Category Archives: 2024 Centennial Celebration

2024 Centennial Celebration, Art

Honoring State Parks’ 100th Anniversary with Poetry

Leave a comment

If you’re visiting a New York State park or historic site in the Hudson Valley this year, you might have a poetic encounter!

New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) is presenting a new temporary public art project, Poetry in the Parks, to celebrate the Parks Centennial. Poems selected by the Poetry Society of America (PSA) and OPRHP are installed in three New York State parks and one historic site stretching from Westchester to Columbia County.

Clermont
FDR State Park
Lake Taghkanic
Walkway Over The Hudson
Walkway Over The Hudson
The five poems of the inaugural Poetry in the Parks installation.

This inaugural installation of Poetry in the Parks includes works by Andrea Cohen at FDR State Park in Yorktown Heights; U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón and New York Poet Laureate Patricia Spears Jones  at Walkway Over the Hudson State Park in Highland and Poughkeepsie; Robert Hass at Lake Taghkanic State Park in Ancram; and Ishion Hutchinson at Clermont State Historic Site in Germantown. Integrated with the architecture found in the parks, the selected poems are meant to be discovered by visitors to help them reflect on the beauty of their natural surroundings.

Continue reading Honoring State Parks’ 100th Anniversary with Poetry →
2024 Centennial Celebration, Cool Science, Family Fun

Total Eclipse Of The Parks

1 Comment

On April 8, New York State Parks and Historic Sites welcomed people from around the world to share a once-in-a-generation total solar eclipse. Thousands of people enjoyed a rich, memorable experience thanks to the hard work of our staff over a two-year period.

Public Information Officer Angela Berti of the Niagara Region led this effort on behalf of State Parks and represented our agency on the statewide Eclipse Task Force.

Our Park Police used their expertise in peacefully managing large crowds to keep our visitors safe. Countless staff worked behind the scenes and on the front lines to open selected campgrounds for the occasion, plan educational programming, get the word out to the public, make sure our parks were in top condition, and ensure the safety of our visitors.

As Chief of Staff and Commissioner Pro Tempore, I am filled with pride and gratitude for all the hard work of our staff in preparing for this remarkable event. Enjoy reliving the day with photos from around our parks and sites!

Dressed for the occasion at Crown Point State Historic Site (first two) and Niagara Falls State Park for all images following.
Continue reading Total Eclipse Of The Parks →
2024 Centennial Celebration, Park Personnel, Recreation, Share Your Story

Share Your Story: Conrad Baker on the Autism Nature Trail at Letchworth

1 Comment

With its spectacular scenery, Letchworth State Park is one of the most beloved parks in our system. But a crucial part of its story is the power of thinking differently.

Letchworth State Park.

William Pryor Letchworth, the park’s namesake, was deeply interested in epilepsy, traveling the country and the world in the late 1800s to study how it was treated. It’s not unreasonable to imagine that Letchworth would be proud to know that the park bearing his name is now home to a first-of-its-kind nature trail designed to meet the needs of people with an often misunderstood and stigmatized condition: autism.

Watch environmental educator, Conrad Baker, make connections between William Pryor Letchworth’s legacy and the Autism Nature Trail.
Continue reading Share Your Story: Conrad Baker on the Autism Nature Trail at Letchworth →
2024 Centennial Celebration, Cool Science, Family Fun, history

A Look Back At The Total Solar Eclipse Of 1925

1 Comment

Many of us remember the last total solar eclipse in the United States, known as the Great American Eclipse in August 2017. The news coverage talked of the path of totality which travelled from coast to coast, starting in Oregon and arcing south across the country through South Carolina. Those who remained here in New York were treated to a view of between 59-75 percent obscuration (covering) of the sun as the moon passed between the sun and Earth. While it was definitely a national event, New York didn’t get the front-row seats that being in an eclipse’s path of totality provides.

Path of 2017 eclipse, courtesy of Wikicommons.

Thankfully, many New Yorkers will soon have the opportunity to see this celestial wonder for themselves from their own backyards or local parks. On April 8, 2024, another total solar eclipse will pass from Mexico through parts of 14 different states and into Canada. This time, New York is in the eclipse’s path.

The 2024 eclipse path in New York State, courtesy of I Love NY. To drill down on the path of totality for April 8, visit our interactive map.

Some people have been looking forward to the 2024 total solar eclipse for years, some for decades! But all of this anticipation has some of us looking backwards to the last total solar eclipse that passed through the skies of New York State in 1925.

Path of 1925 total solar Eclipse, Butler Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute.
Continue reading A Look Back At The Total Solar Eclipse Of 1925 →
2024 Centennial Celebration, Park History, State History

Blazing a Trail Through History with Our Interactive Timeline

1 Comment

Commemorating a century of New York State Parks, we are proud to announce an interactive timeline detailing our agency’s history:  Blazing a Trail: A History of NY State Parks and Historic Sites. 

A stereographic photograph taken at the Prospect Point observation area of Niagara Falls. There are multiple people who are standing in front of the falls, posing for the camera.
A stereographic photograph taken at the Prospect Point observation area of Niagara Falls. Image courtesy of the New York Public Library.

Beginning with the acquisition of Washington’s Headquarters in 1850, Blazing a Trail delves into more than 170 years of stories and milestone moments, divided into eight chronological eras. The timeline experience, showcased in a modern and mobile-friendly way, introduces important figures in the State Parks’ history and examines the social and political context of each era of our park and historic site system’s development. With our Centennial celebration already in full swing, additional eras will be launching throughout 2024, reminding New Yorkers that New York’s state parks are truly made for them.  

Continue reading Blazing a Trail Through History with Our Interactive Timeline →