Leaders in Ithaca Focus on Stewart Park Im­prove­ments

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Leaders in Ithaca are making a push to bring more visitors to Stewart Park.

While a lot of work has already been done in the area, those leaders are now focused on bigger projects ahead.  

They include revitalizing the Picnic House, converting the former Wharton Silent Film Studio into a Visitor Center, painting the Cascadilla Boathouse and restoring a gazebo.  

Friends of Stewart Park and the Wharton Studio Museum presented those project proposals to New York State Sen. Tom O'Mara Friday.  

They discussed the potential for municipal, county and state funding.  

"It's obviously not an overnight project, we're talking probably several million dollars in the end for what would need to be done," O'Mara said. "So it's going to be done phase by phase so we can talk about what the priorities are."

Friends of Stewart Park also anticipates private donations coming in.