Pilgrimage To Roger Tory Peterson Institute

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute is located in a spectacular Arts & Crafts style building on small but richly forested lot in Jamestown, NY. It features original Peterson paintings, first-edition field guides, an ornithological library, conference rooms, and collections–all housed in a space that befits the magnitude of this great naturalist. The Institute’s inaugural bird watching festival will take place June 4 – 7, 2009.

As I walked toward the tall, glass doors of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute for the first time this March, it dawned on me that I was walking the hallowed ground of one of America’s foremost naturalists. Peterson’s significance to the field of nature education, and birding in particular, created tenable anticipation.

I had traveled to Peterson’s birthplace in Jamestown, NY, to meet a friend for a weekend of hiking and writing. After catching up on projects and family tales, we climbed in the van and headed over to Peterson Institute at 311 Curtis Street. As I rounded the curve of the driveway the Institute’s dramatic Arts and Crafts style exterior, complete with a third-story cupula, added to the sense that I was making an overdue pilgrimage.

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown, NY

photo credit: Peter Aaron/esto

Krissie and I were warmly greeted by a woman who updated us on the local rare bird alert: two American White Pelicans had been kicking it back in Lake Chautauqua for the last week. The pelicans were already on my agenda, so I thanked her kindly and asked for a tour.

The woman unlocked an exhibit room that housed a first-edition 1934 Peterson field guide and a dozen or so original Peterson paintings. While slowly circling the room I noticed a handful of these originals were more than familiar. Why? Because four of these prints hung in my living room, such as the Snowy Owl and Bobwhite, plus the Bald Eagle and Ring-necked Pheasant! Prints are nice, but laying eyes on the originals was extraordinary.

Krissie lamented that she forgot to bring the old Peterson guide that belonged to her husband’s great-aunt, which contained Auntie’s chicken scratched bird sightings and observations. Could it be a first-edition volume, I wondered? We quickly stepped over to a case holding the legendary 1934 guide, but Krissie said no, her book is old, but smaller and with a different cover.  Exhale…. 

We slowly poked about the building and toured the current photography exhibits:

“Nature Revealed: The Photography of Bill Portlock,” a collection of 40 photographs taken by Bill in his role as environmental educator in Virginia, mostly along the Chesapeake Bay (until April 26); and “Wild Wetlands” by David Fitzsimmons, a writer, photographer, and Ashland University professor from Ohio. 

On April 11, Fitzimmons’ exhibit will give way to the Banff Photography Exhibit. This unique display will feature 18 winning images from the Banff Mountain Photography Competition and will be presented in concert with the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour event scheduled at RTPI on April 14th.

The woman at the counter said the film festival is one of her favorite events at the Institute. The films cover everything from mindful social justice themes to jaw-dropping mountain and adventure flicks. 

I left the Institute wishing I lived closer, so I could regularly soak up the good energy that seems to infuse the place.

To celebrate the life and legacy of RTP, the Institute will launch its inaugural annual birding festival this June 4-7.  More on that in another post.