Anyone have stories of Route 20 in New York?

[mainstreet]

A group of graduate students at the University at Albany are producing a film documenting the history of tourism along Route 20 in central New York State. With the construction of the New York Thruway, these smaller routes that once thrived on tourism are now either struggling or have become desolate. We are looking for anyone who has memories of traveling along route 20 either before or after the construction of the thruway to share their experience. Do you remember any of the stops you made along the way? Did you stay in any of the motorcourts or tourist cabins? Eat at any Diners or Restaurants? Stop at any of the quirky tourist attractions? We are focusing mostly on the area between Duanesburg and Richfield Springs, but any memories of Route 20 in New York are welcomed! Please contact us as soon as possible if you would like to share your story, even if you think it may be insignificant, any memories would be helpful!

americasmainstreet@gmail.com

[Guest AlK]

If you want to expand a little and include Bridgewater, there used to be an antique car museum there. I stopped at it back in the early 80's and took pictures(slides). with a little searching I may be able to dig those out and make prints for you.

[Steve Braverman]

I drive Route 20 every summer in my 1932 Franklin from Cazenovia to Duanesburg on my way home from the Franklin Trek. It truly is one of America's scenic highways.

I'd like to drive the entire length some day from Boston's Storough Drive to the other end in Portland, OR. Some day when I have the time

[Dynaflash8]

If that's true, it should be incorporated into one of our tours.

[jscheib]

After the Buick National meet in Batavia in 2005, I drove, our '68 Riviera, Route 20 all the way to Albany where we connecting back to the Interstate.

It was a wonderful drive, but I could not convince others to join us. I do not recall many old scenic places as these photos above note, but we did stop at both Canadaigua and Skaneateles (as well as others), and had lovely Sunday brunch in one of two (can't remember which). I would love to do it again. The power of the Riviera really loved those gentle hills.

John

[Steve Braverman]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AlK</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you want to expand a little and include Bridgewater, there used to be an antique car museum there. I stopped at it back in the early 80's and took pictures(slides). with a little searching I may be able to dig those out and make prints for you. </div></div>

The Bridgewater Museum is long gone. I bought a 1933 Franklin out of there in 1992. It was one of the last cars sold. There were a lot of very interesting cars in that museum.

[JohnD1956]

We drove Rt 20 from Albany to Batavia that year John, along with a few others. Besides the traffic from Skaneatlas through to Canindaigua was very heavy and caused us to loose sight of each other. Other than that we saw lots of antique dealers and several other places that looked interesting, but mostly it is just a sceanic drive now. It would be nice to drive it all the way to Portland, but alas, if you want to do that I recommend you just make time for it now. Gas will never be this cheap again I fear.