SENECA FALLS, NY -- The new National Women's Hall of Fame scheduled to be completed in 2008 in a former knitting mill is an idea that has the region's tourism industry excited. One problem associated with such development, however, has been a scarcity of lodging.That will be taken care of with the announcement this week that a 70-room hotel is expected to open on the south side of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal at about the same time as the Hall of Fame. Details are being worked out and a concept plan is expected to be unveiled next month, according to the Finger Lakes Times.
"The hotel is being classified as mid-scale," the newspaper said. "It will be built on a 2.5-acre parcel with about 780 feet of water frontage and will offer breakfast services, a meeting room, an exercise room and an indoor pool.
"Also under consideration are the reconstruction of the historic clock tower behind the Seneca Falls Historical Society off Cayuga Street, green space, walkways, parking and public access to the canal."
The small upstate town is part of a tourist loop that includes the rolling countryside of the Finger Lakes wine region.
State Sen. Michael Nozzolio, who has been instrumental in directing state funds to local redevelopment, said in a statement, “The continued development of the canal is great news for the Seneca Falls community and continues our efforts to revitalize the Seneca Falls Harbor, enhance tourism and bring jobs to our region.”
The current Hall of Fame, established in 1969, moved into its present location, a former bank building, in 1979.
Seneca Falls is regarded as the "The Birthplace of Women's Rights." Local resident Elizabeth Cady Stanton (shown above), Lucretia Mott and 300 other women and men held the first Women's Rights Convention, in 1848. "The Declaration of Sentiments," which among other things demanded the right to vote for women, was passed by the assemblage.
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