EAST: 4 Sites
What:
Women’s Rights National Historical Park.
Where:
Seneca Falls, NY
Why:
In 1848 the first women’s rights convention was held here, drawing delegates from
around the world. The scattered seeds of equality for women which had been planted in
Europe sprouted from that meeting into the organized beginning of the modern women’s
movement. The National Park Service has done a splendid job in Seneca Falls. Many
important sites throughout the village are well-preserved and marked. The centerpiece is
the museum, a two-story reminder full of creative displays illustrating how far we have
come and how far we have to go.
Surprise:
Why Seneca Falls? In the early 1840s the village was a small center of culture and
progressive politics in western New York state. A few of the local leaders traveled to
London in 1840 to attend the first world conference on slavery. The wives who went along
were shocked to find that they, as women, were not allowed to attend the sessions of the
conference. Returning to Seneca Falls, this absurd affront provided the impetus that led
to the 1848 meeting.
Internet site:
http://www.nps.gov/wori/
What:
Caravaggio’s The Sacrifice of Isaac; George Segal’s In Memory of May
4, 1970, Kent State: Abraham and Isaac.
 Where:
Princeton, NJ.
Why:
It is extraordinary enough that one of the few surviving Caravaggio’s is here. That
George Segal’s moving tribute to the tragedy at Kent State should also wind up here
(see the Kent State entry in the Midwest section for how this happened) using the same
Biblical story of filicide should also be here borders on the miraculous.
Surprise:
The Segal is permanently installed outdoors on the campus. You will be hard put to locate
the Caravaggio, though your effort will be well-rewarded.
Internet site:
http://www.pbs.org/georgesegal/monuments/monuments1.html
What:
Falling Water
Where:
Mill Run, PA
Why:
Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece of residential design is to world architecture what
the Mona Lisa is to painting. Reservations are necessary for the tour.
Surprise:
The house, spectacularly sited literally over falling water, is in structurally precarious
condition.
Internet site:
http://www.swcp.com/FLW/homes/fallingwater.html
What:
Baseball.
Where:
Cooperstown, NY.
Why:
While basketball is America’s sports gift to the world, baseball is, to the bored
bafflement of all non-Americans, one of the keys to understanding American culture. Tiny
snippets of minimal action separated by long minutes of nothing happening: The rest of the
world just doesn’t get baseball. Which is not to suggest that Americans get it
either. But no observer of modern America is worth reading who does not make a serious
effort to understand the game and its enigmatic significance.
Surprise:
Legend has it that the game started here. But as years pass and more research is done, it
seems more and more likely that baseball evolved slowly over decades in the early 19th
century. Still, Cooperstown, with the Baseball Hall of Fame, embodies the sport and most
of its history.
Internet sites:
http://www.cooperstownchamber.org/
http://baseballhalloffame.org/
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