eastman House, as well as a staggering assemblage of rare motion pictures and ephemera.

By 1984, the Museum’s holdings were considered among the world’s finest. However, with the collections growing at a rapid pace, the Museum increasingly suffered from its own success. With an increasing number of materials to store, protect, and study, space and financing became critical.

Between 1985 and 1988, more than $30 million was raised for capital improvement and collections care. Eastman Kodak Company led the way, challenging the public with an endowment gift worth more than $17 million. Public contributions of $12.5 million provided for the construction of a state-of-the-art archives building, including a study center and exhibition galleries. The archives building is 73,000 square feet of climate- controlled vault, archival, research, and gallery space, much of it built below ground, with restored historic gardens above.

For the first time in its history, the Museum had attained physical and financial security for its precious materials and the ability to offer unlimited access for a range of audiences. The new facility opened to the public in January 1989, and now houses more than 400,000 photographs and negatives; 28,000 films and more than 4 million film stills; 53,000 publications; and more than 25,000 pieces of technology.

Also as part of the capital improvements, nearly $2 million was devoted to an exacting restoration of Mr. Eastman’s house and grounds. Using vintage photographs and other historical evidence, more than 85 percent of the original furnishings and virtually all of the complex decorative interior were returned or restored during the three-year process. Reopened to the public in January 1990, the Eastman House is a biographical treatment of Eastman’s estate as a reflection of his unique life. Four of Mr. Eastman’s formal gardens have been restored, and the remaining areas of the grounds will be restored or adapted to Museum’s needs.

Other museum programs and facilities were significantly improved during this period. Second floor galleries in the mansion document Mr. Eastman’s life and times; the Discovery Room, a popular hands-on education department program, enjoys expanded facilities in a wing of the second floor; a lecture hall has been renovated as a multimedia theater in memory of General Edward Peck Curtis; and the Dryden Theatre, a motion-picture venue with 535 seats, was renovated in order to continue its tradition of film exhibition, specializing in restored film classics.

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FINGER LAKES 

TPA CONTACT: Monroe County

Claire Wysokowski

Office: 585-279-8325

11:30am
Tour Rochester Museum and Science Center
657 East Ave,
Rochester, NY 14607
P: 585-271-4320
www.rmsc.org

The Rochester Museum and Science Center, or RMSC, is a museum in Rochester, New York that features many hands-on exhibits, planetarium shows, and more.

12:30pm – 1:45pm

Wegmans Super Store

3195 Monroe Avenue

Pittsford, N.Y. 14534

www.wegmans.com

Rochester-based, Wegmans Food Market has more than 70 stores in NY, NJ, PA, MD, OH, VA & soon MA.  Wegmans is the #1 tourist attraction in the area.  It’s a must see.  It won the first-ever Food Channel award for the grocery store that most changed the way we shop and has been named to Forbes Top 10 Places to Work for more than 10 years.

2:00pm-2:45pm

Tour Strong – National Museum of Play

1 Manhattan Square,

Rochester, NY 14607

P: 585-263-2700

www.museumofplay.org

2^nd largest museum for children in the country.  Largest collection of toys, dolls and play-related objects in the world; also home to National Toy Hall of Fame

3:00pm – 4:00pm

Tour George Eastman House

900 East Ave,

Rochester, NY 14607

P: 585-271-3361

www.eastmanhouse.org

The George Eastman House is the world’s oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world’s oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949.

4:15pm – 5:00pm

Tasting and Tour at Casa Larga Vineyards

2287 Turk Hill Rd.

Fairport, NY 14450

P: 585-223-4210

www.casalarga.com

Contact: Andrea O’Neill

Casa Larga Vineyards is one of New York’s premier wine producers, highly regarded for its production of award-winning, world-class Ice Wines.

5:15 pm

Check into Woodcliff Hotel and Spa for overnight

199 Woodcliff Dr,

Fairport, NY 14450

P: 585-381-4000

www.woodcliffhotelspa.com

Located atop wooded hills in Fairport, just off I-90, Woodcliff Hotel and Spa is only 20 minutes from downtown Rochester, and offers spectacular views of the Rochester Skyline, Rochester Bristol Hills and Finger Lakes region.

6:30 pm

Pick up for Dinner at Black & Blue Steak and Crab

3349 Monroe Ave,

Rochester, NY 14618
(585) 421-8111

blackandbluesteakandcrab.com/

A “new” style of American steakhouse, a twist on the old classic. It’s not just about our great steaks at b&b, something we obsess about. What also sets us apart is our family owned fish & seafood company in St Petersburg Fla, where we are able to hand pick and ship the freshest gulf seafood available.  It touches no purveyors, and no middle-men on the way to you; from the boat to black & blue.

Friday, Feb. 28

8:30am-9:00am

Breakfast at Woodcliff and depart for Ontario County

Arrive 9:45am: Ontario (Pick up at Woodcliff Hotel and Spa)

www.bristolmountain.com

TPA CONTACT: Ontario County

Valerie Knoblauch

Email: valerie@visitfingerlakes.com

10:00am – 1:00pm

Lessons and skiing at Bristol Mountain

5662 New York 64,

Canandaigua, NY 14424

P: 585-374-6000

www.bristolmountain.com

Bristol Mountain is the premier resort located in the Western Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York. The resort sits on a base elevation of 1000 feet.

1:00pm

Lunch and Winetasting in the Naples Area

Naples, NY

Back to Downtown Canandaigua

www.BrewandBrats.com

5:15pm

Check-in to the Inn on the Lake (to be confirmed)

770 S. Main St,

Canandaigua, NY 14424

P: 585-394-7800

www.theinnonthelake.com

The Inn on the Lake Resort & Conference Center has distinguished itself as a unique year-round getaway for business events and personal relaxation.

6:30pm

Dinner and Winetasting at the New York Wine and Culinary Center

800 S Main St,

Canandaigua, NY 14424

P: 585-394-7070

www.nywcc.com

Our mission at The New York Wine & Culinary Center is to educate, engage and excite our visitors by celebrating and showcasing New York’s finest in wine.

nywcc.com

8:00pm

Check into Hotel for the night

Saturday, March 1

8:00am – 8:30am

www.theinnonthelake.com

Breakfast at Inn on the Lake and depart for Cortland County

Arrive 10:30am: Cortland County (meet Jim)

TPA CONTACT: Cortland County

Jim Dempsey

Phone: 607-753-8463

Email: jim@experiencecortland.com

10:30am – 3:30pm

Tour and Ski at Greek Peak Mountain Resort (Lunch at the Resort)

2000 New York 392,

Cortland, NY 13045

P: 800-955-2754

Greek Peak Mountain Resort is a ski resort, with a vertical drop of 952 feet, located near Cortland, New York. Greek Peak offers day and night skiing 7 days a week from late December until mid March.

 www.greekpeakmtnresort.com

4:00 – 5:00pm

Tour Toggenburg Mountain – Pass to Onondaga County

1135 Toggenburg Rd,

Fabius, NY 13063

P: 315-683-5842

Toggenburg Mountain Winter Sports Center is family owned and operated. Located on Toggenburg Road just off NY Rt. 80, it is one mile east of the Village of Fabius. Toggenburg has 21 trails, including two terrain parks, serviced by five lifts. Check this Web site for our many services, such as equipment rentals and childcare. The Foggy Goggle Restaurant and Sports Bar is acclaimed as one of Central New York’s finest eateries!

www.skitog.com

TPA CONTACT: Onondaga County

Nikita Jankowski

Phone: 315-470-1903

NJankowski@visitsyracuse.org

5:30pm – 8:00pm

Dinner and shopping in Armory Square

5:30-6:30pm

Shopping

Armory Square of Downtown Syracuse,

241 W Fayette St,

Syracuse, NY 13202

http://www.armorysquareofsyracuse.com/

6:30pm – 8:00pm

Empire Brewing Company

120 Walton St.

Syracuse, NY 13202

P: 315-475-2337

empirebrew.com

Empire Brewing is an award-winning brewer of handcrafted ales and lagers. They provide customers with the finest all-natural ingredients available by utilizing fresh locally sourced products from over sixty Central New York farmers. Empire Brewing’s motto is “Eat Where You Live” and their menu consists of food from within 200 miles. Craft brewery on sight.

8:30pm

Jefferson Clinton Hotel at Armory Square

Sunday, March 2

8:30am – 9:00am

Breakfast at Hotel

9:00 – 10:30

Tour Village of Skaneateles

Skaneateles, NY

www.villageofskaneateles.com

Located on the north shore of pristine Skaneateles Lake, one of Central New York’s long, narrow and deep glacier-formed Finger Lakes, Skaneateles is a scenic village with quaint tree-lined streets and 19^th Century homes reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting.  The magnificent scenery provides an unparalleled setting for peaceful strolls through the charming village to visit the area’s restaurants, antique shops, boutiques, art galleries and parks.

www.syracuse.ny.us/parks/clintonsquareevents.html

11:00am – 12:00pm

Ice Skating in Clinton Square

12:15am – 3:30pm

Tour and Shop at Destiny USA

9090 Destiny USA Dr.

Syracuse, NY

www.destinyusa.com

LUNCH AT DESTINY

Destiny USA is a 2.4 million square foot tourist destination in Syracuse, NY that includes a strong mix of luxury outlet tenants, restaurants and entertainment.  New brands continue to open to create a unique and dynamic consumer shopping experience. A stunning three-story glass atrium provides perfect weather year round.  Oxford Economics has projected an annual visitation rate of over 29 million visitors from throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Destiny USA is expected to be the second most visited shopping center in the country, according to Travel and Leisure magazine. It is the largest LEED^® Gold certified retail commercial building in the world.

4:00pm

Arrive at Syracuse Hancock International Airport

1000 Col Eileen Collins Blvd,

Syracuse, NY 13212

FLIGHT:

Delta Airlines Flight # 3813

Departure SYR 5:28pm

Arrive LGA 6:50pm

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