April 22, 2019

Binghamton’s Bundy

By roads-rus

Someone at a gathering Ruth & I attended on Easter Sunday said there was nothing to do in Binghamton, NY.  I disagree.   It’s the home of the multi-purpose Bundy Museum of History & Art, a 5 Compass destination.  Local citizen Tom gave us a wonderful tour during which he shared his recipe for Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes.  Tom recently made 240 of them for a relative’s wedding.

The Bundy House is not just another dwelling to tour.  It is, in my opinion, one of the best period-furnished family homes I’ve ever been in, and the house itself is only part of what the Bundy experience has to offer any visitor.  The Bundy home was built and lived in by Harlow E. Bundy and his wife Julia.  His name might not mean anything to you unless you already know about his unquestioned place in business and Binghamton history.  Julia had money and provided the funds to build the Queen Anne Victorian mansion that they lived in with their growing family for 14 years.   Today, it would probably cost about $2,000,000 to build and furnish.  This mansion is deservedly on the National Register.  The current very Victorian furnishings were not owned by the Bundys, but the fireplaces, staircase, windows, and carefully selected decor provide a genuine glimpse into Victorian Era splendor.  There’s even a brief glimpse of some wallpaper originally used in the house.  Harlow was, by reputation, not well liked but he did have a business mind.  For example, he made a crafty deal with the organizers of the famous 1893 Chicago Columbian Expo to exhibit his products.  They were a hit.

Harlow and his brother Willard, a local jeweler, founded the Bundy Manufacturing Company.  This company made accurate and dependable time keeping devices, among them were clocking-in time-keepers that were useful in an era when local industries were growing.  The Bundy Manufacturing Company owners created a complimentary company called International Time Recorder.  By 1924 their business acumen evolved into a company called International Business Machines, more commonly known today as IBM.

The Bundy home is far more than just an elegant Victorian mansion that has become the main museum part of the Bundy experience.  Its 3rd floor has been transformed into an art gallery and locally popular facility attracting photographers.  In the Annex and Carriage House is a radio station, a clock exhibit, a theater, and the Rod Serling Archive.  Rod Serling was host and contributor to an early, very popular TV show called The Twilight Zone, which ran for 5 years.  Serling was from Binghamton.  His roots influenced his work, and this, surely the world’s main Rod Serling exhibit, explores his life and career with film props, memorabilia, and more.  Jordan Peele of Get Out and Mad TV fame, has revived The Twilight Zone in 2019.

Please let me re-emphasize.  The Bundy Museum of History & Art is far more than just a period mansion that travelers can visit.  It’s a valid reason to go to Binghamton, New York, when you’re in the area.

 

Hank

About roads-rus

Since the beginning, I've had to avoid writing about the downside of travel in order to sell more than 100 articles. Just because something negative happened doesn't mean your trip was ruined. But tell that to publishers who are into 5-star cruise and tropical beach fantasies. I want to tell what happened on my way to the beach, and it may not have been all that pleasant. My number one rule of the road is...today's disaster is tomorrow's great story. My travel experiences have appeared in about twenty magazines and newspapers. I've been in all 50 states more than once and more than 50 countries. Ruth and I love to travel internationally--Japan, Canada, China, Argentina, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, etc. Within the next 2 years we will have visited all of the European countries. But our favorite destination is Australia. Ruth and I have been there 9 times. I've written a book about Australia's Outback, ALONE NEAR ALICE, which is available through both Amazon & Barnes & Noble. My first fictional work, MOVING FORWARD, GETTING NOWHERE, has recently been posted on Amazon. It's a contemporary, hopefully funny re-telling of The Odyssey. View all posts by roads-rus
This entry was posted on Monday, April 22nd, 2019 at 8:44 pm and posted in New York State. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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