A bit more info on Stewart Park's renovation, from the Ithaca Journal:
Stewart Park fix-up plans unveiled
Ithaca group forming goals, ambitious fundraising aims
10:01 PM, May. 16, 2011
Written by
David Hill
Rehabilitating Ithaca's main lakefront park moved forward Monday with the unveiling of the projects that volunteers, including a newly formed Friends of Stewart Park organization, hope to tackle, and the announcement of an ambitious fundraising goal of $10 million in 10 years, in time for the park's centennial.
"Our vision is to re-create the magic place we call Stewart Park," said Scott Wiggins, an Ithaca hotelier and a leader of the new benefactor group. "Keep that in mind: Ten years and 10 million dollars. We can do it, Ithaca."
At the Tompkins County Public Library's Borg-Warner Community Room, architect Claudia Brenner and landscape architect Rick Manning outlined improvements with cost estimates for the short- and long-term.
The work has been managed by the Cayuga Waterfront Trail Initiative, a program of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and received grants from the Tompkins County Strategic Tourism Planning Board.
The goal is to seek project sponsors and to use volunteer labor and expertise, just as volunteers have tackled painting and clean-up in the past few years.
All the park's buildings would be rehabbed, including the large and small pavilions, Cascadilla boathouse, the former Wharton silent-film studio now used as a city public works workshop, and the concession stand.
A new playground would be built, and extensive landscaping would include a waterfront performance pier and plaza, and reconstruction of the park's early pathways. Access for people with disabilities would be improved, and landscaping would address geese control and other wildlife habitat.
The Friends organization recognizes that city government cannot rehabilitate the park on its own, Wiggins said. The Friends has an organizational meeting in June with plans to seek tax-exempt non-profit status, Wiggins said.
To gain momentum, four living former mayors plan a joint letter campaign to raise funds for a community-build rehabilitation of the Mayor Edwin Stewart Memorial Flagpole Garden by the park's 90th anniversary, July 4.
More information is at
www.cayugawaterfront trial.org, under "special projects."
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...text|FRONTPAGE
Here's a link to Stewart Park on Wiki:
http://ithaca.govoffice.com/index.as...D49298134C9%7D