| The
Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society is here for you, as collectors and
preservers of the artifacts and records of Western New York history, so that generations
to come may understand themselves and this region better for our efforts. We're
here with the largest collection of Pan-American Exposition artifacts, to help
people worldwide commemorate the Centennial of the l90l event which trumpeted
the industrial and commercial excellence of the Americas at the turn of the last
century. Our
Collections have other objects of national significance as well, such as the Red
Jacket Peace Medal, and the Pierce Motorette (an early motor vehicle), and prototype
pacemakers, among the 80,000-plus items in our care. Sketches
and paintings chronicle two centuries of growth of the city of Buffalo and surrounding
land, and portraiture ranges from Peter Porter, one time Secretary of War, to
Presidents Grover Cleveland, and Millard Fillmore. We're
here for you with a Research Library that maintains manuscript, photographic and
rare book collections, including the Holland Land Company records, letters to
Millard Fillmore, and records of the Larkin Company. The
purposes of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society are: “To
collect, preserve and research the written, spoken, pictorial and artifactual
record of the history of Western New York and the Great Lakes in general, and
of Buffalo and Erie County in particular, from prehistoric times to the present •
to promote a better understanding of the present by using exhibits, educational
programs, publications, media presentations, and other appropriate means to interpret
the process of change over time in the community •
to make the best of current historical research and insight accessible to general
audiences by serving as a meeting ground for professional historians and non-professional
enthusiasts •
to enrich the Western New York community by encouraging the participation of a
broad spectrum of the community in lively programs and exhibits that reflect the
diversity of the community’s population. This
building, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, is the only permanent
building erected for the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo’s international
fair attended by 8,000,000 from May to November 1901. The Exposition is best known
for being the largest showcase to that time of the uses of electrical illumination.
It celebrated the technological innovations that had recently harnessed the generating
power of nearby Niagara Falls. During the Exposition, the building served as the
New York State Pavilion and was the scene of an intensive schedule of receptions
welcoming distinguished guests from around the world. Awarded
the design commission by a State-sponsored competition, young Buffalo architect
George Cary (1859-1945), who had been classically trained in Paris, designed the
building, faced and corniced with Vermont marble, in Doric style. The beautiful
south portico, overlooking Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park, is a scaled-down version
of the east front of the Parthenon, in Athens. Cary was able to complete his original
design in 1927 when the building was enlarged to accommodate the present-day Library
and Auditorium. Eleven relief sculptures, designed by Edmund Amateis, surround
the building, each depicting a significant event in local history. The bronze
entry doors, designed by J. Woodley Gosling and sculpted by R. Hinton Perry, show
allegorical figures depicting “History” and “Ethnology.” After
the Exposition closed, the building became the headquarters of the Buffalo Historical
Society in 1902. The Society, founded in 1862, had previously displayed its growing
collections in a series of rented spaces in downtown Buffalo. Since that time,
the building has played many roles: exhibit pavilion, repository of the stories
of Western New York, resource for genealogical and historical research by students
and scholars, and community gathering place. Today the building hosts the Historical
Society’s Research Library (collections include 20,000 books, 200,000 photographs
and 2,000 manuscript collections), its Auditorium, long term exhibits BFLO Made!
and Neighbors, galleries for temporary exhibits, and the Museum Shop. The
Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (BECHS) is a private not-for-profit
organization tax exempt under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It
receives operating support from the County of Erie, the City of Buffalo, the New
York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA-a state agency), the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency, and from members and friends. BECHS
is accredited by the American Association of Museums. Current
Exhibit : 
Web
Only Exhibit: 
175
Years: Celebrating the Incorporation of the City of Buffalo General
admission:
Members and Children under 7: Free
Adults: $6.00
Senior (age 60+): $4.00
Student (ages 13-21): $4.00
Children (ages
7 - 12): $2.50 |
