| Stewart Park | |
|---|---|
 Willow trees line the Cayuga Lake shoreline in Stewart Park | |
  Location of Stewart Park within New York State | |
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Ithaca, New York |
| Coordinates | 42°27′40″N76°30′13″W / 42.46111°N 76.50361°W |
| Created | 1921 |
| Operated by | City of Ithaca |
| Open | All year |
| Website | www |
Stewart Park is a municipal park operated by the City of Ithaca, New York [1] on the southern end of Cayuga Lake, the largest of New York's Finger Lakes.
Stewart park offers space and facilities for outdoor recreation such as frisbee, tennis, basketball, paddling, and fishing. The park has a carousel that operates throughout the summer. There is an expansive, accessible playground that includes features to make it easier for children with wheelchairs or mobility aids to play, along with a splash pad fountain that runs in summer. Picnic tables and grills are spread throughout the park, and sheltered areas for picnics and large gatherings are available for rental. The wide, flat ADA compliant Cayuga Waterfront Trail runs through the park.
Fall Creek empties into Cayuga Lake through Stewart Park. Stewart Park is also the location of the Cascadilla Boat Club's boathouse, commonly called the Cascadilla Boathouse. The Fuertes Bird Sanctuary and Renwick Wildwood are popular locations for birdwatching within Stewart Park. Newman Golf Course, the City of Ithaca's municipal golf course, is technically part of Stewart Park's 177 acres (72 ha). [2]
Before the North American continent had been settled by Europeans, the indigenous peoples of the Cayuga Nation founded the village of Neodakheat in the area where Stewart Park is now located. [3] The land became Military Lot 88, 600-acre (240 ha), a tract of land granted to Andrew Moody after the end of the Revolutionary War. Moody sold the land to James Renwick on December 12, 1790. It remained in his family for 104 years as an undeveloped parcel of land. [4]
In the early 1890s, 40 acres (16 ha) of Renwick land was purchased by the Cascadilla School to build athletic facilities. At the same time, a trolley line leading to Cayuga Lake was constructed by the Cayuga Lake Electric Railway Company, later absorbed by Ithaca Street Railway, who also set about developing an amusement park near the lake. The group of properties became known as Renwick Park and opened to the public in 1894. [5]
Upon opening, the trolley park contained a zoo, a merry-go-round, a restaurant pavilion, and a dance pavilion, which became Ithaca's first vaudeville theater. However, in 1908, a decrease in the public's use of the railway system led to the dissolution of the Cayuga Lake Electric Railway Company; the company was replaced by the Renwick Park and Traffic Association. Trolley access to the park was completely discontinued in 1915, and the park closed.
Fifty-five acres (22 ha) adjacent to the park were set aside as a bird sanctuary maintained by the Cayuga Bird Club, now known as Renwick Wildwood. Another birding location around the “swan pond” near the Cascadilla Boathouse is known as the Fuertes Bird Sanctuary. It was named after famous ornithologist and Cayuga Bird Club president Louis Agassiz Fuertes upon his death in 1927. [6]
The park land was leased to Theodore and Leopold Wharton, forming the Wharton Studio during Ithaca's brief heyday as a silent film production center from 1915 to 1919. [7]
In 1920, Mayor Edwin C. Stewart declared during his inauguration speech that it was a "travesty" that Ithaca residents couldn't enjoy the lake without trespassing on private property. In 1921, the City of Ithaca purchased the former Renwick Park land and opened it to the public. Mayor Stewart died before the official opening of the park on July 4, 1921, leaving the city 150,000 to the city for the park. Renwick Park was renamed Stewart Park in his honor.
In 1934, the park's land was raised by several feet to reduce flooding. Although swimming had previously been allowed at the park since 1964, a prohibition against swimming has been strongly enforced. The ban came about after a boy drowned when turbid, sediment-laden water prevented lifeguards from seeing him. Conditions particular to the lake, including the quantity of sediment at the lake's bottom and the prevailing currents at the lake's southern end, cause such murky and turbid conditions to be common, necessitating the ban on swimming. [8]
A section of the Cayuga Waterfront Trail was completed in 2010, linking the Farmers Market at Steamboat Landing to the Visitors Center. This portion of the trail winds through Stewart Park. [9] In 2011, the Friends of Stewart Park began a wide-ranging rehabilitation and restoration project. [10] A new Inclusive and Accessible Playground was opened summer of 2020. A series of severe thunderstorms during the summer of 2021 caused "devastating" damage to Stewart Park and Newman Golf Course. [11] At least a dozen trees were downed, including some of the park's willow trees. [12] The Cayuga Waterfront Trail, playground, tennis court, sprinklers were damaged and were briefly closed for cleanup. [12] [11]
The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023. [13]
In 2011, the Friends of Stewart Park began wide-ranging rehabilitation and restoration for Stewart Park. [10] This effort began with the renovation of the Mayor Stewart Memorial Flagpole garden and clean up of the Picnic Pavilion and Wharton Building [17] Since that time, Friends of Stewart Park in partnership with the City of Ithaca, have led a major revitalization effort including reconstruction of the small Tea Pavilion, restoration of the Picnic Pavilion, carousel, Fuertes swan pond overlook, roof replacements on the Wharton Building and Cascadilla Boathouse, and many smaller improvements throughout the park. Aside from restoring the past, Friends of Stewart Park is enhancing the park for the future. In 2020 the organization completed a new accessible playground. In 2021, a year-round restroom was completed. [18] Further planned improvements include a new splash pad, added restrooms, and the creation of the Wharton Studio Museum and Park Visitor Center with a cafe.
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The storm that swept through Tompkins County Monday collapsed at least 12 trees at Stewart Park
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