Wharton Studio building
The historic Wharton Studio building is an important early 20th Century artifact, one of only a handful of silent film studios still standing in the United States today.From 1915 -1921 Ithaca was a vibrant center of motion picture production with the Wharton Studio on the shores of Cayuga Lake attracting some of the best known actors of the day: Irene Castle, Lionel Barrymore, Pearl White, Creighton Hale, and Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy fame).Inside the studio building, on the ceiling, one can see original metal tracking that was likely used for moving scenery and walls. Since films were silent, multiple scenes could be shot at the same time. There was no need for "quiet on the set."The Whartons built outdoor sets and platforms around the studio building and utilized every inch of the natural settings the park had to offer including the lake.The Whartons had an office the the tall tower (shown in photo) that stood between the Wharton Studio and its sister building across the plaza. The tower was destroyed in Hurricane Hazel in 1954.Wharton Studio Museum is working on plans, in collaboration with Friends of Stewart Park and the City of Ithaca, to transform the former Studio -- currently used by the City's Department of Public Works for maintenance and storage -- into a park visitor center with exhibits on Ithaca's silent movie history, as well as the history of Stewart Park.
Cayuga Lake, Ithaca, New York
The Whartons chose to locate their movie production studio in what was then Renwick Park, renamed Stewart Park, because of the beauty of the setting and its proximity to Cayuga Lake. When a scene required water -- be it the sea, lake or pond -- Cayuga Lake provided the perfect location.This 1916 still is from Wharton Studio's "Patria" starring silent film superstar Irene Castle (her former home is also featured on this tour) shown in the photo. Young actresses were sometimes thrown into Cayuga Lake's icy waters to obtain the perfect shot for a scene. Legend has it that on occasion, due to the frigid temperatures of the lake, one or two had to be "fortified" with alcohol to bring up their body temperature.
Picnic Pavillion at Stewart Park
This festive party scene from one of the Whartons' silent films was shot outside the historic Picnic Pavillion which was, along with the Wharton Studio -- its sister building across the plaza -- built in 1896 and designed by Vivian & Gibb, architects who apprenticed with William Henry Miller, one of Ithaca's foremost architects who designed many of the city's iconic buildings.As the pavillion was part of the studio compound, it was used for both indoor and outdoor shooting.Plans are in the works to restore and refurbish the Picnic Pavillion by the Friends of Stewart Park in partnership with the City of Ithaca. Currently, the building's seven original door and window units are being restored to their original glory.
Greystone mansion at 106 Cayuga Heights Road
PLAY VIDEOGreystone Mansion, today the headquarters of the Cornell branch of Sigma Chi Fraternity, was once the home of international screen star and fashion icon Irene Castle and her husband Robert Treman of the well-known local Treman family. The house features an expansive garden and pool which was, during Castle and Treman's tenure, filled with sea water brought in-- at Castle's request -- in barrels from the East Coast. After several days and a few swims, Ms. Castle would apparently have someone pull the plug at the bottom of the pool, the water would cascade down Kline Road and the next saltwater shipment would arrive and the pool re-filled. Greystone was featured in a film called A Romance of the Air, shot in Ithaca in 1918 and produced by Carl E. Carleton. This adventure film was loosely based on the autobiography of Lt. Bert Hall, an American WWI flying ace with the famed French Lafayette Escadrilles. Hall starred in the film alongside acclaimed musical actress Edith Day. Lt. Hall introduced the film at screenings throughout the country and it premiered in New York City on November 11, 1918 -- Armistice Day -- and was shown at Ithaca's Strand Theatre in March of 1919.
Stewart Avenue Bridge, Ithaca, New York
This iconic shot, taken by a Cornell University student, is from the Wharton Studio's "Prince of India" which was released as "Kiss of Blood" and filmed on the Stewart Avenue Bridge in 1916. One thousand people turned up to watch this exciting action sequence being shot. Needless to say, it had to be filmed in one take!The original Stewart Avenue Bridge over Fall Creek was constructed in 1899 by the Owego Bridge Company, completing the electric transit system loop through the Cornell campus and the developing Cornell Heights neighborhood. Standing on the bridge today affords a breathtaking view of Ithaca Falls below.
Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell University
You are at the spot where 100 years ago Irene Castle and Milton Sills filmed a scene from Patria in 1916 in front of Goldwin Smith Hall on Cornell University's campus. Like other motion picture studios during the period of World War I, the Wharton Studio produced patriotic films, and Patria, starring the internationally famous Irene Castle, was an episodic serial in which Castle played the role of Patria Channing a munitions factory heiress who works to save the United States. This film was partially financed by newspaper magnet William Randolph Hearst and his Hearst International Film Service.If you look closely, you can see the actor Warner Oland, who later played Charlie Chan, lurking behind them.
Cornell University Arts Quad, Ithaca, New York
PLAY VIDEOPictured here is the cast and crew of an Essanay Film Co. film starring Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne pictured on Cornell University's Arts Quad in 1913.Before creating his own motion picture studio -- Wharton, Inc. -- in Stewart Park in 1915, Theodore (Ted) Wharton had come to Ithaca, in 1912 sent by the Essanay Movie Co. to document typical college life at Cornell. As a filmmaker always envisioning his future films, Ted Wharton was taken with the diversity of Cornell's student population and also the beautiful natural settings Ithaca had to offer.The pillars of Goldwin Smith Hall are visible in the background. Built in the neoclassical style in 1904, the building was designed by Carrere and Hastings, the most famous Beaux-Arts architecture firm of the time, also responsible for the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue.The video link shows a clip from If Women Only Knew from 1920, a film produced by Cayuga Pictures which occupied the Wharton Studio building after the Whartons left Ithaca in 1919. This film takes place in a fictional campus called "University of Colburn" which is obviously Cornell University. If Women Only Knew was the last silent movie produced in Ithaca.
Eddy Street Gate, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
PLAY VIDEOThe Eddy Street Gate is featured in this scene from If Women Only Knew, produced by Cayuga Pictures in 1920, purportedly the last film to be produced in Ithaca. Cayuga Pictures, chartered by the State of New York, leased the Wharton Studio building after the Whartons left Ithaca in 1919 and after Grossman Pictures spent a year making films there.Built as the Andrew D. White Gate -- but known as the Eddy Street Gate-- this is one of Cornell University's most famous landmarks. Originally erected in 1896, the gate was built to serve as the main entrance to Cornell. Designed by William Henry Miller and constructed of alternating layers of sandstone and limestone, the gate was immediately dubbed "Andy White's layer cake."
Cascadilla Gorge Trail
PLAY VIDEOIrene Castle and Milton Sills cling to one another in the Cascadilla Gorge in a scene from the Whartons' successful episodic serial Patria (1916)starring internationally-known Irene Castle as Patria Channing. Cascadilla Gorge, like so many other dramatic natural locations in Ithaca, appealed to filmmaker Theodore Wharton, who envisioned incredible potential backdrops for his films in these beautiful settings. From the Cornell Botantic Garden, "Cascadilla Creek drops 400 feet from campus to downtown Ithaca, carving through bedrock - shales, siltstone and sandstone - exposing sedimentary rocks that were deposited 400 million years ago. Look for ripple marks on the rock surface, which once was the muddy floor of an ancient ocean.Cascadilla Gorge was originally preserved and donated to Cornell University by Robert H. Treman (father to Robert E. Treman who was married to film star Irene Castle) in 1909 to support public use, education, and enjoyment."
Robert Treman State Park, Upper Entrance
In 1917 the Whartons produced The Great White Trail, which they shot at the beautiful Upper Entrance of Robert Treman State Park.F.W. "Dick" Stewart, an Ithaca stockbroker, played the villain in this drama set in the Goldrush. Apparently Mr. Stewart was so taken with acting that he abandoned his stockbrokering business and devoted himself fulltime to acting and directing films. The winter of 1917 did not produce the amounts of snow needed for the film's scenes, so the film company had to move its production to the Adirondacks in pursuit of proper winter weather.Wharton Studio Museum showed The Great White Trail on a big screen with live music in 2011 right at the Upper Entrance to the park, and in 2017 for its 7th Annual Silent Movie Under the Stars, Wharton Studio Museum will be showing The Great White Trail again, celebrating the films 100th Anniversary! For more information about this outdoor summer screening, visit Wharton Studio Museum.
