08/28/2026
Did you know Ithaca has a silent movie history?🎥
According to the Wharton Studio Museum, between 1915 and 1920, Wharton, Inc. Studio was a thriving motion picture studio located along the shore of Cayuga Lake in Renwick Park (now Stewart Park).
Filmmaking brothers Theodore and Leopold Wharton were drawn to Ithaca for its beauty, using the gorges, waterfalls, Cayuga Lake, Cornell University campus, and more as film backdrops. During their time in the Finger Lakes, the two produced hundreds of films and serials, starring some of the best-known actors of the time, including Irene Castle, Lionel Barrymore, Pearl White, and Oliver Hardy. They wrote, directed, produced, and distributed films such as The Great White Trail and The Lottery Man, as well as popular series like The Romance of Elaine, The Mysteries of Myra, and Beatrice Fairfax, across the world.
This was the silent movie era, meaning no spoken dialogue. However, the movies were not really silent. At one of the seven theaters in downtown Ithaca, movies would be played alongside live musical accompaniment, usually by piano or organ.
However, Ithaca’s Wharton Studio was short-lived. In 1918, an influenza epidemic caused the studio financial trouble. By 1920, the Wharton Brothers had left Ithaca for good.
Check out Wharton Studio Museum and The History Center to learn more about Ithaca’s movie scene!
📸: Courtesy of Wharton Studio Museum
