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A multi-phased renovation and construction project that affected nearly every part of the museum and disrupted exhibits and museum operations in years past is now completed. Those visitors who missed part of the museum and its programs during the construction will want to re-visit Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame in the coming months to see the extensive new exhibit areas and experience the museum at its very best. Cooperstown without baseball is a quiet upstate village with a little more than 2,000 permanent residents. Founded in the mid-1780s by William Cooper, father of the novelist James Fenimore Cooper, the village encompasses about one square mile straddling the Susquehanna River and bordering the southern shore of Lake Otsego. There is but one stoplight in the village. Its tree-lined streets and well-maintained late 18th, 19th and 20th century buildings and residences provide a pastoral backdrop for the National Pastime that charms visitors who take time to appreciate the environment that surrounds the National Baseball Hall of Fame. However, with baseball tourism in full swing, Cooperstown's resources as a village can be a little stretched at times, creating close quarters for residents and tourists alike. This is something that all seasonal resorts share.  Mickey Mantle's Hall of Fame plaque. Dating back to the late 1930s when the National Baseball Hall of Fame opened its doors, Cooperstown's economy has benefited from baseball tourism. But, there is much more than baseball to be found in Cooperstown. Even those who come to the village primarily to see the National Baseball Hall of Fame will be impressed with the other attractions and amenities to be found here. But, the timing of a visit to Cooperstown can make all the difference, depending on your point of view. Visitors who come through the museum's doors in mid-January will be virtually alone as they wander through a deserted Hall of Fame gallery room, shop in the finely appointed gift shop, or study the exhibit cases at their leisure. However, outside in the village, many restaurants will be dark and some baseball stores may be closed. The streets and sidewalks could be covered in 30 or more inches of snow and ice. On the other hand, parking an automobile and finding overnight accommodations at reasonable rates will be easy for the mid-winter visitor. Those who come to Cooperstown for the annual Hall of Fame Game in late spring, the Hall of Fame Induction weekend in mid-summer, or on other prime tourist weekends, can look forward to the company of thousands of like-minded baseball fans and their families. A line may form just to enter the museum. Lines can form at the checkout counters in the gift store, and you may find yourself looking over a stranger's shoulder to get a glimpse of Babe Ruth's Hall of Fame plaque. Outside, on the street, the restaurants and stores are often faced with similar conditions. And, overnight accommodations can be difficult to obtain in and around Cooperstown unless you have made advance reservations. The energy and excitement generated by larger congregations of baseball fans is uplifting. The key in planning is one's personal taste. The contrast in Cooperstown between mid-January and the Induction Weekend is not unlike the difference between watching a mega-hit motion picture in an empty theater, or seeing that film in the buzz of a sell-out crowd. Between the two extremes, there are many days, weeks and even months in Cooperstown that offer the "happy medium." And, depending on the time of year, there will be different things to see and do in the museum, the village and the area surrounding Cooperstown. The tourist year in Cooperstown breaks down into three distinct time periods – the summer season (Memorial Day to Labor Day), the fall season (Labor Day to Thanksgiving) and the winter/spring season (Thanksgiving to Memorial Day).
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