Streetside Sights & Scenes: Finger Lakes Again!

I do very much enjoy this feature, to show you all around the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions. We've done this before, but I've got a much larger group of pictures here this time. Not interested? No problem! The supermarkets return on Saturday with our next group. We're going to wander through the region in the same order we saw stores in. I've also linked stores nearby to each picture or set of pictures that we've seen.

Skaneateles
TOUR: Tops Friendly Markets

Looking south from the northern tip of Skaneateles Lake in the town of Skaneateles.

What a beautiful day to visit the lake!

Looking back towards the town, these buildings line the main street of the town but back up to the water.

Auburn
TOUR: Maxwell's Food Store
Snapshot: Wegmans Food Markets

Auburn is one of the largest cities in the area, with a beautiful downtown. There's a lot to see here, with quite a few notable landmarks.

The Phoenix Building, at South and Genessee Streets.

A wonderful theater just down south street, right behind the Wegmans.

The NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center, Harriet Tubman statue (far left), and Seward House Museum at South and Lincoln Streets.

City Hall across the street.

An arch at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, William and Lincoln Streets.

This was something new to me! The Cayuga County Historian's Office on Court Street.

Cayuga County Courthouse on Genessee Street.

State Street looking north from Genessee. If you're looking for exceptional Italian food with great service, stop by Osteria Salina at 16 State Street and you will not be disappointed.

The famous Genessee Beer sign at the east end of downtown. For the fascinating history behind this landmark, check out this article from Syracuse.com.

Seneca Falls
Snapshot: Tops Friendly Markets (Waterloo)

Best known for the Seneca Falls Convention, the town today has a pleasant downtown that seems to have seen better days. Linked above is the Tops in Waterloo, just outside Seneca Falls.

Geneva
Look Inside: Tops Friendly Markets (former)

Downtown Geneva, unlike Seneca Falls or Bath, actually seems to be a bit more lively than when I'd visited in the past. The pleasant and pedestrian-friendly downtown features a variety of stores and restaurants, and it's right on the northern tip of the lake.

The Geneva Antique Co-Op, located just to the left of Lynch Bros. Furniture, is also a great treasure hunt place with reasonable prices.

A Finger Lakes Railway train in reproduction New York Central-style livery stopped me outside of the downtown area as it crossed Lake Street.

Watkins Glen
TOUR: Tops Friendly Markets

Looking north on another beautiful day out onto Seneca Lake from the pier in downtown Watkins Glen. Watkins Glen is also home to the world's smallest diner...

Unfortunately, the World's Smallest Diner had closed for the day by the time I arrived, but it's remarkable how tiny it is.

A glimpse inside from the front window.

Penn Yan / Keuka Lake Outlet Trail
TOUR: Morgan's Grocery
TOUR: Tops Friendly Markets
Snapshot: ALDI
Snapshot: ACME Markets (former)

Looking north on Main Street from the south end of downtown.

The Penn Yan Diner, east of downtown on Elm St near Morgan's Grocery.

The south end of Main Street is home to Birkett Mills, a grain producer.

Sure, it's a large mill, but it's nothing compared to the pancakes they make. The griddle used to make the World's Largest Pancake back in 1987 is hung from the side of the building.

Note that the surface area of this griddle is many times the floor space in the World's Smallest Diner. Also in Penn Yan is the trailhead of the Keuka Lake Outlet Trail, a seven-mile trail from Penn Yan to Dresden on Seneca Lake. It makes for an excellent hike or bike ride, especially since it follows the path of a railroad built on a former canal path. Along the way, you see a variety of scenery along with some industrial ruins (though many have been demolished entirely in the last few years in conjunction with improvements on the trail). We're moving west to east along the trail, from Penn Yan to Dresden...

A long-abandoned and overgrown building with a smokestack. There was probably a larger building on this site too.

You can see a concrete abutment from a past railroad bridge on the right side here.

Seneca Mills Falls was previously one of the largest ruins on the trail, but most of the industrial buildings have been demolished.

This building is gone, but some of the foundation remains.

A whistle post left over from the railroad, signaling that there is a grade crossing approaching and that the engineer has to blow the whistle of the train.

The ruins at Cascade Mill Falls are being demolished.

I distinctly remember going in at least one of these buildings, before they were fenced off. I'd assume they've been condemned now.

The waterfall, however, remains!

Passing under NY-14 near the Dresden trailhead. Check out the other perspective here!

And I always seem to encounter a train at the Dresden trailhead! This line is operated by the Finger Lakes Railway as well.

Jerusalem
Snapshot: Red & White (former - Branchport)

Looking southeast on Keuka Lake from Keuka Lake State Park in the northwestern corner of the lake. This is technically in Jerusalem, but Branchport is the nearest town.

Hammondsport
TOUR: Hammondsport Grocery

Pulteney Square in downtown Hammondsport at the southern end of Keuka Lake.

Outside of Hammondsport, the Finger Lakes Trail passes through a vineyard and rolling hills before getting into the mountains. Another beautiful hike.

With an unexpected surprise...

You cross and briefly walk along a set of long-abandoned railroad tracks. When the trail veers off to the side, they are completely invisible despite being fully intact due to the dense overgrowth.

And higher up in the mountains, you don't exactly get views of the lake but you get a clear sense of elevation. This picture doesn't capture it entirely, but you can see how you're many hundreds of feet up with nothing but a sheer cliff between you and a valley way, way down there.

Naples
TOUR: Shop N' Save (from 2019)

I ate again at Bob & Ruth's but this time had to grab some interior pictures. The front dining room looks like a regular diner, with a bar in between and this lounge at the back with large picture windows looking out on the vineyards.

And this bar room is not only wonderfully retro, but simply beautiful.

Owego
TOUR: John's Fine Foods
Snapshot: Tops Friendly Markets

This is as good a place as any to start our look at Owego, a great small town in the Southern Tier! This mural is on the side of an antique mall which resides in a former J.J. Newberry department store...

Heading north towards John's Fine Foods, we find some fascinating buildings and storefronts.

I genuinely cannot tell whether this store is closed for the day or closed forever, but man would I love to get inside and look around.

But we can peek inside...

Across the street from John's, we have a firehouse and a wonderful traincar diner. I love diners. I currently live in Worcester, MA where most traincar-style diners were built by the Worcester Lunch Car Company. And I'm from northern New Jersey which is the land of diners.

Interesting how this diner is angled sideways to fit in between the other buildings.

Well, after about a month, I think that officially wraps up the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier! Up next, we'll be heading to Rockland County, which is southeastern New York to the west of the Hudson River on the New Jersey border, and that will round out our New York state coverage. Stay tuned!