Pan-Am Survivor: the History Museum
To those looking back on the 1901 Pan-American Exposition held here in Buffalo, it is no doubt a wonder that almost all of the buildings created for the event were demolished immediately following. The buildings, which had once spanned northward from Nottingham Terrace to Amherst Street, were all dismantled. Ornate structures as the Electric Tower, the Triumphal Bridge, and the Temple of Music, where Pres. William McKinley was fatally shot, are no longer there to be seen. Who took these buildings apart?
Well, as it turns out, the folks who built them.
The financial backers of the 1901 expo, like many of the world’s fairs before and after, constructed buildings that were intended to be temporary and demolished after a year, freeing up the land for valuable residential real estate. The pavilions of the expo were constructed with wood frames and exteriors of staff, which was a mix of plaster and straw that could be molded into detailed shapes, painted, and varnished to look like marble.
In the months that followed the closing of the exposition in November 1901, the buildings were leveled, erasing attractions that had drawn over 8 million visitors to Buffalo. Only one significant structure from the expo remains today – the New York State Building, which is now the home of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society’s museum.
From the Historical Society’s founding in 1862 through the end of the 19th century, the organization was repeatedly on the move, transporting its collection from one interim location to another. When it was announced that Buffalo would host the expo and that the State of New York would have a presence on its grounds, Historical Society president Andrew Langdon and board member Henry W. Hill negotiated with the state to build a permanent marble structure to serve as the state pavilion and then become the Historical Society’s museum after the expo.
The state sponsored a building design competition and awarded the commission to the young Buffalo architect George Cary (1859-1945), who had been trained in Paris. Cary designed the building in neoclassic revival style, faced and corniced with marble from Isle la Motte in Lake Champlain. The building’s beautiful south portico, overlooking Mirror Lake in Delaware Park, was laid out as a scale version of the Parthenon’s east front side.
Cary’s design was completed in two stages. The core of the building was constructed in time for the expo and the building was enlarged to accommodate the museum’s present-day Library and Auditorium in 1927. Eleven relief sculptures, designed by Edmund Amateis, surround the building and depict Millard Fillmore and the Historical Society’s founders, the Trial of Red Jacket, the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette (1825), the burning of Buffalo during the War of 1812, the Underground Railroad, General Daniel Bidwell, the Battle of Lake Erie, the Centaur, President McKinley, and the opening of the Erie Canal. Amateis also designed the building’s tympanum, which features Clio, the Greek god of history.
The museum’s bronze entry doors, which show allegorical figures representing “History” and “Ethnology,” weigh a hefty 3,900 pounds and were designed by J. Woodley Gosling and sculpted by R. Hinton Perry.
Today, the museum houses several permanent exhibits, including Neighbors, which looks at the ethnicities of Western New York and how they arrived here, and Bflo. Made!, which highlights the inventions and innovations of the Niagara Frontier. The Historical Society has three featured exhibits on view: In Loving Memory, which explores mourning traditions; Cathedrals of Industry: Photographs by Michael L. Horowitz, which includes large-format images of the Col. Ward Pumping Station; and its popular model trains display, which will be in operation every Saturday and Sunday in February. The building also holds the Historical Society’s Library and Archives, which includes over 200,000 photographs, 20,000 books, and 2,000 manuscript collections.
The Historical Society Museum is located at 25 Nottingham Court at the corner of Elmwood Avenue and is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10AM to 5PM, and Sundays from noon to 5PM Tours of the building and its exhibits are available by appointment. For more information, call 873.9644 ext. 301 or visit www.bechs.org.
What Others Have To Say
What Do You Think?
Related Articles
-
My Favorite Buildings
After reading a recent Buffalo News story about funding and delays in renovation of the Buffalo State Psychiatric Hospital I was reminded of how much I love that building. This structure designed by H.H. Richardson is massive and I love the whole thing. However I really love the part that no one thinks of, the 1/4 mile long wings (or should I say wing since one wing was lopped off in the 60's). This building is not considered to be one of Richardson's best buildings. But, t …
- Sep 28th 2011, 11:02am
- Continue Reading
- 26 Comments
-
My Favorite Buildings
This house on Richmond Avenue is very unusual for Buffalo. It stands out among its wooden neighbors not only in material but also in detail and form. Buffalo is overwhelmingly constructed of wood with brick coming in a distant second as a material. Stone houses are very rare. Also rare is the Palazzo styling and shape of this house. Buffalo's Queen Anne Victorians are strong expressions of Buffalo's new money attitude in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Unlike staid Delawa …
- Sep 28th 2011, 11:00am
- Continue Reading
- 13 Comments
-
If You See This Posting, You're at the Wrong Site
We've updated Buffalo Rising. Some people haven't seen it yet, though, so if you're seeing this post, you need to refresh your browser to be taken to the new www.buffalorising.com. If hitting refresh alone doesn't do it, hold the *shift* key and hit refresh. If that doesn't work and you still see this old version of the site, try going to this story. That should certainly take you to the new site and from there, you can navigate around the new BuffaloRising.com.
- Feb 5th 2009, 9:21pm
- Continue Reading
- 3 Comments
-
The Wait is Almost Over - BR's New Site
As we mentioned in our previous post, we’re in the process of changing the Buffalo Rising site. We’re almost there as we expect to launch the new site on Friday, December 19th.
In the meantime, posting will be light as we log new stories in the new publishing system which will only be viewable when we launch on Friday.
As always, we appreciate our users’ patience as we make this transition but we promise it will be well worth it. With faster load times, a comment view … - Dec 18th 2008, 11:32am
- Continue Reading
- 6 Comments
Comment Options
RisingDamp666
"Wood frames, plaster and straw, and varnish"? Isn't that how Tonawanda got built? And they didn't tear that down a year later...
Report this
BuffaWlos
One other building survived. It was one of the state sponsored buildings (perhaps Minnesota?). The building was relocated and altered, and now sits on Point Abino.
Report this
BuffaWlos
My apologies...Wisconsin.
http://www.buffalohistoryworks.com/panamex/buildings/wiscon.htm
Report this
sally
You are corect Risingdamp666 Tonawanda was constructed just like most of the City except in Buffalo they didn't even use the varnish!
Report this
EdwinaMcBain
Before this turns into a Tonawanda diss-fest, take a good look at those '57 ranches. The better ones were designed in the ever-so-sublime style of everyone's beloved FLW. And I quote: "Prarie Houses: extended low buildings with shallow, sloping roofs, clean sky lines, suppressed chimneys, overhangs and terraces, using unfinished materials" Isn't this what design for the masses was all about? Now if they'd just used varnish we'd be all stampeding to the preservation board, not cracking crude jokes about straw.
Report this
stephenjames716
thanks for the great article and information. I was just at the museum the other day (but didn't go in) and thought the exterior was beautiful. does anyone know anything about the abe lincoln statue overlooking the water?
thanks!
Report this
chris69
I think that for the benefit of the entire city of Buffalo we must endeavor to learn from other cities like San Francisco which have done an excellent job of saving wonderful pieces of their past exhibitions.
Buffalo could be an architectural Paris of the Great Lakes....if we could find a way to rebuild some of the Pan Am's fountains, gateways, sculptures, etc
With tourism approaching 3 billion this shouldnt be dismissed
Report this
RaChaCha
Peter, very interesting. I've noticed a few times that at the location for the 12th relief sculpture (obscured behind the leafless tree in this photo) is just a blank stone panel - is there a backstory about that--?
Report this
Dan
chris69> Buffalo could be an architectural Paris of the Great Lakes....if we could find a way to rebuild some of the Pan Am's fountains, gateways, sculptures, etc
You do know that to make this happen, the development that was built on the former Pan-Am site -- Nye Park, one of Buffalo's wealthiest neighborhoods -- would need to be town down.
This just sounds like an extreme version of the "They oughtta' bring back McDoel's/The Town Casino/Old Spain/Deco" ideas of our elderly armchair planners. "If they just bring back Sattlers and the Teck theater, all will be right with the world again."
Report this
bobbyraz49
I was at the Albright Knox/ Historical Society area last year. I was looking for a plaque where the President was shot. Is there such a place? If so, I would REALLY appreciate the exact location of such. Also, is there a map overlay of the Pan Am site in comparison to the Buffalo area? Thanks SO much, Bob in Depew.
Report this
stoecdo
bobbyraz,
If you drive down Fordham ave., there is a small stone marker where McKinley was shot.
This is a link for the overlay you asked about
http://panam1901.bfn.org/maps/modern_street_overlay.htm
Report this
georgethomasapfel
Bobby, stoecdo is correct, a plaque marks the location of the Temple of Music where McKinley was shot, it is in the center median on Fordham Avenue. There's a picture of it along with many other plaques and markers on Chris Anderle's website Historic Markers, Monuments, and Memorials in Buffalo, New York
One other notable Pan Am building, the 375 foot Electric Tower, was constructed with a sturdy steel framework, a restaurant 75 feet up, and an elevator to carry visitors to the many floors. It was built to last no doubt out of necessity, given Buffalo's high winds and being a functional structure with the restaurant and observation tower. There was a effort to save this structure, but the Rumseys did not want anything to remain on the site as per the rental agreement on the property. But the cost to move it could not be raised and it was demolished.
In the March 12, 1902 Buffalo News Letter to the Editor: "It certainly will be very unfortunate if the Electric Tower is not kept in Buffalo as a reminder of the beautiful Pan-American and as a demonstration that Buffalo is the Electric City. On account of the flimsy construction of the Temple of Music it would be impossible to preserve that, but no such argument can be used in regard to the Tower as the most of the construction is of steel."
"If it were placed at the Front the revenues from a restaurant and the elevators would make it self-supporting, and the pleasure and satisfaction that the citizens, young and old, would derive from it would be sufficient dividend for any money that we might invest."
Report this
chris69
oh Dan Dan Dan, you just a so fixed functionally pessimistic...you just cant even think of the big picture much less out of the box.
When I speak of bringing back pieces of the PAN AM like gateways, fountains, sculptures or even the electric tower or the temple of music...THEY DO NOT HAVE TO BE BUILT IN THE EXACT SAME PLACE!
As they had said back in 1902, the Electric Tower would look beautiful anywhere along the waterfront (Riverside, Front Park, LaSalle, Outer Harbor, Inner Harbor, South Park)
The Fountains and Statues would be great for many of the proposed traffic rotaries around the city
The Gateways would be incredible additions to any of Ellicotts Radial Boulevards, Omsteds Parkways or Park entrances
and thats just thinking creatively...because they dont have to be built in Buffalo or Erie County. The electric tower would be just beautiful as a memorial to Tesla in somewhere in Niagara Falls
The point is not where they should be rebuilt but that our community would be better off architecturally and historically (just as our city would be better off which replicas of LaSalles Griffon, Adm Perrys 1812 Warship, a canal barge and freight schooner as well as maybe the canadiana docked in our many outer harbor and inner harbor and canal port facilities)!
TOURISM IS A 3 BILLION A YEAR INDUSTRY FOR BUFFALO AND GROWING...TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT INDUSTRY WE NEED TO BE A CITY LIKE BOSTON THAT RETAINS IS BLUE COLLAR DIRECT DOWN TO EARTH PERSONALITY BUT ALSO IS A VIBRANT EDUCATED, CULTURAL CITY THAT ALL CLASSES APPRECIATE AND PATRONIZE (RESIDENT AND VISITOR)
Report this
PaulBuffalo
The Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society should be the epicenter of explaining Erie County's past with fresh exhibits that can recount stories to successive generations. I no longer reside in the the area, but I visited the museum last July and was disappointed. Indeed, the basement exhibits are over 30 years old!
The Historical Society should prepare a master plan that can present history in new and exciting ways. An important first step would be to reopen the Resource Center and present art and artifacts in the warehouse style adopted by the New York Historical Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum.
With a collection of over 100,000 objects -- including a helicopter -- shouldn't more of these items be on display to the public on a regular basis? Buffalo is spending millions to recreate history at the waterfront, yet all of this real history is locked away.
Report this
chris69
The first reason is obviously money. In case you hadnt noticed we just lost Studio Arena and all the culturals are suffering.
The Second reason is because there are three museums that the Historical Museum is trying to get off the ground. Two of which are presidential libraries for Fillmore and Cleveland (to complement the Roosevelt/McKinley Museum). The third is the Great Lakes Museum which will include the Historical Museums exhibits on the history of Buffalo as a Transportation Center and all related exhibits, as well as their exhibits of Buffalo as an Industrial and Technology Powerhouse which they called Made in Buffalo/Invented in Buffalo.
So their long term strategy is that they have done as much as they can do with the Historical Museum and that the new exhibits need their own museum and location which longterm will be much better for Buffalos tourism economy.
If only the Buffalo Zoo and Botanical Gardens could expand their exhibits by partnering with the Great Lakes Museum they would be in better long term financial shape as well because the waterfront Great Lakes Museum as part of Bass Pro will provide incentive for tourists to leave downtown and venture to the North Buffalo (Delaware Park) and South Buffalo (Botanicals).
Report this
PaulBuffalo
Chris69, this is interesting. The Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society's website doesn't mention these other endeavors. It seems odd that they wouldn't be trying to promote these new ideas to gain interest and financial support. I would really like to see their mission statement for the 21st century. Is there a website that covers the details you mention?
Report this
RisingDamp666
I believe their mission statement says something along the lines of "new feather dusters and a switch to dry food for the cat".
Report this
PeterBurakowski
Chris69 - money is, indeed, a big issue for most WNY culturals. While BECHS is not in a state of financial crisis, city and county budget cuts have certainly impacted the organization.
The projects you mention may be interesting, but I’d like to clarify that BECHS is not attempting to get three additional museums off the ground - efforts in the community to create presidential libraries are independent of the Historical Society and BECHS currently has no plans to move any of its exhibits to a Great Lakes Museum.
PaulBuffalo – First, I appreciate your comments – it’s important for BECHS to have all kinds of feedback. Next time you’re in town, please feel free to call me at 716-873-9644 ext. 319. I’ll do my best to ensure you have a more positive experience.
In regard to your post, while no large museum can possibly exhibit all of its collections, the open storage system you refer to is an interesting option. BECHS is looking into the feasibility of storing/displaying parts of its collection with a similar system. A demo open storage case is on display on the upper level of the History Museum.
For the time being, the Resource Center is open by appointment and BECHS is offering free behind-the-scenes tours of its collection.
As far as new exhibits, since July, the museum has displayed the following: • Bon Voyage, which looked at the travels of Buffalo residents • Milton Rogovin: Native American Series, 1963-2002, an exhibit of photographs by Buffalo’s own internationally recognized social documentary photographer • In Loving Memory, which looked at mourning traditions and practices • Cathedrals of Industry (currently on display), which features large-scale photos of the interior of the Colonel Ward Pumping Station On May 3, BECHS will open Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies, an exhibit on presidential campaigns.
Please stay tuned about a comprehensive strategic plan – a new 5-year plan will be released in the very near future.
Report this