Cortland: Museums, Art and Walks

Cortland can be explored through very different cultural experiences: historic houses tell the story of the region, a gallery is devoted to contemporary art, and rolling grounds and winding paths shape the landscape at Cortland Rural Cemetery. Theater is part of the mix, too. So when choosing a vacation rental in Cortland, you might first ask yourself which of these sides of the place interests you most.

Historic Houses and History to Discover

The 1890 House Museum is located in Historic Downtown Cortland and became a museum in 1975. Guided tours take visitors through four floors and last about 60 to 90 minutes. This time estimate can help you plan the visit as a separate activity. The house’s name and its history as a museum are two different pieces of information: the museum was established in 1975, while the tours described here focus on the building and its floors.

The Suggett House Museum also offers a way to explore history, but with a different emphasis. The house was built in the Italianate style in 1882. A gallery of vignettes uses objects from the collection to illustrate the history of Cortland County. So, rather than getting an overview of buildings alone, you can also discover selected collection items as part of the region’s history. The house is also home to the Then & Now Children’s Room, an interactive history room exclusively for children. For families looking for a dedicated history experience for children, this is a specific difference from a tour of a historic house.

Art Between the Gallery and Campus

The Dowd Gallery presents up to seven exhibitions each year. The works are primarily by nationally and internationally recognized contemporary artists. Those interested in different perspectives on contemporary art will find a different focus here than in the historic houses.

The juried Student Select exhibition offers another perspective. It takes place every spring semester and gives the public a glimpse of the visual art being created on campus. Cortland thus showcases both work by established artists and student art in an exhibition. If you’d like to give your trip a cultural focus, you can take these different perspectives into account as you plan your stay.

Grounds and Paths at Cortland Rural Cemetery

Cortland Rural Cemetery is a 19th-century Victorian garden cemetery. Its character is shaped by rolling grounds, winding paths that follow the terrain, and lush plantings of trees and shrubs. This setting is quite different from the interiors of museums and galleries: here, the focus is on the cemetery’s design and on how its paths connect with the landscape.

Visitors can explore the cemetery on foot with an interactive Cemetrail tour. The tour offers a specific reason to experience the place on foot, rather than including it in your travel plans only as a historic name. If you’d like to include this part of Cortland, you can set aside time for it as a separate activity; no walking time or route length is specified.

Theater as a Seasonal Cultural Highlight

Cortland Repertory Theatre presents its fall and winter productions at the Downtown Cortland Theatre, 24–26 Port Watson Street, Cortland, New York 13045. The venue and the seasons specified give you a clear point of reference if theater is among the experiences you’re looking for. You can include this focus in your plans for a stay in Cortland alongside museums, visual art and the cemetery, without combining the different offerings into a single tour.

The experiences mentioned differ in subject and format.

More destinations at the same level: Mcgraw, Marathon.

For the broader travel overview: Cortland.