Discover 7 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Batavia (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Dwyer Stadium, Holland Land Office Museum, and First Presbyterian Church. Also, be sure to include St. James Episcopal Church in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Batavia (New York).
Table of Contents
Dwyer Stadium
Stadium in Batavia, New York. Dwyer Stadium is a 2,600 capacity stadium in Batavia, New York, situated in Genesee County. It opened in 1996 replacing the original stadium that was built in 1937, while the playing field is the original. The stadium is currently home to the Batavia Muckdogs of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, a collegiate summer baseball league; the Genesee Community College Cougars of the National Junior College Athletic Association; and high school teams including the Notre Dame of Batavia Fighting Irish and Batavia Blue Devils.[1]
Address: 299 Bank St, 14020-1615 Batavia
Holland Land Office Museum
Museum in Batavia, New York. The Holland Land Office building is located on West Main Street in downtown Batavia, New York, United States. It is a stone building designed by surveyor Joseph Ellicott and erected in the 1810s.
It was the third and last office of the Holland Land Company, which owned almost all of what is today Western New York. Ellicott presided over the survey, sale and ultimate settlement of a vast tract of land. In 1960 it was declared a National Historic Landmark, the first one in Western New York and the only one in Genesee County. Today it is a museum, with exhibits about the history of the company and the region.[2]
Address: 131 W Main St, 14020-2021 Batavia
First Presbyterian Church
Building in Batavia, New York. The First Presbyterian Church in Batavia, New York, United States, is located at East Main and Liberty streets. It is a joined complex of several buildings. The main one, the church's sanctuary, is a limestone Gothic Revival structure built in the mid-19th century. Its congregation was the first church to be organized in Batavia, albeit as a Congregationalist group at that time.
Over the next century various improvements and expansions would be made, using later architectural styles, reflecting changing styles of American Protestant worship. This transition was completed with changes to the sanctuary in the mid-20th century. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.[3]
Address: 300 E Main St, 14020-2395 Batavia
St. James Episcopal Church
Building in Batavia, New York. St. James Episcopal Church is located on East Main Street in Batavia, New York, United States. It is a stone Neo-Gothic structure built in the early 20th century.
It was the first of 65 similar churches, most also in Western New York, designed by Robert North, a former choirboy at the church. His design was informed by a trip he made to England, paid for by the dying widow who also underwrote the church's construction and wanted a design inspired by "the quiet spirit of the English countryside". North also followed contemporary architects like Ralph Adams Cram in their desire to extend the Gothic style beyond its medieval models, and made early use of newer building materials like reinforced concrete and cast stone.
It is the third building to house the church, which dates to the early years of Batavia's settlement a century before the church's construction. In 2004 the church building, its rectory and a stone wall were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Around the same time it faced a scandal surrounding the dismissal of its pastor, and the costs of maintaining an aging building raised doubts as to whether the church could continue using it. Fundraising efforts have enabled the church to restore its bell tower.[4]
Address: 405 E Main St, 14020-2496 Batavia
Genesee County Courthouse
Courthouse. The Genesee County Courthouse is located at the intersection of Main and Ellicott streets in Batavia, New York, United States. It is a three-story Greek Revival limestone structure built in the 1840s.
It replaced an older timber frame courthouse near the current site, which served what was at that time the entire Holland Purchase, the vast tract that is today Western New York. At the time the courthouse was built, the county had been reduced to its current size by the creation of 10 other counties from the purchase. Construction materials were all sourced locally.
Later it underwent some minor renovations. While Genesee County has subsequently built additional court facilities nearby where most judicial activity takes place, it is still used for some court purposes as well as offices for the county manager, attorney and the meeting place of the county legislature. In 1973 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nine years later, in 1982, when the Genesee County Courthouse Historic District was added to the Register, the courthouse was again included as a contributing property.[5]
Richmond Memorial Library
Public library in Batavia, New York. The Richmond Memorial Library is located on Ross Street in Batavia, New York, United States. It is an 1880s stone structure in the Richardsonian Romanesque style designed by Rochester architect James Goold Cutler.
His design was strongly inspired by several libraries in Massachusetts that Richardson himself had recently built. It was commissioned by local philanthropist Mary E. Richmond, wife of Dean Richmond, in 1889, as a memorial to her youngest son, Dean Richmond Jr. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[6]
Address: 19 Ross St, 14020 Batavia
Batavia Club
The Batavia Club building, built originally as the Bank of Genesee, is on the corner of East Main and Bank streets in Batavia, New York, United States. It is a brick Federal style building from the 1830s, one of the few remaining examples in New York of a commercial building in that style from that period.
Of the two extant works in New York of Rochester architect-builder Hezekiah Eldredge, it is the less restrained, serving as a bank and a residence for the cashier. The Batavia Club purchased the building in 1886 and used it for many years. In 1973, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After the club moved out in 2000, it became the Seymour Place facility of GO ART!, the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.[7]