New York Vacation and Travel Ideas for Literary Tours
Mark Twain Study and Exhibit
The Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College
One Park Place
Elmira, NY 14901
Website: http://www.elmira.edu/academics/distinctive_programs/twain_center/study
Email: twaincenter@elmira.edu
Phone: (607) 735-1941
Samuel Clemens (1835 - 1910), who wrote under the pen name of Mark Twain, summered in Elmira, New York in the 1870s and 1880s, at the home of Susan and Theodore Crane, his wife's sister and brother-in-law. In 1874 the Cranes had an octagonal study built for Twain a short distance from their house. In this study, Twain wrote portions of Roughing It, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and the Pauper, Life on the Mississippi, A Tramp Abroad, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, along with a number of shorter pieces.
In 1952, the study was moved from Quarry Farm, the Crane's home, to the Elmira College campus. Visits to the study are guided by Elmira College students. Today Quarry Farm houses visiting Mark Twain Scholars to Elmira College's Center for Mark Twain Studies. Elmira's Hamilton Hall houses a Mark Twain Exhibit, featuring photographs, stereoscopic views, and other artifacts relating to the summers Twain spent in Elmira. A statue of Twain on campus was a gift of the Elmira College class of 1934, longtime supporters of the Center for Mark Twain Studies. Twain is buried at nearby Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira.
Other Twain sites of interest include:
The Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site and Mark Twain State Park in Florida, MO. For more information see , visit: http://www.mostateparks.com/twainsite.htm, or call: (573) 565-3449.
The Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, MO. For more information see , visit: http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/, or call: (573) 221-9010.
The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. For more information see , visit: www.marktwainhouse.org, or call: (860) 247-0998.
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Washington Irving's Sunnyside
West Sunnyside Lane
Tarrytown, NY 10591
Website: http://www.hudsonvalley.org/sunnyside/index.htm
Email: info@hudsonvalley.org
Phone: (914) 631-8200
Washington Irving (1783 - 1859) is best known for his short stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Rip Wan Winkle. He was also a prolific writer of essays and biographies, including several volumes about Christopher Columbus and a five-volume biography of George Washington. He was one of the first American writers to be hailed as a major talent in Europe, and is said to have advised Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allen Poe Washington Irving, author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, once occupied this gorgeous white stone house. Everything on the property has been restored. A tourist can view the icehouse, root cellar, walking trails that Irving constructed and even the wisteria vine planted by the writer. Visitors have the option of taking a tour with a costumed guide. For a little extra money, having a picnic on the "Romantic" grounds is also an option.
Having spent much of his earlier adulthood traveling widely, in 1835 Irving purchased a small 18th century Dutch farmhouse on the banks of the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York. With the help of his neighbor, landscape painter George Harvey, Irving completely renovated the stone cottage, transforming it into a romantic retreat complete with Dutch stepped gables. Today, the home is filled with furnishings from the late 18th and early 19th century, representing Lrving's international travels and his many friendships both at home and overseas. The grounds of Sunnyside have been preserved much as they would have appeared in Irving's time, with rolling lawns and wildflowers enhancing the natural beauty of the riverside location.
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Edgar Allan Poe Cottage
The Historical Society
3309 Bainbridge Avenue
The Bronx, NY 10467
Website: http://www.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/about/poecottage.html
Email: - none listed
Phone: (718) 881-8900
Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849), widely known for his macabre stories, is considered the father of today's detective fiction. Born in Boston, Poe lived in Baltimore, Richmond, New York, and in Philadelphia during a tumultuous and troubled life. Poe lived in New York, from 1844 until his death in 1849. He moved into this cottage, a small, wooden circa 1812 farmhouse, in 1846. It was here that he wrote Annabel Lee, The Bells, and Eureka.
The Bronx offered a rural setting at the time, an environment in which Poe hoped that his wife, Virginia, would be able to recover from tuberculosis. Unfortunately, that proved not to be the case, and she died in January of 1847. Poe himself died in 1849 while on a trip to Baltimore, where he is buried.
The cottage has been in the care of the Bronx County Historical Society since 1975, and has been restored to its original appearance. Period furnishings combine with Poe family belongings, including the author's rocking chair, to give visitors a sense of the appearance of the home during Poe's lifetime. A film presentation introduces visitors to the home, and is followed by a guided tour. Poe Park, which surrounds the cottage offers a playground, and walkways.
Other noteworthy Poe sites include:
The Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia. For more information, see: , visit: http://www.poemuseum.org/, or call: (804) 648-5523.
Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore. For more information, see , visit: http://www.eapoe.org/ or call: (410) 821-1285 (no calls after 10pm)
The Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more information, see , visit: http://www.nps.gov/edal/, or call: (215) 597-8780
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Hall of Fame for Great Americans
Bronx Community College
The Bronx, NY 10453
Website: http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/HallofFame/
Email: - none listed
Phone: (718) 289-5161
Founded in 1900, the Hall of Fame for Great Americans was the original hall of fame. On display are 98 bronze busts, the largest collection in the entire United States. The building is in the shape of a unique semi-circle with stunning views of the Harlem River, Fort Tryon Park, and the Palisades. The bronze busts include the great writers of the United States along with scientists, inventors, explorers and others. Guided tours are available and admission is free.
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Wilder Farmhouse
Almanzo & Laura Ingalls Wilder Association
P.O. Box 283
Malone, NY 12953
Website: http://webpages.marshall.edu/~irby1/laura/malone.html
Email: - none listed
Phone: (518) 483-1207
Almanzo Wilder (1857 - 1949), husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder, was born and grew up in this small red farmhouse. Farmer Boy, Laura's second book, recounts tales of Almanzo's boyhood here. Visitors can tour the home and see a stocked pantry, restored furnishings such as beds used by the children of that time, and a large loom similar to the one Almanzo's mother used to make her children's clothes. The barns are being rebuilt based on the descriptions in Laura's book. The Trout River, also mentioned in Farmer Boy, still flows a short distance from the house. In 1875 the Wilders were forced to leave Malone for Minnesota, as a result of crop failures.
Other notable sites dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Little House books include:
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society in De Smet, South Dakota. For more information, see , visit: http://www.liwms.com/, or call: (800) 880-3383.
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Cabin and Museum in Pepin, Wisconsin. For more information, see: , visit: http://www.pepinwisconsin.com/cgi-bin/viewnlcontent.cgi?nlarticle_id=2, or call: (800) 442-3011.
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum in Burr Oak, Iowa. For more information, see , visit: http://www.lauraingallswilder.us, or call: (563) 735-5916.
Little House on the Prairie, 13 miles southwest of Independence, Kansas. For more information, see , visit: http://www.littlehouseontheprarie.com or http://www.indkschamber.org/things_to_do_in_independence.htm, or call: (620) 289-4238.
Walnut Grove, Minnesota, setting of the popular television series, Little House on the Prairie. For more information see , visit: http://www.walnutgrove.org/, or call: (800) 528-7280.
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri. For more information, see , visit: http://lauraingallswilderhome.com, or call: (417) 924-3626.
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Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site and Interpretive Center
246 Old Walt Whitman Road
Huntington Station, NY 11746
Website: http://www.waltwhitman.org/
Email: wwba@optonline.net
Phone (613) 427-5240
The poems of Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892) have been described as quintessentially American for their irregular, freestyle verse and rejection of the rigid metrical rules of European poetry. Parallels are often drawn between Whitman's reinvention of poetry and the great transformations taking place in America during his lifetime, particularly the nation's experience of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Ironically, although Whitman is hailed as an icon of American poetry, his early work was initially poorly received in the United States, but was awarded great critical acclaim abroad, particularly in France.
Whitman was born on Long Island in a farmhouse that is now part of the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site and Interpretive Center. The farmhouse was built by the poet's father, Walter Whitman, Sr., several years before Walt's birth, and museum has been restored to its original state. An interpretive center offers an introductory film and exhibits prior to a guided tour of the house. On display are original letters, manuscripts, portraits, and other artifacts, most notably Whitman's writing desk.. Whitman's birthday is celebrated annually, with readings of his work by the site's poet-in-residence, a musical performance, and the presentation of awards in the student poetry contest.
Walt Whitman's home in Camden, New Jersey, is also open to the public. For more information see ******, visit http://www.ci.camden.nj.us/htdocs/walt.html, or call (856) 964-5383.
Also in Camden is Whitman's Tomb, located in Harleigh Cemetery. A ceremony is held here every year on May 31, in memory of his birthday. For more information about Whitman's burial place, visit: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1098
Camden is also home to the Walt Whitman Arts Center. For information about the center, see , visit http://www.waltwhitmancenter.org, or call (856) 964-8300.
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Ezra Jack Keats
Prospect Park Imagination Playground
Ocean Avenue between Parkside Avenue and Lincoln Road
Brooklyn, NY
Website: http://www.prospectpark.org/dest/main.cfm?target=play#imagination
Email: - none listed
Phone: (718) 965-8951
Children's book author Ezra Jack Keats (1916 - 1983) is best known for his Caldecott-winning book The Snowy Day, along with Whistle for Willie, a Caldecott honor book. He is credited with introducing multiculturalism into mainstream children's books, and was one of the first writers of children's books in English to set his stories in the city. He illustrated over 85 books for children, and wrote and illustrated 24.
Keats is remembered with a bronze statue of his well-known character Peter, along with Peter's dog Willie, in Prospect Park's Imagination Playground. Story times for children are held here each weekend during the summer season..
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Countee Cullen Branch Library
104 West 136th Street (near Lenox Avenue)
New York City, NY 10030
Website: http://www.nypl.org/branch/local/man/htr.cfm
Email: countee_cullen@nypl.org
Phone: (212) 491-2070
The Countee Cullen library has many unique features including a story hour room, James Weldon Johnson Reference Collection for children and an African-American/Black Culture reference collection. There are workshops for children and young adults such as "Why Read?" and "Manga Drawing Workshop." Future events include "Flash, Bam, Alakazam," a special Latin/American musical program for children and a photography workshop for young adults. Special notes: Children's programs are constant so check the website.
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National Women's Hall of Fame
76 Fall Street
Seneca Falls, NY 13148
Website: http://www.greatwomen.org/visit.php
Email: greatwomen@greatwomen.org
Phone: (315) 568-8060
The first Women's Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls in 1848, so it is appropriate that today, great women of the United States are recognized in Seneca Falls, New York's National Women's Hall of Fame. Each honored woman is commemorated with a photo and biographical plaque. Events include inductee ceremonies and, in the past, a vintage women's baseball game. Authors who are honored here include Louisa May Alcott, Maya Angelou, Rachel Carson, Willa Cather, Zora Neale Hurston, and a host of others.
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