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Hammondsport, NY

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Glenn H. Curtiss Museum

4.8 (47 reviews)
Open • 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Glenn H. Curtiss Museum Photos

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Linda M.

Made this a stop on a road trip and enjoyed the experience. Lots of admission discounts available for military, AAA, age-based etc. I've been to a similar aircraft museum where I first heard of Curtiss, but this included more history of engines with bicycles to motorcycles to cars to planes. You could get really close to the displays here. You still can't touch them though so this could be hard for small children. The only negative thing is that they had QR codes you could scan to see inside of the cockpits if you couldn't reach up to the windows, but there was no internet service so I could not watch them. I did however leave with a list of questions to Google that we went over over lunch such as how does a chainless bicycle work and why did pilot watches have faces that were rotated 90°. Great adventure for a couple hours that made you think.

History
Daniela B.

Great museum! The facilities are wide, spacious, tidy and very well kept. They have activities and an area for kids, which is pretty awesome. My favorite part was to get to see the workshop where they are reconstructing an aircraft. It's amazing! Also, to see the staff working (on Sunday) and get to talk to them was priceless. Highly recommended for all ages! To the museum: I saw an Olmeca head in the back of the house. I can't think of a reason why it was there! The Olmeca civilization is a part of my culture and I was shocked to see it there.

Donna R.

Just down the street from the Best Western Hotel is the Glenn H. Curtis Museum. It's dedicated to the memory of pioneer aviator, Glenn H. Curtis who was a resident of Hammondsport. It's a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours and walk around and take in all the airplane inventions from yesteryear with relating to early aviation and local history. There are also motorcycles, bicycles, boats, cars, antique tools that were also invented years ago. It's very cool to see how they improved and progressed over the years with each new invention. The museum also features a 75-seat theater, with a large open area for special events and a newly remodeled Museum Store. I was able to purchase a great sweatshirt, and pick up some cool gifts. Visitors are also welcomed to visit the Museum Restoration Shop. You can talk with volunteer craftsman and watch them work on historic aircraft. The staff were all very friendly and knowledgeable. This museum is a definite must if your visiting Hammondsport, NY.

As you approach the entrance, note the runway lights along with way
Jerry M.

The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum is a required pilgrimage for anyone who is a serious flying buff. The Wrights might have been first, but Curtiss did more for flight in his lifetime than the Wrights. Many of his accomplishments, along with others, are on display in the great museum. First point, Curtiss was born in Hammandsport, New York, in the Finger Lakes area of Western New York. It's an out of the way place, no doubt, probably an hour and a half south of the New York Thruway, although it's only a few minutes off I-86 from the Bath exit. It's worth the trip. Curtiss was a bicycle builder (so were the Wrights) who raced and was always trying to find a way to get more speed and performance. He went on to make and race motorcycles before he was introduced to flying, and the rest is (literally) history. You'll follow his growth and career path as you walk through the museum. The museum is on NY 54 and you can't miss it, a Curtiss-built C-46 cargo plane marks the front gate. Read the historical marker as you enter, and there's another marker near the door. As you approach the entrance, note the runway landing lights that line the sidewalk. Once inside, you'll have a chance to peruse a display of motorcycles, and I was happy to find a piece of home with some Harley-Davidson products on display. I was there when a feature (read: temporary) display of Snoopy and Red Baron was a part of my visit. Near a replica of Curtiss' "June Bug" (you saw one outside with the marker) is another little piece of home, a miniature car built by A.O. Smith. Also on display is a Curtiss JN-4D, fondly known as a Jenny. It was a plane of choice for barnstormers and the flying circus. Curtiss designed a 5th wheel RV that is on display, and scattered throughout the museum are Curtiss aircraft and sea planes. You'll find boats, aircraft engines, and a wide variety of automobiles of the Curtiss Era. Don't miss the Curtiss P-40 with its familiar "shark nose" paint job, parked under camouflage, and next to it is a WWII jeep built by Ford. Outside, you'll find a caboose from the short line Bath & Hammondsport Railroad, and if you go into Hammondsport (which I recommend) you'll find a depot from the same railroad. The Curtiss Museum turned out to be far more than I ever expected it to be. I'm a casual fan of aircraft and flying (I'm more of a car guy, actually) but this place was well worth the time to visit.

Victorian hair wreath
Vicky B.

Very worth the trip if you're in the area! The museum is very modern and not just for airplane enthusiasts, the diversity of exhibits offer something for everyone. Besides lots of airplanes and history on Glenn H. Curtiss himself, there's also motorcycles, cars, boats, a local wine history exhibit, Victorian era antiques, local history items, a caboose out back, and more! If you're into planes, you'll be impressed with the models they've restored and perhaps surprised with some of the local history behind them too. Interested in seeing a restoration in progress? The workshop out back is open to visitors as well. Like wine? The wine exhibit on local wineries is informative and takes you back to early wine making in the region. Like random stuff? Don't miss the impressive Victorian hair wreath or the large four leaf clover collection! The large museum is modern with a lot to see, plan to spend at least an hour here.

Motorcycles, and cars, and planes, oh my!
Tonya D.

Orville and Wilbur who??? I can't believe how the story of American aviation has evolved in such a way that the average American only knows of the Wright brothers and not much else. This museum was so interesting and explains who Curtiss was and how he fit in to the story of American aviation. What a story it is! Curtiss' first factory built motorcycles, so this museum has quite a collection of motorcycles as well as aircrafts (and even a few bicycles and boats!) The Curtiss museum isn't huge, but it's bigger than you'd expect. One could get through in an hour, but if you are really into motorcycles and planes there's plenty to keep you for a couple of hours. They are even working on the restoration of a Curtiss P-40 in the back workshop. When we visited, someone was in the workshop and so we had the opportunity to ask questions about the restoration. I'm going to tell everyone about this museum and I'm bringing my dad with me next time!

Arman A.

Great museum, staff is kind, gift shop has a bunch of goodies. Some workshop tools you can spin. Kids area has legos that will distract them. If you like planes and motorcycles this is the place to go.

Extra
Derick W.

What a great place! you can read all the praise given to Glenn Curtiss by the other reviewers but they are well deserved based on this museum. Definitely start with the movie. It provides the story, history and backdrop to all the displays you will see. Plan on a few hours to really enjoy it.

Christopher G.

I arrived early in the morning before they opened, and received a pseudo tour from the very nice lady who was opening up the museum. We shared a ton a info about the area and the history of Glenn Curtiss; quite the treat!! It was very nice to walk around all the aircraft, engines, and cars. In the back lot there is an active restoration project for a P-40

Mel B.

This museum has an eyeball from the monkey soup in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Have I got your attention, finger lake winery visiting hipsters? The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum is cool, and you should go check it out on the way to the nearby Keuka Lake wineries. Admission is only $8.50 for adults and pocket change (not really, but cheaper) for students and kids. Not like the place needs to be sold--the parking lot was full when we drove up. Glenn H. Curtiss was a genius. The photographs of him are amazing because his face never changes in any shot. However, this man made BIG CHANGES in the way we travel today. There was a map of the world absolutely covered with pins from international visitors--it just shows you how many people are excited about his achievements. The collection at the museum fits airplanes, motorcycles, boats, and trailers, as well as an entire Restoration Room. It's just huge. In a span of about two hours, I checked out record-breaking seaplanes and heroic aircraft with shark faces from WWI. I saw Indiana Jones' hat. That's there too. There is the biggest four leaf clover collection that I have ever seen, dozens of intricate doll houses, humongous engines, motorcycles, a Women in Aviation exhibit (We Can Do It!), and a wreath made out of hair. It's really pretty until you realize it's hair--those silly Victorians. Curtiss also made big money making seaplanes and aero-trailers and super-fast motorcycles a reality. There is an exhibit dedicated to his luxe living, including his fancy (and sunshine yellow!) 'Florida automobile' on display, and his wife's lovely jewelry. I found it fascinating to see what ingenuity can buy. I'm going to be serious for a minute. I wanted to climb into a plane. You can't do that here, and that made me a little bit sad. However, you can climb into a Train Caboose outside the museum. There is also an aircraft flying video-game simulator, and dress-up clothes so that you can look like a pilot, even if you can't pretend to be one in a big airplane. The best part was checking out their Restoration Room, complete with the museum's latest project paused in the workroom with tools neatly lining the walls and papers strewn about with project plans. It was like snooping in your neighbor's workshop, if your neighbor works on restoring airplanes and army jeeps from WWII. Good stuff.

Dzmitry M.

The museum is very spacious and well-organized. It will impress you with multiple stories and unique artifacts. Totally worth visiting.

Fastest man in the world motorcycle

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If you are a fan of Naval Aviation and the pioneers of flight adding in antique motorcycles you will enjoy this museum!

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Excellent museum! Really learned a lot about Mr. Curtis. Very reasonable charge. Loved the whole set up.

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Corning Museum of Glass - Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum of Glass

4.6(514 reviews)
19.3 mi

Great place for the family to gain a new appreciation for glass…read more Corning Museum of Glass is a standout museum that highlights the history of glassmaking and the contributions that Corning has made to advancing its use. We arrived on a rainy day to still find visitor parking packed. Inside past the guest shop, admission is $25 per adult and free for all children. It's quite worth it with multiple glass demonstrations. You can also experience making your own glass pieces with an instructor at the Studio for flameworking, fusing or glassblowing techniques ($28-$54), and pickup is next day after annealing overnight. The museum is comprised of 3 levels showcasing 3,500 years of glass history. It has scavenger card games to highlight the major glass pieces such as the intricate glass Lynx. In the lobby is Chihuly's massive Fern Green Tower, and the 1st level features neat contemporary glass sculptures such as the Endeavor of glass gondolas and even a Meat Chandelier. The 2nd level has various pieces from early Egypt to Rome where glassblowing was invented, then beyond to the Islamic world to across Europe, Africa, East Asia and locally. We were especially intrigued by pieces commissioned for the Emperor and the World Fair glass boat. Outside, a few pieces were also on display from Blown Away. We also crossed the bridge to the Innovation Gallery. It highlights Corning's contributions via engaging displays. We gained appreciation for how optical fibres replaced massive amounts of copper bandwidth. The Pyrex Tower highlights the invention of high strength glass ceramics seen in dishes and missiles. There is even a massive 20-ton glass cast telescope showpiece. The short glassmaking, flameworking & glass breaking demonstrations in this area helped teach guests the versatility and strength of this material. The volunteer for the glass breaking received a glass turtle, and a guest's artwork was used for the flameworking demonstration. Skip it or hit it? Definitely hit it for a one-of-a-kind museum experience that's well worth the drive.

We seriously underestimated this museum. When we paid and they gave us the arm band and said it…read morewas good for two days, I thought, why? Now I know. It's absolutely huge! With over 50,000 items inside spanning all the way from ancient Egypt to present, and three stories, we needed two days! The live demo was wonderful and my friend, who had never seen glass blown before, was really impressed. The innovation studio and all of the elements inside that are interactive are stellar. I loved seeing all the artistic pieces downstairs and then learning upstairs on the second floor. Sadly, we didn't have time to book making an item - they had some really nice glass items you can make for fair prices like a clock and other useful pieces. Would've loved to do it. I'd say you easily need 4-5 hours here if you want to do everything. The gift shop is huge as well so we spent around 30-40 minutes there. I will rave about this place to people for years to come. A happy find for us on our annual girl's trip, for sure.

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Corning Museum of Glass - Getting instructions

Getting instructions

Corning Museum of Glass - Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Museum of Glass - Rhinoceros glass sculpture made by master glass-maker after a child's drawing

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Rhinoceros glass sculpture made by master glass-maker after a child's drawing

It's A Wonderful Life Museum

It's A Wonderful Life Museum

3.8(17 reviews)
41.8 mi

The Museum in Seneca Falls highlights how the classic film was inspired by the town itself…read more Seneca Falls is often said to be the real-life model for the movie's fictional Bedford Falls, and the museum shares stories and exhibits that explore those connections. You get to see how the town's history and landmarks influenced the film's setting and characters, which adds a neat layer of meaning if you're a fan.

If you're a fan of the Christmas classic film, you will love the It's a Wonderful Life Museum in…read moreSeneca Falls. Having seen the movie many times, I was overjoyed to visit the museum, which contains a treasure trove of unique photos and artifacts related to the movie. While many of the items are replicas not used in the actual film, it's still a perfect place for fans of the movie to kill a bit of time perusing pictures of the cast members, some of which who visit the museum annually for events. Admission is a modest $5 donation, and they have a cute gift shop with items for purchase. Staff on site at the museum cannot have been any friendlier, and were willing to let us stay a few minutes even past the closing time as we had arrived shortly before they closed for the day. There is a perfect photo op spot to commemorate your bisit to "Bedford Falls." This particular museum is located in a temporary spot through 2026 while the original permanent museum is undergoing major construction and expansion. While I'm sure the permanent museum complete with theater.would be a perfect 5 out 5 rating from me, this temporary museum space was still a very enjoyable experience for me. If you are a fan of It's a Wonderful Life, make it a point to visit this museum in Seneca Falls. There is a bridge in town which served as inspiration for the bridge scene in the movie.

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It's A Wonderful Life Museum
It's A Wonderful Life Museum
It's A Wonderful Life Museum

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Pleasant Valley Wine Company - Museum

Pleasant Valley Wine Company

4.2(30 reviews)
1.0 mi
•$$

Also known as Great Western winery. It's the 1st bonded winery in the United states. For historical…read morepurposes of understanding champagne, wine, and sherry production, as well as its inception and roll in the region everyone should take the tour of Pleasant Valley Wine Company. This really is a treasure!! Allow 3 hours to spend time in the museum, watch a short film, take the tour, do tastings, and shop! It was time we'll spent for our group! Jenny, the manager, was our tour guide today. She was engaging, knowledgeable, and plain old a pleasure to spend time with on our tour. She gave us an in-depth tour of the facility with a lot of history! It gave us a better understanding and appreciation for champagne and sherry, how they are made and their history. I hope sherry has a comeback!! What a cool product with so many uses. The property could use some TLC, new roads, some fresh paint, but I get the idea they're doing what they can to keep the business alive. Our tasting experience, also with Jenny was enlightening! We had their champagne, found them to be wonderful! They also offer wine tastings, and sherry tastings. I'd never had sherry before. But it won't be that last time. I'll bake with it, cook with it, sip it! What a treat! They have an on-site shop where champagne, wine , sherry, and trinkets can be purchased for VERY reasonable prices! Don't miss this treasure!

While visiting Keuka Lake, my boyfriend and I ended up running into my mom and aunt who were in the…read morearea celebrating my aunt's birthday. Their next stop was to Pleasant Valley, so we decided to join them. My mom had made reservations and we arrived and added to them. The tasting was only $5 for each person, which was really nice compared to some of the other wineries who are charging a lot for the wine tastings. We were part of the last tastings of the day, so we didn't have time to look throughout the museum they have, which would have been nice. There is a lot of history there. For this winery, you are seated, and you give the server which wines you want and they bring them back with some crackers, and a piece of brownie. I didn't really care for the wines, I like drier, but my mom and aunt enjoyed it.

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Pleasant Valley Wine Company - Retired vats where you learn about 'coopers'. The chandelier is a Tiffany one of a kind.

Retired vats where you learn about 'coopers'. The chandelier is a Tiffany one of a kind.

Pleasant Valley Wine Company - Main offices, vat rooms, catacombs. This building was a post office for Rhimes/Reims, NY until 1945

Main offices, vat rooms, catacombs. This building was a post office for Rhimes/Reims, NY until 1945

Pleasant Valley Wine Company

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Glenn H. Curtiss Museum - museums - Updated October 2026

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