It wasn’t long ago that a Toaster Museum opened in Allentown. Unfortunately the museum came and went, leaving toaster enthusiasts high and dry. Now Howard Goldman has one upped the Toaster Museum by opening the Buffalo Ice Cream Museum at 153 Delaware Avenue in the “The Old House” (in Steve Cichon Park). The Buffalo Museum of Ice Cream is a pop-up museum curated by Goldman, who has been busy printing vinyl lettering, signs and t-shirts, while making connections with ice cream historians and aficionados through social media.
Today was the big day, when news of the museum was leaked on Facebook, much to the delight of ice cream fans city-wide. To mark the occasion, Goldman brought on-board Chilly Billy’s Ice Cream. As Goldman held court on the front steps of The Old House, passersby would purchase an ice cream bar before inquiring about the plans for the museum.
Goldman reflected that this was indeed a grand day to unveil his plans, although he mentioned that he is still formulating strategies to include other pop-up museums into the mix. In the meantime, Goldman is trying the woo the City of Buffalo Department of Coffee and Donuts to take up space within the building.
At this point, there are still a couple of hoops to jump through, although Goldman states that he is confident that a mutual agreement will be reached soon enough. Once the department is secured, that will be a key stepping stone towards realizing his vision for myriad pop-up attractions, and even a possible visit by The Toaster Museum.
Another attraction that Goldman has established is the selfie trash bin. Today the trash bin was a big hit – as ice cream wrappers were discarded, the bin became the perfect backdrop for photos. Goldman says that the trash bin has even been competing with Pokémon GO users who have found the appeal of the bin irresistible.
Goldman says that between the museum and the trash bin, he feels that that he’s really onto something. “Ice cream historians have been blowing up my phone,” he said. “There are a lot of Buffalo ice cream artifacts out there that are simply sitting around getting dusty. We feel that it’s our mission to talk to these people so that they feel that there is someone out there that cares. There are some passionate people out there. We’re passionate about a lot of things – it’s what’s so great about this city.”
Howard has successfully drummed up a conversation about ice cream. He’s even gotten a number of adults to indulge in a bar or two. More importantly, he has fueled the imagination of what’s possible. He is using his building to create conversations around topics that might not be discussed as much as they should. In the end, ice cream will lead the way to… you name it. If people are engaged, and having fun, then Howard has succeeded with his pop-up plans.
You can follow more of Goldman’s adventures by tuning in to BuffaloPopUp.org.