Some of us have lived in Western New York our entire lives -- but how much do we really know about our home city? Buffalo Tours is launching its summer season Tuesday, May 26th with a free "Queen City Downtown" tour at 2PM.
The tour starts in the Market Arcade visitor center at 617 Main Street and will take sightseers around the city, highlighting some of our biggest moments and sites in history, including the Erie Canal, several U.S. presidents, and a few master architects and their work. Normally, the tour costs $10 for adults and $5 for students. Advanced registration is required by e-mail or calling 716.852.3300.
Tours will run all summer long on a variety of topics. Every day, Buffalo Tours - hosted by Preservation Buffalo Niagara, a non-profit volunteer organization that works to preserve and promote historically and architecturally relevant sites throughout Erie and Niagara counties - takes tour groups through various neighborhoods and historical locations in the city.
Some tours run daily, like the City Hall tour that ends with a view of the entire city from a lookout atop the building. Last summer I went on this tour, which is one of the most popular tours offered, and it was definitely an interesting way to spend a couple hours during a summer afternoon.
Some special weekend tours require advance registration. Such tours, whose maximum capacity is often 25 people, include: "Inside the Homes of Prospect Hill," which takes guests through Buffalo's historic lakefront homes. The group also holds tours of the city's old mansions, Central Terminal, the Black Rock neighborhood, and the Richardson-Olmstead Complex.
New this year is the Happy Hour Tours, which each end at a local pub. Each tour revolves around a specific theme; the kickoff tour, for instance, centers on "Crime and Scandal," revisiting past Buffalo scandals like the assassination of President William McKinley. These tours are held on the third Friday of every month at 6PM.
Buffalo Tours aim to teach both tourists and Buffalo residents about the city and all it has to offer. Kim McHenry, administrative assistant for PBN, told me about a tour she took a few weeks ago through a neighborhood she visits often. "It was different actually learning about it," she said. "When you learn about your city or neighborhood, you take a greater interest in it."
The tours will run throughout the summer. For more information and a complete schedule of tours, please visit Buffalo Tour's Web site.
(All photos taken by Matt Biddle during a City Hall Tour from August 2008.)
Glad to see the support for Buffalo Tours, but please use pictures of the buildings and views that are attractive, and on the tour. The tour route does not feature the Skyway-190 highway complex, HSBC tower, Adams Mark, Channel 7, or the Liberty Building. The focus is on historically or architecturally significant buildings, not the roads as in these pictures.