O'Mara will join representatives of Wharton Studio Museum, Friends of Stewart Park, city of Ithaca, Tompkins Chamber to announce state funding on Thursday

Ithaca, N.Y., October 18—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) will join representatives of the Wharton Studio Museum and Friends of Stewart Park, and City of Ithaca officials, later today to announce new state funding to assist the development and completion of the Wharton Studio Museum and Park Visitor Center in Ithaca's Stewart Park.

O’Mara secured the funding as part of the 2018-2019 New York State budget.

The announcement is scheduled for Thursday, October 18, 2018, beginning at 1:00 p.m. in Stewart Park at the Wharton Studio/Department of Public Works Building..

The media and the public are invited to attend.

WHAT: Announcement of New York State funding

DATE: Thursday, October 18, 2018

TIME: 1:00 P.M.

WHERE: Stewart Park, Ithaca, NY -- Wharton Studio/Department of Public Works building

WHO:

New York State Senator Tom O’Mara

Diana Riesman, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Wharton Studio Museum, and Board Chair of Friends of Stewart Park

Rick Manning, Executive Director, Friends of Stewart Park

Deb Mohlenhoff, Deputy Mayor, City of Ithaca

Jennifer Tavares, President & CEO, Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce

From 1914 to 1920, Ithaca's Wharton, Inc. Studio produced hundreds of films and popular serials, starring some of the best-known actors of the day -- Irene Castle, Lionel Barrymore, Pearly White, and Oliver Hardy. This historic studio building, one of only a handful of silent movie studios still standing across the nation, is an important artifact from a century ago when Ithaca was a bustling center of moviemaking. 

The transformation of the studio building, located by scenic Cayuga Lake and the Cayuga Waterfront Trail, into the Wharton Studio Museum and Park Visitor Center is a cornerstone project in the overall revitalization of Stewart Park into a vibrant cultural and recreational center for residents of the city and Tompkins County, as well as visitors to the region.