HOF visit; suggestions?

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Beastmode

Do I need a reservation?

No reservations required for the Hall of Fame & Museum. You may walk up and purchase admission tickets (or membership) when you get there.

Edited to add that my visits have not been during Induction Weekend. There are probably reservations involved for some of those festivities.

[bigtrain]

My family has a summer home near Cooperstown and I am there almost every other weekend.from May through September. Hotel reservations are a must during the summer when there are lots of people in town for baseball tournaments in addition to the regular attractions. In addition to the HOF, I would recommend that you check out the Ommegang Brewery tour. There is also an art museum, farmers museum, Sam Smith's Boatyard where you can eat lunch or dinner within a few feet of the lake or rent a boat. Fishing is very good and the lake is rarely crowded. There is also an opera house on the lake if you enjoy that kind of thing. Favorite restaurants are Mel's at 22 on the corner of Main and Chestnut, Nicollettas on Main Street for Italian food. New York Pizzeria on Chestnut has the best pizza in the area. Check the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce website or cooperstownstay.com

[arc2q]

I was at the Baseball HOF just two weeks ago. Very easy to get in and no issues paying admission at the entrance (even got in free because I am military). I was there on a Saturday but the crowds were still pretty reasonable (they are suffering from declining attendance which is unfortunate - interestingly some think the advent of the youth baseball academies/tournaments in town are the cause).

I was very impressed with how fresh and attractive all the displays are. They've recently gone through a full renovation and the place looks awesome. Still, the building is smaller than ideal so vast majority of stuff is not on display and what is can be hard to take in with people crowding tight spaces.

The Honus Wagner T206 was the highlight for me; I was fascinated, though, by how many people walked right by it without even noticing. It is relatively undersold as the display makes little mention of its prestige. The early vintage stuff and pre-war era items are fantastic. Really is amazing to see that stuff.

I was intrigued by the locker room where they display items from recent achievements by players. There is a display for every team. Wish this area was larger, though, cause it gets really crowded when groups huddle around one team's locker (see the trend?).

Overall I was really impressed by the HOF. Easy to see everything in about 2 hours. Much more modern and well-designed than I imagined.

The card shops outside the HOF are another matter. It's nice to see so many card shops in close concentration. But one might be forgiven for thinking none of those stores have restocked since 1992. Really there is so much potential but the inventory is dreadful. But obviously someone's still buying it. My apologies if any of the owners are on here but i feel like these shops are missing an opportunity.

Cooperstown is a beautiful little village. If you are taking kids I also highly recommend the Farm Museum. We had a wonderful time there.

[ejharrington]

Check out the wax museum next door to the HOF; it is excellent.

[Butch7999]

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=186801

[Enfuego]

I was there a few weeks ago for the Hall of Fame classic game with many recently retired players and it was awesome! keep in mind that parking will be your biggest challenge.