Lake Placid’s Olympic legacy lives on

Located in the Olympic Center, the Lake Placid Olympic Museum, which opened in 1994, houses over 30,000 items, including memorabilia, artefacts, photographs, architectural drawings and news articles. It hosts events that blend sport with culture and education for visitors to experience and learn about the Olympic Winter Games and the values of Olympism. The museum has a quarterly e-newsletter detailing current projects, upcoming events and free educational resources. A source of pride in the area, the museum re-opened to the public in the winter of 2022 after undergoing extensive renovation. With its new engaging exhibits and exciting interactive features, the museum is an important driver of tourism, attracting over 54,000 visitors in 2022/23, when it generated revenue of over USD 312,000, more than double the figure for 2013/14. One of several venues run by the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority, it is also a non-profit organisation chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York Education Department.

The museum has seven main exhibitions, including the immersive “Olympic Firsts” and “III Olympic Winter Games” exhibitions. The Olympic Firsts exhibition details the history of the Olympics, starting in Ancient Greece. The III Olympic Winter Games exhibition tells the story of how the Winter Games were brought to Lake Placid and how the facilities were built, and highlights several athletes from those Games. A variety of artefacts are on display in this exhibition, including the sweater Godfrey Dewey wore during his trip to the 1928 Olympic Winter Games in St Moritz, Switzerland, the Team USA Opening Ceremony jacket worn by hockey goalie Franklin “Tot” Farrell, and local speedskater Jack Shea’s uniform top and skates. Original footage from the 1932 Winter Games allows visitors to see the athletes in action.

The museum has a strong educational focus and provides opportunities for schoolchildren to learn about Lake Placid’s Olympic history through field trips, both in person and virtually. The museum provides free educator resources, conducts class visits, and offers family-friendly daily programmes. In recognition of the museum’s contribution to the development of the Olympic Movement, the International Olympic Committee awarded it the Olympic Cup in 2005, the first time a museum had received the award.

The Lake Placid Olympic Museum also played a central role in organising the celebrations to mark the 75^th anniversary of the III Olympic Winter Games in 2007, and again in 2024 to celebrate the centennial of the Games. It invited experts from across North America to speak about topics related to Lake Placid 1932 and the Great Depression of the 1930s. These talks allowed social scientists, museum professionals, local historians and Olympic scholars to discuss and recognise the long-term effects of the 1932 Games.