The Ganondagan State Historic Site opens its new Seneca Art and Culture Center on Saturday.
The site is operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and this past week, Commissioner Rose Harvey made a stop in Victor to see the expansion project.
She says Ganondagan is one of the state’s most important historic sites.
“We’re about connecting people, children families to the environment, to recreation and to their history and their culture.”
The new center was a $15 million project, with much of that money coming from foundations and private donations.
Site manager Peter Jemison says it provides gallery space, a theater and other amenities.
Jemison says a big advantage of the new center is that Ganondagan will now become a year-round facility, instead of being able to be used only part of the year. He says that will help with educational programs for area school children.
Ganondagan already attracts about 45,000 visitors a year and with the new facility, Jemison expects that number to grow.
“All the indications are, we’ve had so much interest in what we’re doing, and people asking , when are you going to open, and just judging from the amount of questions and requests that we’ve had.”
The Seneca Art & Culture Center is used to tell the story of the Seneca and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) contributions to art, culture and society for more than 2,000 years to the present day.
