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June 1995
Buffalo Tours '95
Millionaires’ Row
How does one go about projecting wealth, power, and status? Well, if you lived
in Buffalo around the turn of the century, you hired nationally renowned architects
to build a mansion on elegant Delaware Avenue, or another slightly less impressive
street off of it.
By the time they were through, the moguls of Buffalo's Golden Age had built dozens
of palatial houses of grand scale and refinement. Many are on this tour.
Sat. 10am: May 27, July 15, Sept. 2
Thursday 7pm: June 22
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet at NW corner, Delaware Avenue and North Street
Inside 3 Mansions
Millionaires’ Row from the inside
What was home life like for Buffalo's Golden Age grandees? Find out on this tour
of three mansion interiors. See how taste, money, and social rituals helped to shape
interior arrangements and appointments at three of the most elaborate mansions.
You'll see breathtaking craftsmanship and get a taste of what life was like at the
top. As this tour includes interiors, attendance is limited and no children under
12 are permitted.
Sat. 10am: June 10 & Aug. 5
•2-hour interiors tour, $15/$12
•Meet at NW corner, Delaware Avenue and North Street
•Space limited, Reservations required. Call 852-4831 or mail in form today
Downtown Deco
This tour looks at the jazziest buildings Buffalo has to offer. Art Deco took
the nation by storm in the Twenties, and Buffalo is witness to the fact that anything
that could be built, was built in Art Deco, from city halls to train stations, apartment
buildings, highway piers and bridge abutments.
Art Deco and its related styles have been called a lot of things but everyone agrees
it crackles with electricity.
Sat. May 13 2pm
Sat. Sept. 16 10am
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet in forecourt of Central Library, Lafayette Sq.
The Great Armory
The 74th Regimental Armory, popularly known as the Connecticut Street Armory,
is a stupendous stone fortress with heroically-scaled interiors to match (recreations
of the Battle of San Juan Hill were held inside, complete with a huge earthen hill).The
lavish woodwork is elegantly breathtaking.
Sat.10am: June 17 & July 22
•90 minute walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet at NE corner, Connecticut. & Niagara Sts.
Buffalo's Golden Age Centennial Tour
1895 was the peak of Buffalo's Golden Age. A Buffalo mayor was president, and
a half-dozen landmarks were under construction or opened that year. Louis Sullivan’s
Guaranty Building and the Dun Building are just two highlights.
Some other notable buildings on the tour are Daniel Burnham’s Ellicott Square (1895),
the old main post office (1894, now Erie Community College), and St. Paul's Episcopal
Church (1849, designed by Richard Upjohn).
Sat. 11am: May 13
Thurs. 7pm: June 22
Sat. 9am: Aug. 12
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5.
•Meet at NW corner Main & Church Sts.
Joseph Ellicott’s Batavia
First stop is the Holland Land Company museum. We'll see the huge impact Resident
Agent Joseph Ellicott had on Western New York and Batavia itself (he surveyed many
towns and roads himself).We'll look at Batavia’s handsome public buildings, from
Classical Revival to Richardsonian Romanesque, and even a old brick gasholder. There
are scores of interesting houses and a lively Art Moderne movie theater. We'll end
at the cemetery where the great Ellicott and relatives are buried.
Sat. Oct. 7, 9:30am-4:30pm
•Bus tour with box lunch, $40/$32
•Board at LaSalle Metro Station, Buffalo.
•Reservations required, seating limited.
Working Waterfront
The Cobblestone Historic District & the Grain Elevators
Saved from destruction in the nick of time, the Cobblestone Historic District
is Buffalo's first devoted to an industrial neighborhood. Its stone block streets
ebbed and flowed with the fortunes of the waterfront. Buildings which hummed with
so much activity that ‘you couldn't hear a 10-ton boiler drop.’
See the historic fireboat Edward M. Cotter, a tavern dating back to the days of the
saloon-boss system , and the grain elevators called the “most influential structures
ever put up in North America”
Saturday 9am: May 13
Thursday 7pm: June 15
•90-min. walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet at South Park Ave. @ Mississippi St. (In front of NFTA Metro rail car barns)
H.H. Richardson’s
Twin Towers
This tour takes you around and through one of H.H. Richardson’s greatest designs:
the Buffalo State Hospital. Richardson’s style was so distinctive and influential
that it gave rise to a whole generation of architecture: Richardsonian Romanesque.
The complex is complemented with landscaping by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Saturday 10am: June 24
Sunday 10am: July 9 & Oct. 1
•90-min. walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet at t 400 Forest Ave. at Richmond, at base of twin towers
Ft. Erie with Austin Fox
Austin Fox, noted local historian and summertime resident, leads a fascinating
tour of Fort Erie, beginning with the old fort and visiting several houses, among
them the 1812 Haun-Lawson House at the yacht harbor and Grey Grove Farm. Also see
a country church and adjacent Little Africa Cemetery, where citizens of an extinct
fugitive slave settlement are buried. Transportation is by motor coach.
Sat. July 29, 9:00am - 4:30pm
•Bus tour with lunch, $48/$38
•Board bus at Spaghetti Warehouse, Elm & Clinton streets, Buffalo. Park free
in ramp.
•Reservations required, seating limited.
Franklin Street Stroll
Franklin Street, part of Buffalo's Allentown Historic District, has a passel of
textbook examples of mid-19th century architectural styles. Second Empire, Stick
Style (with Eastlake embellishments, natch) and Italianate are at every turn. There's
a story behind every façade, from Cicero Hamlin’s house to the days of Pill
Alley, when doctors were thick on the streets.
Sat. July 1, 10am
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet under giant sycamore tree in front of 404 Franklin St.
Architecture of Niagara-on-the-Lake
Following the Revolution, British citizens who had refused to pledge allegiance
to the American flag were rewarded with land in Canada. The buildings in this designated
historic village are testimony to our once-shared heritage. Explore fine examples
of early 19th century architecture, design, and craftsmanship from distinct periods
of prosperity and development. Transportation is by motor coach.
Sun. Aug. 20, 9:30am - 4:30pm
•Bus tour with lunch, $48/$38
•Board bus at Spaghetti Warehouse, Elm & Clinton streets, Buffalo. Park free
in ramp.
•Reservations required, seating limited.
Rochester House & Garden Tour
The neighborhood of Struckmar is the focus of this year's tour. A 100-acre tract
with large lots, it includes the early 19th century Drake homestead and many fine
architect-designed homes along six broad streets.
This tour is in association with the Landmark Society of Western New York, based
in Rochester. We will also get a special tour of the Society's Stone-Tolan House
Museum. It is the oldest house in Monroe County and recreates an early 19th century
household and tavern. On the grounds are an apple orchard, an herb garden, and 200
varieties of native plants.
Sat. June 3, 9:30am -5:30pm
•Bus tour with lunch, $40/$32
•Board bus at Spaghetti Warehouse, Elm & Clinton streets, Buffalo. Park free
in ramp.
•Reservations required, seating limited.
Parkside Promenade
Parkside can boast three houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, a showroom for
the fabled Pierce-Arrow motorcar, and the house of William Sydney Wicks, Parkside
booster and noted architect. It also has a street pattern inspired by the renowned
Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed adjacent Delaware Park. This tour is in association
with the Parkside Community Association.
Saturday Sept. 9, 10am
•2 1/2 hr walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet at Central Park Pres. Church, Main St. and Jewett Ave.
Hamlin Park
Hamlin Park may very well become the city's first East Side historic district.
The area gets its name from 19th century sugar king and race horse fancier Cicero
Hamlin, whose sons were responsible for much of its development.
On this tour you'll see ‘carpenter’ cottages, several churches, a lost creek, the
house of 1950s Buffalo Bison star Luke Easter, and a virtual encyclopedia of middle
class contract and catalog houses of the early 20th century. This tour is in association
with the Hamlin Park Community and Taxpayers Assoc.
Sunday August 27, Noon
•2-hour bus tour, $15/$12
•Board bus at Delavan-College Metro station, Main and Delavan
Williamsville Ramble
Williamsville owes its existence to the falls of Ellicott Creek. Jonas Williams,
among others, constructed water-powered grist mills next to the falls. One mill,
built in 1811, still operates. There are also many stone houses, schools, and churches
dating from the 1830s, and a restaurant that traces its beginnings to a stage stop
and hotel on the Buffalo-Batavia road.
Sunday July 2, Noon
•Meet at Glen Park parking lot off Glen Ave., one block north of Main Street. Mill
Street is the nearest cross street.
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
Ebenezer Johnson’s Neighborhood
The tour explores the neighborhood ‘pioneered’ in 1824 by Ebenezer Johnson, Buffalo's
first mayor. Styles typical of the mid-19th century predominate: the Italianate,
French Second Empire, and Victorian Gothic. Later, many small hotels and apartment
houses were built. Today traditional businesses like Ballestreri’s Bakery and newcomers
like Vito’s Restaurant coexist among the restored houses and new infill house
Sun. Aug. 13, 10am
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet at Vito’s Restaurant, Chippewa and South Elmwood Ave.
The Old First Ward
Buffalo's Irish divided themselves into two classes: the “shanty Irish” of the
First ward and the “lace curtain Irish” of South Buffalo. See how the newly arrived
Irish immigrants lived and worked on the exciting 19th century Buffalo waterfront.
Sat. 10am: July 8 & Aug. 19
•Meet in front of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, O’Connell & Alabama streets
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
Architectural Photo Workshop
Getting good photographs of buildings and street scenes is a bit more complicated
than just pointing and shooting, but a lot less demanding than it used to be. Designed
with the enthusiastic amateur in mind, this workshop exposes you to techniques using
telephoto, zoom, and wide angle lenses. You'll learn how best to compose a photo
and which features to concentrate on. The reward: Great pictures!
Saturday June 24, 9am
•3-hour workshop, $20/$15
•Class size strictly limited, advance registration required
•Meet at Rose Garden Pergola
•SLR camera required
Painted Ladies
The near West Side has Buffalo's finest collection of Queen Anne style houses,
with a good amount of Colonial Revival and Shingle Style thrown in. They were built
by the city's late 19th century middle class, along the new streetcar lines.
You can learn about all the styles, history and colorful restorations on this Preservation
Coalition tour.
Sunday July 16, Noon
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet at NW corner,West Ferry & Elmwood
The Fargo Estate District
Begun in 1867, the titanic Second Empire house of William Fargo set the tone for
Buffalo's gentry for the next 20 years and helped create the monumental scale of
its neighborhood. It is long gone, but the outlines of the estate are still readily
apparent in the stylistic changes of the streetscape.
Among other sights are Kleinhans Music Hall, the oldest firehouse in the city, Grover
Cleveland high school (originally the state college), some colorful ‘painted ladies,’
Plymouth Methodist Church, and an elegant row of houses built on top of the old Black
Rock burial grounds.
Sunday July 9, Noon
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet on E. side of Kleinhans Music Hall, Symphony Circle
The Grand Basilica
In an age when many beautiful churches are being closed or demolished, it is a
special event when one is the subject of a years-long restoration effort. Such is
the case with the exceptionally ornate Our Lady of Victory Basilica, a marble church
with copper covered spires and dome.
See the elaborate interior architecture and art and learn about the restoration processes
involved. There is beautiful mahogany woodwork and gold, silver, copper and bronze
fixtures throughout.
Sunday 1pm: June 4 & Aug. 20
•2 hour walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet at front of basilica, Ridge Road and South Park Ave., Lackawanna
Main Street USA – Buffalo's is All-American, circa 1930
Starting from the recently renovated Niagara Mohawk Building, this tour proceeds
up Main Street, past some new construction to an extraordinary collection of buildings
which coalesced into the prototypical American ‘Main Street’ of the 1930s.
This is where downtown Buffalo's remaining movie houses and theaters are, as well
as a good portion of its undisturbed commercial architecture. We'll check on the
progress of various restoration projects, including that of the Market Arcade, a
beautifully detailed 1892 retail pavilion.
Sat. Aug. 26, 10am
•2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
•Meet at SE corner, Main & Huron
Inside a Cathedral Organ
Tour a huge musical instrument
St. Joseph's Cathedral organ was built for Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition
of 1876. A fascinating piece of history and craftsmanship, the organ is in need of
repair and will be dismantled and rebuilt. This tour will also include a tour of
the cathedral itself, including the crypt where Buffalo's first bishop, John Timon,
is buried, and the massive rectory next door.
Sunday Sept. 10, 1pm
•90-minute tour, $7/$5. Limit: 25 persons.
•Meet in front of church, on Franklin St. between Swan and Church Sts.