Buffalo Tours 1996

Millionairesí Row

See how the Knoxes, the Butlers, the Pratts, and other rich Buffalonians housed themselves. They lived well indeed, inhabiting mansions on elegant Delaware Avenue designed by some of the nationís most prestigious architects.
Sunday, June 2 @ 10am
Thursday, June 20 @ 7pm
ï2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet at SW corner, Delaware Avenue and Bryant Street

Grand Interiors of Delaware Avenue

What was home life like during Buffaloís Golden Age? Find out on this tour of mansion interiors. See how taste, money, and social rituals helped shape interior arrangements and appointments. 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.
Saturday July 27 and August 24 @ 10am & 11am
ï2-hour interiors tour, $15/$12
ïMeet at NW corner, Delaware Avenue and North Street
ïReservations required

Rochester House & Garden Tour

A house and garden tour of Rochesterís fabulous East Avenue Preservation District, with imposing 19th and early 20th century mansions. Architects represented are Frank Lloyd Wright, Claude Bragdon, J. Foster Warner, and Herbert Stern. Catered lunch at the Stone-Tolan Barn. In association with Rochesterís Landmark Society of WNY.
Sat. June 1; 9:30am -5:30pm
ïBus tour with lunch, $40/$32
ïBoard bus at LaSalle Station
ïReservations required

The Fargo Estate Neighborhood

The titanic Second Empire house of Wells Fargo millionaire William Fargo helped create the monumental scale of its neighborhood. Itself long gone, the legacy of the estate lives on.
Among sights to be seen are Kleinhans Music Hall, the oldest firehouse in the city, Grover Cleveland high school (originally the state college), some colorful ípainted ladies,í Plymouth Methodist Church, and an elegant row of houses built on top of the old Black Rock burial grounds.
Sunday, August 4 @ 1pm
ï2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet on east side of Kleinhans Music Hall, Symphony Circle

The Great Armory

Explore the interior and exterior of the monumental Connecticut Street Armory as we discuss the architectural significance and military function of this impressive stone bastion. Of red Medina sandstone in the form of a medieval fortress with handsome interior woodwork, this stronghold is a testimony to superior craftsmanship.
Sat. June 29 & August 17 @ 10am
ï90 minute walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet at NE corner, Connecticut & Niagara streets

Europe In Buffalo

Visit buildings inspired by the great masterpieces of Europe without leaving the City. Discover the Classical lines of Roman and Greek temples, explore the exterior of a Palladian villa and awaken to the Venetian Gothic details of the Dogeís palace. Donít worry about lost luggage as we travel to Byzantine and Gothic cathedrals.
Sat. July 20 @ 9am
Sun. Sept. 15 @ 1pm
ï3 hour bus tour, $17/$15
ïBoard bus at LaSalle Station ïReservations required

Downtown Masterpieces

From Louis Sullivanís world-famous Guaranty Building to the Art Deco splendor of City Hall, youíll see 150 years of local history and architectural styles. A must for anyone who wants to know Buffalo.
Saturday May 18 @ 10am
Sunday July 7 & Sept. 8 @ 1pm
ï2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet at NW corner Main & Church St.

Architectural Photo Workshop

Explore, with your camera, selected historic sites of Linwood Avenue. Taking 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, youíll learn how best to compose a photo and which features to concentrate on.
Saturday September 7 @ 9am
(Rain Date Sat. Sept. 21 @ 9am)
ï3-hour workshop, $20/$15
ïMeet at NW corner of Linwood Ave. & North Street
ïSpace limited, reservations required

H.H. Richardsonís Twin Towers

Go around and through one of H.H. Richardsonís greatest designs: the Buffalo State Hospital. Richardsonís style was so distinctive it gave rise to a whole generation of architecture: Richardsonian Romanesque. The complex is complemented with landscaping by Frederick Law Olmsted.
10am Sun. May 26, June 30, Oct. 6
Saturday August 3 @ 10am
ï90-min. walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet at Forest and Richmond aves., at base of twin towers

Hamlin Park

Hamlin Park 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 youíll see several churches, the Victorian house of 1950s Buffalo Bison Star Luke Easter, and a virtual encyclopedia of middle class period revival houses of the early 20th century. In association with the Hamlin Park Community and Taxpayers Association.
Saturday August 24 @ 10am
ï2-hour bus tour, $15/$12
ïBoard bus at Delavan-College Metro station, Main and Delavan

Cobblestone Buildings & Albionís County Sq.

See a group of extraordinary cobblestone buildings in the Orleans County village of Childs and the pleasant architecture of County Square in Albion, the county seat. The Courthouse District has some 34 buildings on the National Register.
Sat. Oct. 5; 8:30am-4:30pm
ïBus tour w/lunch, $40/$32
ïBoard motorcoach at LaSalle Metro Station
ïReservations required
The Polish East Side
A potpourri of ethnic memories comes alive on this three-hour walk through Polonia. It is a neighborhood of magnificent churches (youíll see the interiors of two ó Corpus Christi and St. Stanislaus), old-time family businesses, and the colorful Broadway Market.
Saturday August 10 @ 10am
ï3-hour walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet in front of Broadway Market, 999 Broadway

Painted Ladies

The near West Side has Buffaloís finest collection of Queen Anne style houses, with a good amount of Colonial Revival and Shingle Style thrown in. Learn about all the styles, history and colorful restorations.
Sunday July 14 @ 10am
Saturday Sept. 28 @ 10am
ï2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet at NW corner, W. Ferry & Elmwood

Ebenezer Johnsonís Neighborhood

Explore the West Village, ëpioneeredí in 1824 by Ebenezer Johnson, Buffaloís first mayor. Styles typical of the mid-19th century predominate: the Italianate, French Second Empire, and Victorian Gothic. Traditional businesses like Balestreriís Bakery and newcomers like Vitoís Restaurant coexist among restored houses and new infill houses.
Saturday, June 22 @ 10am
ï2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet at boulder in Johnson Park on S. Elmwood Ave.

Williamsville Ramble

Williamsville owes its existence to the falls of Ellicott Creek. One mill, built in 1811, still operates. There are also many stone houses, schools, and churches dating from the 1830s.
Sunday July 28 @ 10am
ï2-hour walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet at Glen Park parking lot off Glen Ave, one block north of Main St. Mill St. is nearest cross street

OLV Basilica

The exceptionally ornate Our Lady of Victory Basilica is a marble church with copper-covered spires and dome. Beautiful mahogany woodwork and gold, silver, copper and bronze fixtures throughout.
Thursday, June 13 @ 7pm
ï90 minute walking tour, $7/$5
ïMeet in front of Basilica, Ridge Road and South Park Ave.

Call 852-4831