Architecture and History
From its magnificent art deco City Hall, built in 1931, to its hundreds of lovingly restored Victorian homes, Buffalo is home to myriad architectural and historic treasures that draw tourists from all over the world.
Among them:
- The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, the only permanent building erected for the Pan-American Exposition, an international gathering that brought world renown and over 8 million visitors to Buffalo in 1901.
- The Cargill Grain Elevator, on Buffalo's waterfront, one of the most famous of what is often termed the nation’s best collection of historic grain elevators.
- The Darwin D. Martin House Complex, the Graycliff Estate and the newly constructed Rowing Boathouse, masterpieces conceived by famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
- City streets dotted with gems designed by architects H.H. Richardson, D.H. Burnham and Louis Sullivan, including Sullivan's 1896 Guaranty Building, then and now one of the world’s most stunning skyscrapers.
- The Allentown district in downtown Buffalo, one of three Buffalo areas listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's filled with antiques shops, boutiques, restaurants and Victorian homes.
- Delaware Avenue, familiarly known as Millionaires Row for its collection of turn-of-the-century mansions.
- The Underground Railroad: The Niagara River was a primary route used by fugitive slaves en route to Canada, and many existing buildings in Buffalo have been identified as safe houses and stations that sheltered fleeing former slaves. (See the Underground Railroad Historic Tour, from Michigan Street Baptist Church to the Whirlpool Bridge near Niagara Falls.)
- Nearby Old Fort Niagara, where French and Indian War battle re-enactments are regularly staged.
Last updated: December 07, 2012 9:52 am EST
