A Trip to Seneca Falls (Updated)

My plans for the evening got derailed, so I’m switching gears for today’s blog post. I’m re-sharing my adventure finding the Ludovico Sculpture Trail a couple years ago and then I’ve added the painting that was inspired by the trip at the end. Enjoy!

This weekend I went for a random drive up the east side of Seneca Lake. Of course I stopped by two of my favorite waterfalls along the way – Shequaga Falls in Montour Falls and Hector Falls in Burdett. The water flow for both is way more than I recall ever seeing at this time of year. We’ve had so much water this summer and fall that it definitely shows in the waterfalls (fingers crossed that that means less precipitation for the winter months). Here’s a comparison of last weekend with pictures from 2016 almost the exact date.

After visiting both these waterfalls, I continued up the road along Seneca Lake and eventually ended up in Seneca Falls, New York. I had never actually been to Seneca Falls before but there’s a lot of history that takes place in this area of the state. Seneca Falls was the place of the Seneca Falls Convention, an important event in the Women’s Rights Movement, and also is believed to be the inspiration of the town Bedford Falls in “A Wonderful Life”.

Ludovico Sculpture Trail

My fun find of the evening was the Ludovico Sculpture Trail – a 1.7 mile section of old railroad bed converted to pedestrian trail along the Seneca-Cayuga Canal starting at the George Bailey Bridge.

Wilhelmina Pusmucans, a local art lover, developed and executed the idea for the sculpture trail. The land was donated by Frank J. Ludovico, a local businessman, for the park from the former Lehigh Valley Railroad bed.

The sculpture trail celebrates Seneca Falls with themes incorporating the Women’s Rights Movement, local industries, and canal transportation. It features the work of primarily female artists.

This piece to the right is titled “The Status of Women” and is representative of the different rights gained by women.

As usual, I went a little overboard with taking pictures. I hope you enjoy a glimpse at the beautiful art in nature that the trail has to offer and find a time to go visit to experience this unique treat in person.

It was such a beautiful fall day and the clouds were reflecting off the Seneca-Cayuga Canal perfectly.

“Freedom Spirit” (left) and “Hugo the Heron” (right) by New York artist Carol Adamec.

This sculpture may have been the most interesting one in the collection with all of the different components that were used to bring the sculpture together. The piece is called “Working Man’s Alchemy” by Audrey Iwanicki. It was created as a tribute to one of the major employers in Seneca Falls – Goulds Pumps – which is located directly across the river from this sculpture.

The lines of the side of the bridge looked so pretty against the canal as the sun was starting to set, I just had to stop and take a picture (or 10) for later.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Before heading out of town I made a quick stop to see the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House just up the road. It seemed like an appropriate thing to do with an upcoming election in a couple of weeks. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a big part of the Women’s Suffrage Movement and helped to establish women’s right to vote.

Have you visited Seneca Falls before? Let me know!

River of Progress, 11×14 acrylic on canvas

If these waters could talk. Flowing through Seneca Falls, the Cayuga-Seneca Canal has been front and center to the struggles and victories of Women’s Suffrage. “River of Progress” depicts an evening walk along the waterway in this small New York town. Wandering, I stumbled across the Ludovico Sculpture Trail, a sculpture walking trail featuring work of women artists and celebrating the themes of the Women’s Rights Movement, local industry, and canal transportation. This painting features the canal at dusk and the sculpture “Free Spirit” by Miriam Nelson – showing the beautiful combination of nature and art inspired by historic progress.

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