Tuesday, October 12, 2010

East Otto, New York: Griffis Sculpture Park


When a sunny, warm, autumn day arrives in Western New York -- particularly on the weekend -- many residents hop in their cars and head for the hills. That would mean south into so-called "Ski Country." One of their favorite destinations is Griffis Sculpture Park, shown in full color here.

This was started by Larry Griffis Jr. in 1966, and has carved out a nice little niche. It's located in East Otto, touching on Ashford Hollow, just off Route 219 (look for the sign pointing west) south of Buffalo and north of Ellicottville. Since its inception, the amount of work in the park has 250 pieces.

There are two sections to the park. The Rohr Hill area is perhaps the most well-known one. It has large sculptures just off the road, leading visitors eventually into the woods. Then there's the Mill Valley Road Site, which is not far from the Rohr Hill area and has more space.

The above picture is of "The Bathers," located in the Mill Valley area. If you look closely to the left, it looks like someone is pushing one of the swimmers into the water; I cropped out the rest of the person doing the "pushing."

It's $5 to tour the park; collection is done on the honor system with a box at Mill Valley. You can learn more about the place here.