GIS Storymaps, 2015
The History Project provides seven self-guided Storymaps' tours of Cayuga Heights, the largest enclave of Cornell faculty in Ithaca. View architectural and residential histories of homes within this scenic 1.8-square-mile neighborhood. Wander past Stickley architectural gems, commanding views of Cayuga Lake at Sunset Park, Vladimir Nabokov’s six village residences, the homes of giants of the World War II Manhattan Project, the site of the 1958 Malott protests, and more. The link below will take you to the GIS (Geographic Information Services) Storymaps. You may access the maps on your computer or handheld device (using 4G/LTE).
Thematic Tours
Physical Environment (Built and Natural) Storymaps:
Notable Architecture Built as a “residence park,” and reflecting the influence at the time of noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Cayuga Heights streets were characteristically narrower than standard city or suburban streets, with irregular curves following the natural topography. Developers Newman and Blood established guidelines for architectural styles, which included Arts and Crafts, variations of Greek, Tudor, and Colonial Revival. Early designs include Gustav Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired homes, and Cornell University architecture professors sometimes used the Heights as a laboratory for their designs. Sites Included here are village sites such as Community Corners, planned in 1947 as a walkable commercial and community hub, originally controlled by village residents to ensure that shops served their daily needs; the Cayuga Heights Fire Department, which maintains an innovative “bunker” program which allows some members, usually Cornell or Ithaca College students, to live rent-free in exchange for volunteering; and Pleasant Grove and Lakeview Cemeteries, burial grounds of William Strunk, Jr. and Carl Sagan. Natural Environment Included here are various locations in Cayuga Heights highlighting the natural environment, such as Palmer Woods along Triphammer Road, part of the Cornell Plantations, Sunset Park, a favorite July 4th location boasting commanding views of Cayuga Lake and West Hill, and countless small gorges, streams, natural areas, and gardens. . . . . . Note: The History Project does not provide address information for current residents. Our tours contain information about previous owners and renters, only. We respect the privacy of our neighbors. . . . . . |
People (Past Residents) Storymaps:
Manhattan Project Trail Cornell University scientists played a major role in developing the first atomic bomb used in World War II. As head of the Manhattan Project’s theoretical physics division in Los Alamos, physics professor and longtime Cayuga Heights resident Hans Bethe recruited many young scientists from Los Alamos to join the Cornell faculty after the war. At least a dozen scientists involved in the Manhattan Project lived near Bethe, within less than a two-square mile area adjacent to the Cornell campus. Nabokov Trail Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov taught at Cornell University from 1948-1959. He was a serial house renter, living with his wife, Vera, in six different houses in Cayuga Heights alone. His students included celebrated novelist Thomas Pynchon and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was in Ithaca that he penned much of Lolita and Pnin, and conceived Pale Fire, ostensibly grabbing a coffee or lunch at Community Corners, and drawing a bit of material from his Cayuga Heights backdrop. Past Residents: Notable Awards and Honors The Village Cayuga Heights is a 1.8 square mile (current population approx. 3700) university suburb adjacent to Cornell University and within the Town of Ithaca, New York. This tiny municipality, just a slice of an already accomplished and creative larger population, has been home to at least a dozen Nobel Prize laureates, eight Pulitzer Prize winners, six MacArthur Award recipients, an Olympic Hall of Famer, an Emmy award winner, and countless other winners of the top prizes in their fields. This map identifies one-time homes and stories of some past residents who have had an outsized contribution to culture and humanity. Cultural Interest There is no shortage of creative and intriguing people who have called Cayuga Heights their home at some point in their lives. More books are likely written each year in 1.8 square miles of Cayuga Heights than in most towns or cities across the country. Quirky tales of former residents abound, such as that of silent film star, Irene Castle, or of abstract-expressionist painter Edith Clifford Williams, who maintained a 50-year long-distance affair with Hu Shih, one of the most influential architects of Chinese cultural reform. |
These storymaps are made possible through the generous guidance, assistance, and dedicated efforts of
the Tompkins County Geographic Information Services (GIS) staff, Svetla Borovska and Greg Potter.
With your help, we will continually be improving and expanding this information.
the Tompkins County Geographic Information Services (GIS) staff, Svetla Borovska and Greg Potter.
With your help, we will continually be improving and expanding this information.