Things to do in Jamestown, NY

[BillsPride12]

My Mom is a huge Lucille Ball fan and we are taking her to the Museum for her Birthday next weekend and are also doing the National Comedy Center.  Jamestown is one place I have never really spent any time in.  Any other recommendations on things to see or do while we are there?  Also any food recommendations would be great too.  Thanks 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

26 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

My Mom is a huge Lucille Ball fan and we are taking her to the Museum for her Birthday next weekend and are also doing the National Comedy Center.  Jamestown is one place I have never really spent any time in.  Any other recommendations on things to see or do while we are there?  Also any food recommendations would be great too.  Thanks 

I have never been there, but have wanted to go to the Robert Jackson Center for a long time; that is located in Jamestown. 

[WhoTom]

Go to Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celoron. They have both Lucy statues there: Pretty Lucy and Scary Lucy.

 

If anyone is a nature lover, the Roger Tory Peterson Center is a good place to visit.

 

Bemus Point is a short drive from Jamestown. There are restaurants with lakeside dining there.

 

If you're into chili dogs, try AJ's Texas Hots, a Jamestown institution. They make the best hot dogs I've ever eaten. Get three with everything.

 

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

You could try to find the original 'Scary Lucy' statue.  Replaced by the version 2.0 'Lovely Lucy'.

*
(It's almost too easy a task, to find the original.)

 

EDIT:  WhoTom took away my fun as I was typing. ☹️😁

Edited September 9, 2023 by Ridgewaycynic2013

[Gugny]

1 hour ago, WhoTom said:

Go to Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celoron. They have both Lucy statues there: Pretty Lucy and Scary Lucy.

 

If anyone is a nature lover, the Roger Tory Peterson Center is a good place to visit.

 

Bemus Point is a short drive from Jamestown. There are restaurants with lakeside dining there.

 

If you're into chili dogs, try AJ's Texas Hots, a Jamestown institution. They make the best hot dogs I've ever eaten. Get three with everything.

 

 

If I could take a cross-country road trip and eat nothing but locally-renowned hotdogs, I would be one happy mo fo!

[ExiledInIllinois]

Chautauqua Institute,  but the season is probably over. Same with Lily Dale and the psychics... 🔮 That's kinda close.

 

Autumn 🍂 in wine country?

 

 

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by ExiledInIllinois

[BillsPride12]

2 hours ago, WhoTom said:

Go to Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celoron. They have both Lucy statues there: Pretty Lucy and Scary Lucy.

 

If anyone is a nature lover, the Roger Tory Peterson Center is a good place to visit.

 

Bemus Point is a short drive from Jamestown. There are restaurants with lakeside dining there.

 

If you're into chili dogs, try AJ's Texas Hots, a Jamestown institution. They make the best hot dogs I've ever eaten. Get three with everything.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

You could try to find the original 'Scary Lucy' statue.  Replaced by the version 2.0 'Lovely Lucy'.

*
(It's almost too easy a task, to find the original.)

 

EDIT:  WhoTom took away my fun as I was typing. ☹️😁

I totally forgot about the Scary Lucy debacle and didn't realize that one is still out there....yeah might have to search it out for S***'s and giggles 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

36 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

 

I totally forgot about the Scary Lucy debacle and didn't realize that one is still out there....yeah might have to search it out for S***'s and giggles 

According to Google, only 40 metres west of the newer version.  The first sculptor was quite accommodating about possibly reworking the original to better reflect Lucy's true persona.

[MarkyMannn]

You're not far from Allegany State Park. It's huge and beautiful

[SoTier]

Both museums are well worth visiting, and will probably take several hours each, so if this is a day trip, you probably won't have time to do much more than lunch and/or dinner.  Your mom should love the Lucy museum, and the Comedy Center is a wonderful interactive museum.

 

Lucille Ball is buried in Lakeview Cemetery which is at North Main Street (RTE 60) and Buffalo Street.  The main entrance is on Buffalo Street at Lakeview Avenue.  The route to the grave site is marked by arrows (blue I think) on small black/dark gray rectangular blocks.

 

The Jackson Center is just outside the downtown area.  I don't know if it's open on weekends.  It's a small museum with meeting/exhibit spaces dedicated to the memory of Henry H Jackson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the chief judge at the Nuremburg war crimes trials after WW II.

 

The Fenton Museum is a 19th century Victorian mansion just south of downtown that once belonged to New York governor Reuben Fenton which features the history of Chautauqua County.

 

Further afield, while the Chautauqua Institute's season is over, you can still wander the beautiful grounds, browse in the Bookstore, eat at the Brickwalk Cafe or splurge with a stay at the historic Athenaeum Hotel.  

 

Next weekend (Sept 15-18) should be the last weekend for the Bemus Point-Stowe Ferry, weather permitting.  It's an old steam ferry which was the only way to cross Chautauqua Lake before the I-86 bridge was built back in the early 1980s.  There has been a ferry between Bemus Point and Stowe for over 200 years!

 

Unfortunately, the Busti Grist Mill, built in 1839, will not be open next weekend.  It will be open for the Busti Apple Festival the next weekend, however.  They will probably have it grinding wheat into flour or corn into meal for the Festival. 

 

Dining ideas ...

Andriaccio's is a well-known Italian restuarant close to Chautauqua Institution.

On a nice day, you can have lunch on the lakeside deck at the Bemus Point Casino.   Beware the seagulls, and don't feed them until everyone in your party is done eating!

Ellicottville Brewing on Chautauqua in Bemus Point and Southern Tier Brewery in Lakewood offer spirits and food.  Southern Tier also offers live music.

Shawbucks is a bar/restaurant across the street from the NCC which offers dinners as well as pub grub (quite good) as well as live music later in the evening.

[BillsPride12]

20 minutes ago, SoTier said:

Both museums are well worth visiting, and will probably take several hours each, so if this is a day trip, you probably won't have time to do much more than lunch and/or dinner.  Your mom should love the Lucy museum, and the Comedy Center is a wonderful interactive museum.

 

Lucille Ball is buried in Lakeview Cemetery which is at North Main Street (RTE 60) and Buffalo Street.  The main entrance is on Buffalo Street at Lakeview Avenue.  The route to the grave site is marked by arrows (blue I think) on small black/dark gray rectangular blocks.

 

The Jackson Center is just outside the downtown area.  I don't know if it's open on weekends.  It's a small museum with meeting/exhibit spaces dedicated to the memory of Henry H Jackson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the chief judge at the Nuremburg war crimes trials after WW II.

 

The Fenton Museum is a 19th century Victorian mansion just south of downtown that once belonged to New York governor Reuben Fenton which features the history of Chautauqua County.

 

Further afield, while the Chautauqua Institute's season is over, you can still wander the beautiful grounds, browse in the Bookstore, eat at the Brickwalk Cafe or splurge with a stay at the historic Athenaeum Hotel.  

 

Next weekend (Sept 15-18) should be the last weekend for the Bemus Point-Stowe Ferry, weather permitting.  It's an old steam ferry which was the only way to cross Chautauqua Lake before the I-86 bridge was built back in the early 1980s.  There has been a ferry between Bemus Point and Stowe for over 200 years!

 

Unfortunately, the Busti Grist Mill, built in 1839, will not be open next weekend.  It will be open for the Busti Apple Festival the next weekend, however.  They will probably have it grinding wheat into flour or corn into meal for the Festival. 

 

Dining ideas ...

Andriaccio's is a well-known Italian restuarant close to Chautauqua Institution.

On a nice day, you can have lunch on the lakeside deck at the Bemus Point Casino.   Beware the seagulls, and don't feed them until everyone in your party is done eating!

Ellicottville Brewing on Chautauqua in Bemus Point and Southern Tier Brewery in Lakewood offer spirits and food.  Southern Tier also offers live music.

Shawbucks is a bar/restaurant across the street from the NCC which offers dinners as well as pub grub (quite good) as well as live music later in the evening.

Awesome thank you!  This is exactly what I was looking for.  Of course after doing some of my own research I am seeing each museum should take a couple hours each(which is a good thing because that tells me they are both worth doing) I agree might not have as much time for other stuff as I originally thought.  How far away is the Chautauqua Institution and Andriaccio's from the Museums?  We were thinking about doing lunch in between each Museum to break it up a bit

[SoTier]

3 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

Awesome thank you!  This is exactly what I was looking for.  Of course after doing some of my own research I am seeing each museum should take a couple hours each(which is a good thing because that tells me they are both worth doing) I agree might not have as much time for other stuff as I originally thought.  How far away is the Chautauqua Institution and Andriaccio's from the Museums?  We were thinking about doing lunch in between each Museum to break it up a bit

 

Chautauqua Institute is 20+ miles west of Jamestown via either NY 394 or I-86 and will take you at least a half hour each way, so it might not be feasible.

 

Lisciandro's Restaurant at 207 North Main is open for lunch on Saturday until 1 pm.   It's a downtown institution.

La Cucina della Nonna at 718 West Third Street is just across the Third Street Bridge from downtown.  Excellent pizza and Italian cuisine.

The Labyrinth Press at 12 East Fourth Street is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant with a good reputation.

El Jarocho at 323 Washington Street is a Mexican restaurant.

 

If you're looking for chains, there's a Bob Evans located on North Main (Route 60) and I-86.  Most of the other chains are located along NY 394 (Fairmount Ave) in Lakewood, including Applebee's, Olive Garden, Buddy Brewster's Ale House, and Red Lobster.  Sakura Buffet and Five Guys are located in the Chautauqua Mall.  Local restaurants in the same area of 394 include economical choices Davidson's, Honest John's (pizza and wings), Johnny's Lunch (hotdogs), and La Cocina which is a Mexican restaurant.

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by SoTier

[Jim in Rochester]

The National Comedy Center is a GREAT experience.  You could spend a long half-day there and not exhaust the exhibits.  The Lucy-Desi Museum is good, too, but smaller and much more conventional.  Worth a couple of hours, but I recommend structuring your day so that you have plenty of time at the National Comedy Center.  Maybe plan lunch at Shawbucks, right across the street from the Comedy Center, as someone else suggested, then reward yourself with a nice dinner somewhere on your route home in the evening.

[Nextmanup]

Hopping in your car and driving to Toronto immediately comes to mind.

 

 

[Max Fischer]

On 9/9/2023 at 2:56 PM, SoTier said:

Both museums are well worth visiting, and will probably take several hours each, so if this is a day trip, you probably won't have time to do much more than lunch and/or dinner.  Your mom should love the Lucy museum, and the Comedy Center is a wonderful interactive museum.

 

Lucille Ball is buried in Lakeview Cemetery which is at North Main Street (RTE 60) and Buffalo Street.  The main entrance is on Buffalo Street at Lakeview Avenue.  The route to the grave site is marked by arrows (blue I think) on small black/dark gray rectangular blocks.

 

The Jackson Center is just outside the downtown area.  I don't know if it's open on weekends.  It's a small museum with meeting/exhibit spaces dedicated to the memory of Henry H Jackson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the chief judge at the Nuremburg war crimes trials after WW II.

 

The Fenton Museum is a 19th century Victorian mansion just south of downtown that once belonged to New York governor Reuben Fenton which features the history of Chautauqua County.

 

Further afield, while the Chautauqua Institute's season is over, you can still wander the beautiful grounds, browse in the Bookstore, eat at the Brickwalk Cafe or splurge with a stay at the historic Athenaeum Hotel.  

 

Next weekend (Sept 15-18) should be the last weekend for the Bemus Point-Stowe Ferry, weather permitting.  It's an old steam ferry which was the only way to cross Chautauqua Lake before the I-86 bridge was built back in the early 1980s.  There has been a ferry between Bemus Point and Stowe for over 200 years!

 

Unfortunately, the Busti Grist Mill, built in 1839, will not be open next weekend.  It will be open for the Busti Apple Festival the next weekend, however.  They will probably have it grinding wheat into flour or corn into meal for the Festival. 

 

Dining ideas ...

Andriaccio's is a well-known Italian restuarant close to Chautauqua Institution.

On a nice day, you can have lunch on the lakeside deck at the Bemus Point Casino.   Beware the seagulls, and don't feed them until everyone in your party is done eating!

Ellicottville Brewing on Chautauqua in Bemus Point and Southern Tier Brewery in Lakewood offer spirits and food.  Southern Tier also offers live music.

Shawbucks is a bar/restaurant across the street from the NCC which offers dinners as well as pub grub (quite good) as well as live music later in the evening.

 

This is a good list.  Only one thing to add: The Sprinkle Cone has very good ice cream 

[SoTier]

2 hours ago, Max Fischer said:

 

This is a good list.  Only one thing to add: The Sprinkle Cone has very good ice cream 

 

Where's the  Sprinkle Cone?  

 

I'm a fan of Fifties soft ice cream myself.  There are two locations: the original in the city on Washington Street near the Tops and the newer one out on 394 in Lakewood across from the Save A Lot plaza.

 

Of course, the late, great Tastee Corners on Foote Ave was not only an institution but the best.  Alas, the building was too dilapidated to save, so it's only a memory now.  

[Fr. Jerk]

Find a bridge and throw stuff off it, ya dig?

[MarkyMannn]

The railroad museum in Salamanca is nice. The Hideaway restaurant on your way back to Jamestown is awesome. 

 

If in your interests, Jamestown HD is Huge, check it all out, maybe get a souvenir t-shirt of where you've been

[Max Fischer]

On 9/11/2023 at 5:50 PM, SoTier said:

 

Where's the  Sprinkle Cone?  

 

 

Pine Street off 2nd.  

[BillsPride12]

Was a fun outing, spent the entire day in Jamestown.  Started at the Lucy Museum which is split in two parts...the first focusing on the I Love Lucy show and the second more about her own personal life.  Was cool to see pics of her swimming in Lake Chautauqua as a kid and seeing a Newspaper article about her returning to Jamestown High School after she made it big.

 

Got lunch at a nice diner called Allen Street Diner.  The owner was really nice and super personable.  Came over to our table and talked to us for a bit. Then went to the National Comedy Center.  Much bigger and more to see than the Lucy Museum.  Was pretty impressive although there were some Comedy icons that should have had their own exhibits IMO(Farley, Robin Williams, John Candy to name a few that stood out).  There was a lot of cool interactive stuff to do there.

 

Then went to Lucille Ball Park which was really beautiful and sits right on Lake Chautauqua and saw the statues, we just happened to be there when the woman who created the good sculpture was in town to take some photos and was hanging with the Jamestown Mayor.  The mayor introduced us and got to shoot the s*** a little bit with them.  Then we drove by her childhood home and checked out the cemetery where she is buried.  My Mom is a huge Lucille Ball fan so she was in her glory.  I didn't mind being along for the ride, I actually watched a lot of I Love Lucy when I was a kid back during the Nick at Nite days.

 

The only bad experience was deciding to go to Dinner at La Cucina Della Nonna....there was nothing Italian about that place.  It was dirty and dumpy and the service was really bad and slow.   I ordered an Italian Wedding soup to come out before my meal and it took forever and then when it finally came out it was disgusting lol.  At that point we decided to pay for our drinks and the soup and head back home to one of our favorite Italian restaurants.

 

All in all Jamestown is a nice,fun little town and it's pretty cool they get to claim someone as Iconic as Lucy!  Was fun paying homage and revisiting her childhood