The Buffalo History Museum (founded as the Buffalo Historical Society, and later named the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society) is located at 1 Museum Court (formerly 25 Nottingham Court) in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, just east of Elmwood Avenue and off of Nottingham Terrace, north of the Scajaquada Expressway, in the northwest corner of Delaware Park.

History

The building that houses the Buffalo History Museum was constructed in 1901 as the New York State pavilion for that year's Pan-American Exposition, and is the sole surviving permanent structure from the exposition. As planned, the Buffalo Historical Society moved into the building after the exposition. Designed by Buffalo architect George Cary (1859–1945), its south portico is meant to evoke the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. The building was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1987. and Founded in 1862, the Buffalo Historical Society's first president was Millard Fillmore. Its exhibits, programs, and events are attended by schoolchildren, families, and students. It has hosted observances of Lincoln's Birthday for over a century and features a bronze statue by sculptor Charles H. Niehaus in 1902 on the museums portico. From 1879 to 1947, the Society published pioneering scholarship on the people, events, and history of the Niagara Frontier. Many of those volumes are now online in full text. In 1960, the Buffalo Historical Society changed its name to the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, and on October 25, 2012, the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society announced it was rebranding itself as The Buffalo History Museum.

Exhibits

Bicycle exhibit at The Buffalo History Museum

All three floors of the building offer exhibits, including the Rotary Gallery (featuring elaborate model trains), the Pioneer Gallery, the Erie County Room, the State Court, the Community Gallery, Native American Gallery, Neighbors, and ICONS. A recreation of Tim Russert's office opened in October 2014 after having been installed at the

Newseum The Newseum (April 18, 1997–March 3, 2002 and April 11, 2008–December 31, 2019) was an American museum located first in Rosslyn, Virginia, and later at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, in Washington, D.C., dedicated to news and journalism that ...

in Washington, D.C. On view by appointment in the museum's Resource Center on Forest Avenue is the gun used by Leon F. Czolgosz to shoot President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

at the Exposition's Temple of Music on September 6, 1901. In November 2017, the Buffalo History Museum opened the ''Icons: The Makers and Moments of Buffalo Sports'' exhibit''. ''The new exhibit explores Buffalo New York's rich sports history and investigates the unique connection between fans and the beloved teams and sports idols of the area. Highlights include Ralph Wilson's hall of fame jacket, the only helmet Scott Norwood ever wore during his career as a Buffalo Bill, and a changing exhibit currently featuring the Buffalo Beauts.

Research Library

Of particular interest to historians, genealogists, researchers, and house history buffs are the collections of the Research Library. Notable collections include: *The Millard Fillmore Papers *The Peter Buell Porter Papers *The Mary Burnett Talbert papers *The Larkin Company records and memorabilia *The Pan-American Exposition collection *Maris B. Pierce's papers Additional resources include: *100,000 artifacts *20,000 books *200,000 photographs *50,000 plans *Drawings *Maps *Posters *Prints *Broadsides *6,500 microfilms of newspapers *Church records *Cemetery records *Censuses *Pamphlets *Clippings In addition there is similar ephemera that documents the people, places, architecture, organizations, businesses, and events in the Buffalo and Niagara frontier region. A number of detailed bibliographies on popular topics are online at

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

. FRANK, the library's growing catalog of 25,000 books and manuscripts, is freely searchable online.

Same-sex wedding memorabilia

In 2011, after the passage of equal marriage in the State of New York, the Research Library became the first known library in the United States to collect wedding memorabilia from legally wed same-sex couples.

Amateis pediment

The left, center, and right sections of the

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

atop the museum, designed by Edmond Amateis and includes clothed, semi-nude and nude figures. File:NiehausBuffPed1.jpg File:NiehausBuffPed2.jpg File:NiehausBuffPed3.jpg

References

External links

*
History Buffs: The YouTube channel of The Buffalo History Museum

Encyclopedia Americana entry, vol. 3, 1903

Buffalo Historical Society, 1930
A short pamphlet illustrated with photographs of museum interiors & exhibits, published to commemorate the expansion of the original 1901 building.
Buffalo Historical Society Publications
A list of essays, pamphlets, annual reports, and scholarship, with links to online editions {{Authority control National Historic Landmarks in New York (state) Museums on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Buildings and structures completed in 1901 Historical societies in New York (state) Museums in Buffalo, New York Architecture of Buffalo, New York Historical society museums in New York (state) World's fair architecture in New York (state) Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Photo archives in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Buffalo, New York 1901 establishments in New York (state) Research libraries in the United States Pan-American Exposition New York State Register of Historic Places in Buffalo Sculptures by Edmond Amateis