Summer bookings down in Yellowstone region

Summer bookings down in Yellowstone region

CODY, Wyo. — Fewer tourists compared with last year have booked advance reservations to visit the greater Yellowstone region this summer, but industry leaders hope lower gas prices will lure people to drive to national parks and other attractions in Montana and Wyoming.

Lee Haines, a spokesman for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, told the Billings Gazette that museum planners are expecting flat visitor numbers this year with a slight rise possible in recreational vehicle traffic compared with last year. He said because many RV owners are retired, they have more flexible travel schedules that allow them to drive when gas prices are lower.

Rick Hoeninghausen, director of sales and marketing for Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the main lodging company in Yellowstone, told the Gazette that advance reservations so far this year are down 13 percent from last year.

Walking tour from artist Edgar Degas’ house

NEW ORLEANS — A visit to the Degas House — the historic New Orleans home where French Impressionist artist Edgar Degas lived for a short time with relatives — now comes with a walking tour of some of the streets, parks and homes he roamed while living here.

Degas’ Creole relatives on his mother’s side, the Musson Family, hosted the artist at their home on Esplanade Avenue in the neighborhood known as Esplanade Ridge from the fall of 1872 to the spring of 1873.

While in New Orleans, Degas wrote letters to friends in Paris of his activities in the city, including frequent trips to the newly opened Fair Grounds Race Course. Visitors can now take a walking tour to some of those sites.

For more information, visit www.degashouse.com.

Lincoln sites in Illinois attracting more visitors

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois officials say Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday is luring thousands more visitors to the places he used to live and work.

Visits to the Old State Capitol more than doubled since the same period a year ago. During the last three months, nearly 26,000 people toured the building where Lincoln was a state lawmaker.

Lincoln’s Springfield home and tomb saw visits increase by nearly 50 percent. The Lincoln presidential museum has seen an increase of nearly one-third.

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency attributes the growth to Lincoln’s Feb. 12 bicentennial birthday celebration.

Historic prison synagogue opens to visitors in Pa.

PHILADELPHIA — A synagogue once used by Jewish inmates at a historic Philadelphia prison has been refurbished and is open to the public.

Eastern State Penitentiary closed in 1971 and has since become a popular tourist attraction.

But even as officials worked to preserve parts of the decaying property, the synagogue remained forgotten and fell into ruin. It had been built around 1924 and used continuously until the prison closed.

About a year ago, conservators began restoring the room for worship, replacing rotted benches and a fallen ceiling. On April 1, it was reconsecrated as a holy space. Public tours began April 4.

Associated Press