Founded in 1914, the Utica Zoo has served the region for over one hundred years. In 1909, Thomas R. Proctor set aside and donated the land where the Zoo sits in Utica’s Roscoe-Conkling Park. Proctor hired famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to plan Roscoe Conkling Park’s roads and scenic walkways. The Utica Parks Department formerly operated the Zoo property until 1964, when the Utica Zoological Society formally inherited ownership of the site. In 1966, the group hired the Zoo’s first professional director, and one year later, the site opened the Children’s Zoo. The New York State Educational Department chartered the Zoological Society as an educational organization in 1968 and the site inaugurated its own education department in 1973. Builders completed the site’s first building (today’s Wildlife Building) in 1920, which houses the Zoo’s administrative offices and personnel, auditorium, reptile exhibits and the kitchen, while construction concluded on the building’s Animal Care Center in 1981. Oneida County provides the Zoo with annual support and an annual operating grant from the New York State Natural Heritage Trust, while the Zoological Society raises the remainder of the budget through admissions fees, society membership, special events, the gift shop, the Adopt an Animal program, animal feed sales, stroller rentals, pavilion rentals and donations. The Zoo remains an active institution in South Utica’s recreational complex.

The city of Utica is located between the Mohawk River and Adirondack Mountains in Oneida County, New York. It was originally established by the Mohawk tribe of the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Utica was known for its textile manufacturing. It was also major hub of transportation because of its proximity to railways and the Erie Canal. Utica is home to many religions and religious denominations. Several of Utica’s churches are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Allen J. Manning owned a photography studio and supply shop on Columbia Street in Utica. He traveled the region taking photos of many places and events, which was rare at the time due to photography equipment being so expensive and cumbersome. Some of his work was published as photographic postcards. In addition to the work found in this collection, he has photographic prints in the Library of Congress collections.

University Hospital is the primary facility in which SUNY Upstate students train during their clinical years. The hospital formally began operations in 1965 as Upstate Medical Center under the leadership of Upstate President Dr. Carlyle Jacobsen. Since that time, the Hospital has continued to grow and expand in order to offer the most up-to-date treatments.

In August 1961, racing promoter Cameron Argetsinger, owner of the 2.35-mile (3.78 km) Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course located in the central Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, offered his circuit to the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS) to host the Grand Prix. He succeeded and Watkins Glen would host the United States Grand Prix for the next 20 years. Over this time, the event became a tradition among the fans as loyal crowds gathered each autumn on the spread out hills of Upstate New York. It was one of the season's most popular events with the teams and drivers as well, receiving the Grand Prix Drivers' Association award for the best organized and best staged Grand Prix of the season in 1965, 1970, and 1971. Watkins Glen has the longest hosting record of any American Formula One race in history; the considerably challenging track became known as the "Mecca" of American road racing and it eventually wove itself into European Grand Prix racing culture.

Union College, located in Schenectady, New York, is a private liberal arts college. It was founded in 1795 and was originally an all-men’s college. In 1970, Union College became co-educational. The college offers a variety of undergraduate programs for its students and offers a substantial amount of extracurricular activities as well, including sports, clubs, fraternities and sororities for students to join. The college is also known for its architectural structures on and around campus.