Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society Building
Encyclopedia
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and Erie County
Erie County, New York
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...
Historical Society is located on Nottingham Court in the city of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, just east of Elmwood Avenue, north of the Scajaquada Expressway
New York State Route 198
New York State Route 198 is a state highway located entirely within the city of Buffalo, New York, in the United States. It is named the Scajaquada Expressway for Scajaquada Creek, which it parallels as it heads across northern Buffalo...
, in the northwest corner of Delaware Park. It occupies the building constructed in 1901 as the New York State pavilion for that year's Pan American Exposition, the sole surviving permanent structure from the exposition. As planned, the (then) 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
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
, in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.
In 1987, it was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Founded in 1862, the Buffalo Historical Society's first president was Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
. It has hosted observances of Lincoln's Birthday
Lincoln's Birthday
Lincoln's Birthday is a legal holiday in some U.S. states including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Indiana. It is observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809....
for over a century. The Society changed its name to the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society in 1960. Its exhibits, programs, and events are a magnet for schoolchildren, families, and students.
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.
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 FillmoreMillard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
Papers, the Peter Buell Porter
Peter Buell Porter
Peter Buell Porter was an American lawyer, soldier and politician who served as United States Secretary of War from 1828 to 1829.-Life:...
Papers, the Mary Burnett Talbert
Mary Burnett Talbert
Mary Burnett Talbert was an American orator, activist, suffragist and reformer. Called "the best known Colored Woman in the United States," Talbert was among the most prominent African Americans of her time....
papers, Larkin Company
Larkin Administration Building
The Larkin Building was designed in 1904 by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1906 for the Larkin Soap Company of Buffalo, New York. The five story dark red brick building used pink tinted mortar and utilized steel frame construction. It was noted for many innovations, including air conditioning,...
records and memorabilia, and an extensive Pan American Exposition collection.
Additional resources include 20,000 books; 200,000 photographs; 50,000 plans, drawings, maps, posters, prints, and broadsides; 6,500 microfilms of newspapers, church records, cemetery records, and censuses; plus an extensive collection of pamphlets, clippings, and similar ephemera, all documenting 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
WorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...
.
FRANK, its online catalog of books and manuscripts, is freely searchable online.