Unsung Ithaca, Downtown Walking Tour

Ithaca's history isn't only written by the people whose names ended up on buildings. Unsung Ithacans is a new walking tour from The History Center in Tompkins County that starts and ends at 110 North Tioga Street, winding through The Commons, down State Street, and into DeWitt Park to visit the people who quietly shaped this city. You'll meet a Greek immigrant whose candy shop perfumed an entire block, a husband-and-wife pair of doctors and scholars who desegregated a hospital and a university, a city missionary who founded a children's home, a young woman who gave her unwanted suitors nicknames like "Expire," a minister who talked her way into a doctorate no German university would grant a woman, and a bulldog who rode the train to Cornell football games and once got arrested. Using historic photographs, maps, and firsthand newspaper accounts, guides bring these stories back to life at the very spots where they happened. Their lives span the late 1700s through the modern day, and together they show how Ithaca got built, created, and cooked into the place it is now. Tour Details Schedule: Thursdays through Saturdays, 5:30–6:45 PM, through September 19, 2026 Duration: 75 minutes Route: Sidewalks, gravel paths, and grass, with a slight incline Ages: 16–116 Cost: $15 Wear comfortable shoes and bring an umbrella, jacket, and water bottle. Weather: This tour takes place rain or shine. In case of severe weather, cancellations will be determined by 10:30 AM the morning of the tour.