Chautauqua Institution
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (February 2008) |
Chautauqua Institution Historic District | |
 Hall of Philosophy | |
| Location | Chautauqua, NY |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Jamestown |
| Area | 2,070 acres (8.3 km²) |
| Built | 1874 |
| Architect | Paul Peltz, Lewis Miller |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian and other late 19th and early 20th-century architectural styles. |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001168 |
| Added to NRHP | June 19, 1973 [1] |
"There is no place like it. No resort. No spa. Not anywhere else in the country, or anywhere in the world – it is at once a summer encampment and a small town, a college campus, an arts colony, a music festival, a religious retreat and the village square – and there’s no place – no place – with anything like its history.”
-David McCullough, historian, author -----
Why do people come to the Chautauqua Institution? Many of the visitors who return to Chautauqua year after year describe it as an experience rather than a vacation -- a place for renewal. The Chautauqua Institution was founded on the belief that everyone “has a right to be all that he can be -- to know all that he can know.” The experiences come in many forms. A dramatic lakeside setting and the beauty of its National Historic Landmark architecture (it was designated a National Historic Landmark June 30, 1989) make the Chautauqua Institution a thriving community where visitors come to find intellectual and spiritual growth and renewal.
Chautauqua Challenge
To be a center ...
for the identification and development of the best in human values through a program which:
Encourages the identification and exploration of the value dimensions in the important religious, social and political issues of our times;
Stimulates the provocative, thoughtful involvement of individuals and families in creative response to such issues on a high level of competence and commitment;
Promotes excellence and creativity in the appreciation, performance and teaching of the arts.
To be a community ...
in which religious faith is perceived, interpreted and experienced as central to the understanding and expression of our social and cultural values, a community which is open to all and is distinctly founded upon and expressive of the convictions of the Christian tradition.
To be a resource ...
for the enriched understanding of the opportunities and obligations of community, family and personal life by fostering the sharing of varied cultural, educational, religious and recreational experience in an atmosphere of participation by persons of all ages and backgrounds.
The Chautauqua Challenge defines the mission of the Chautauqua Institution. It was adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1974 and was revised in 2000.
History
Chautauqua Institution was founded in 1874 by inventor Lewis Miller and Methodist Bishop John Heyl Vincent as a camp for Sunday school teachers. The Institution has operated each summer since then, gradually expanding its season length and program offerings organized around the four pillars: arts, education, religion and recreation. In this unique way Chautauqua is much more than a resort; it was originally considered an "assembly" and the assembly model today remains a more descriptive term for Chautauqua's community of renewal. It offers a wide range of educational activities to an average of 7,500 people, in residence on any particular day during the season, and another 145,000 during the season attend public events, including popular entertainment, theater, symphony, ballet and opera.
The Institution also includes school of Special Studies, and a residential music program of intensive study is offered to students on the verge of professional careers who audition for admittance into Chautauqua's schools of fine and performing arts.
The physical setting of the Institution defined its development as an assembly. The grounds are situated at a prominent point on the west shoreline of upper Chautauqua Lake, and especially in the early decades of the assembly those who attended met among groves of trees and greenery. The early tent camp assembly gave way to cottages and rooming houses, and then hotels and eventually condominiums. But much of the pastoral summer retreat on the lake survives.
In 1973 the National Park Service recognized the institution's historic importance by adding it to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1989, the Department of the Interior designated it a National Historic Landmark District, consisting of most of the Institution property between NY 394, formerly NY 17J, the lake and (roughly) Lowell and North avenues.
Miscellaneous Facts About Chautauqua
-The Chautauqua Institution was founded in 1874 by Lewis Miller, an Akron, OH, inventor and manufacturer; and John Heyl Vincent, a Methodist minister (later bishop). -The Chautauqua Institution is a National Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designated a National Historic Landmark June 30, 1989. -Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his "I Hate War" speech from the Amphitheater platform in 1936. -Ronald Reagan addressed the Third General Chautauqua Conference on U.S.-Soviet Relations via satellite in 1987. -Carlos Roberto Reina, president of Honduras, was the first foreign sitting head of state to visit Chautauqua. He spoke during the Second Chautauqua Conference on Central America in 1995. -Thomas Edison was the son-in-law of Chautauqua cofounder Lewis Miller. -George Gershwin composed his Concerto in F in a Chautauqua practice shack in 1925. -The Athenaeum Hotel was one of the first hotels to have electric lights. -Kellogg Hall (built 1889) was moved from Bestor Plaza to its present site in 1905. [2][3]
Institution programs
Summer admission to Chautauqua is by "gate ticket" which allows the purchaser to enjoy the grounds and its village atmosphere, including many 19th-century houses, churches, theaters, pavilions, attractive gardens and the town square, Bestor Plaza, named after Arthur Bestor, president of the institution from 1915 to 1944.
The gate pass also allows use of Smith Memorial Library, including open wireless internet, use of public beaches and parks, and attendance at lectures and concerts. There is an additional charge for some courses, for films shown at the Chautauqua Cinema, for opera and theater tickets, and for use of the golf course and tennis courts.
The official Chautauqua season runs for nine weeks each summer, from late June to late August, though many of the residents arrive as early as May and stay well past Labor Day. Though many of the people living on the grounds have been coming for many years and for multiple generations in their family, the Institution also eagerly seeks to attract those who have never before visited Chautauqua. Newcomers often begin with a stay of a day or two, move on to a week and then come for longer in subsequent years. Chautauqua waives the gate fee for visitors aged 90 and over (It has been facetiously described as "the place where little old ladies go -- and bring their grandmothers.")[citation needed]
Weekly program
A typical weekday at Chatuauqua includes a devotional service and a lecture on a social, political or academic issue in the morning, an afternoon lecture on a religious topic, and an evening program. This evening Amphitheater event may be a symphony concert by the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, a dance program by the Chautauqua Ballet Company, or a program by a special guest artist. Performers this past season included Neil Sedaka, Three Dog Night, and Michael W. Smith. During most weeks, there is at least one opportunity to catch an opera and a play, both put on by Chautauqua's resident summer companies. Operas are performed in English at Norton Hall, a 1930s era art deco structure. There are also regularly scheduled organ recitals on the Massey Memorial Organ, student recitals, master classes, forums, and seminars for the sophisticate.
A range of special studies courses in music, art, dance, drama and general topics are also offered. The Chautauqua Schools of Music offer extremely competitive programs on the basis of scholarship. George Gershwin visited Chautauqua as a summer refuge to compose parts of his Concerto in F in a small wooden piano studio and give its first public performance.[citation needed]
The 10:45 morning lecture program is one of the most distinctive features of the program at the Institution. The program for each week is built around a unifying theme, such as world events. Chautauqua has been visited by United States Presidents from Ulysses S. Grant to Bill Clinton, and by other prominent Americans including Booker T. Washington, Karl Menninger, Tom Ridge and, in 2006, Al Gore.[4] Franklin D. Roosevelt's historic "I hate war" speech was delivered from the podium in the Chautauqua Amphitheater (1936).[5]
Sundays at Chautauqua are rich and full,[citation needed] with many worship services, both denominational and ecumenical. There is an afternoon Amphitheater program, such as a military band or student dance program. On Sundays, entrance to the Institution grounds is free. Worship services are coordinated by the permanent Department of Religion staff.
Special events
There is a special program on the first Tuesday in August called "Old First Night". This is the "birthday party" for the Institution, marking the opening of the first season back in 1874 and serving as an opportunity to whip up spirit for the fund-raising that makes Chautauqua programming possible.
Children's programs
One of the oldest day camps in the United States is the Chautauqua Boys and Girls Club, founded in 1893. The Children's School established in 1921, is a developmental preschool for youth ages 3-5, and was a pioneering program in the field of nursery school education. The program includes a social, recreational and educational activities which often incorporate other Chautauqua programs in the areas of music, drama and art.
Institution facilities
The Institution's grounds, located between New York State Route 394 and Chautauqua Lake, include public buildings (such as the 6,000-seat Amphitheater), administrative offices, a library, a movie theater, a bookstore, hotels, condominiums, inns, rooming houses, and many private cottages. There are about 400 year-round residents, but in the summer the population swells as many as 10,000 at any one time. The Institution is largely a pedestrian community, with bikes and scooters seen everywhere and a 12 mph speed limit for cars. There are several parking lots located on the periphery of the grounds.
The Athenaeum Hotel on the grounds is the only hotel actually owned and operated by the Institution. The 156-room hotel, said to be the largest wooden building in the eastern United States, was built in the Second Empire style in 1881. It has a two story porch supported by narrow columns, with a central, mansard-covered tower.Athenaeum Hotel, Chautauqua Institution sample page in a coffee table book
The hotel usually offers complete packages of room, meals at the hotel's dining room, and the Chautauqua gate pass. Although the number of hotel rooms has steadily declined on the grounds in the past thirty years, there has been a corresponding growth in condominiums. A supply of affordable housing remains a challenge on the grounds.[citation needed]
Palestine Park is a relief map of Palestine, showing the general contour of the area, including mountains, valleys, water-courses and cities.
Department of Religion
Chautauqua's Department of Religion provides a wide variety of services of worship and programs that express the Institution's Christian heritage and its interfaith commitment. It provides lectures and educational programs that probe contemporary religious and theological ideas.
The Department of Religion strives to create a climate in which people who cherish various points of view and beliefs can exchange ideas, discuss their differences, and ponder the significance of their diverse experiences and insights.
Chautauqua's impact on adult education
The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), founded in 1878 by Bishop Vincent, is America's oldest continuously operating book club. It was founded to promote self-learning and study, particularly among those unable to attend higher institutions of learning. Six to nine books are added to the reading list each year, with authors generally coming to Chautauqua to discuss their writing and to talk with readers. Members may graduate from a CLSC class on a special Recognition Day during the summer season after they have paid dues for four years and read any 12 books from the complete CLSC list.
The ideals of the Chautauqua Institution were spread throughout the United States through a number of Independent Chautauqua assemblies, and a series of traveling Circuit Chautauqua assemblies, incorporating many of the program components of the Institution, including lectures, music, nondenominational preaching, and a focus on current issues. Several Independent Chautauquas continue into the 21st century.
See also
External links
References
- ^ "National Register Register listings for Chautauqua County". National Park Service.
- ^ a b "Chautauqua Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2007-09-10.
- ^ Carolyn Pitts (February 14, 1989), Template:PDFlink, National Park Service and Template:PDFlink
- ^ Gore visits Chautauqua Institute [1]
- ^ I Hate War Address [2]
| Topics | |
|---|---|
| Lists by state |
|
| Lists by insular areas | |
| Lists by associated state | |
| Other areas | |
| Related | |
