Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Courtesy of Buffalo as an Architectural Museum

Step back into 1901, after the tragic events leading to the assignation of President McKinley during his visit to Buffalo. He was attending the the Pan Am Expo. In the Temple of Music McKinley was shot twice.Several days after the shooting the nation's 25th president died from gangrene. The Niagara Square is a monument to this devastating act. After the death of McKinley the United States needed a leader. Vice-President, Theodore Roosevelt made his way to Buffalo after McKinley's shooting. 

The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, located at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, is where Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as America’s 26^th President. While it was a time of national mourning, President Roosevelt knew the importance of maintaining the stability of his country and took the Oath of Office.  

The house where the inauguration took place  was once owned by Ansley Wilcox and is often referred to as the Wilcox Mansion by many still today. The building has been restored in four areas covered in the available tours, as well as a permanent exhibit displaying the historic events at the site.

The museum is open year around by guided tours only. Tours are scheduled every hour on the half-hour, beginning at 9:30 a.m. weekdays and 12:30 p.m. weekends. The last tour is at 3:30 p.m. It is recommended that visitors call ahead at (716) 884-0095 on the day of the tour to check availability.

Admission prices for adults are $10.00, $7.00 for seniors, for children 6-18 it is $5.00 and children 5 and under are free.

  

The Buffalo Zoo

Courtesy of Bing Images

The third oldest zoo in America, the Buffalo Zoo was established in 1875. Originally, the space was intended to be a deer park on the corner of Delaware Park. As time progressed, people started donating animals to the space and permanent structures began being built to provide the animals with shelter.

300 Parkside Avenue in Buffalo is the address for the Buffalo Zoological Gardens. The telephone number is (716)837-3900. The zoo is open every day from 10:00am to 4:00pm. In January and February the zoo is closed on Monday and Tuesday. It also sits alongside Delaware Park. Delaware Park has golf and basketball. The park is a great place for a picnic or a stroll.

Admission to the Buffalo Zoo is free for those 23 months and younger, children 2-14 are $7.00, students and seniors are $8.00 and adult tickets cost $10.00. Parking is $3.50 in the lot next to the zoo. A token from the cashier needs to be obtained to exit the lot, so mention that you need to pay for parking at the admission gate. Carousel and train rides are $2.00 each.

The “Zootique” is the gift shop at the zoo. In case you forgot something like a sweatshirt or a hat stop by and peruse their wares. Stroller and wagon rental is also available at the Zootique in case the little ones are tired from the walk around the zoological gardens.

Food is available daily at The Beastro. Stop by for lunch or a mid-day snack with treats like popcorn, ice cream, soda and cotton candy. Other items available for purchase are hot dogs, hamburgers and French fries.

Over the years, this facility has changed hands from the City of Buffalo to a zoological preservation society. Since then, the primary focus is preservation and renewal. Improving structures and habitats aren’t the only things happening at the zoo. New exhibits, educational activities, a petting farm and an enclosed tropical rainforest exhibit taking visitors into the depths of the jungle.

While the Buffalo Zoo is a smaller facility, it gives an unmatched intimacy with the animals, getting up close with the many different animals in their enclosures. It makes a day with smaller children more enjoyable because just about everything in the zoo isn’t far away from wherever you are. Bathroom access is conveniently located near the concession stand. A small playground is nearby the eating area and the carousel can be seen from many different angles of the zoo.

An option to consider with the Buffalo Zoological Gardens is a membership. Different packages are available and a great article through the Buffalo Budget Travel Examiner has all the details.

The zoo is a great place to walk and visit, watching the animals, enjoying the stone built walls from older exhibits put together in the 1930’s mixed with fresh new exhibits that bring the gardens into the present.  A day at the Buffalo Zoo is fun for all ages.



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Our Lady of Victory Basilica

Our Lady of Victory Basilica, known in short as OLV Basilica, is located on the corner of Ridge Road and South Park Avenue in South Buffalo. Completed in 1925, Father Baker, the buildings founder and patriarch helped to build this magnificent piece of architecture. The most incredible part is it was debt free after it was built. Father Baker reached out to the community and asked people to buy a brick for $10.00 each. And it worked!

Besides the incredible architecture on the exterior, the interior is even more impressive. Detailed painting, vivid stained glass and white statues that seem to oversee the church and its visitors.

A gas well was found on the site of the Basilica. Local legend has it that Father Baker told the drillers where it would be and even though it was a difficult drilling process the gas well was tapped at an unusual depth. The gas well continues to produce still today and helps to offset the heating costs of the building.

Father Baker didn’t stop with this incredible shrine. He also built a home for unwed mothers and an orphanage for parentless youth. He was often called the “Padre of the Poor” according to many sources, including the OLV website. Tours can be scheduled, but a public tour is held every Sunday at 1:00pm. The building is open from 7am to 7pm and visitors are welcome for free. Call (716) 828-9444 for more information.

Other locations near by the OLV Basilica are South Park and The Buffalo Botanical Gardens. A visit to this area is an entire day of sight-seeing and inexpensive too!

Buffalo and Erie County Naval Park

The Buffalo and Erie County Naval Park is located at One Naval Park Cove in downtown Buffalo.  It is home to three vessels, the USS Little Rock which is a cruiser, the USS Sullivans a destroyer and the USS Croaker, a Gato Class submarine.

The USS Little Rock was built in 1944, commissioned in 1945 and decommissioned in 1976. These style ships were known as “Cleveland Cruisers” and it is the last one of its kind and on display right here in Buffalo.

Niagara Square

Courtesy of Bing Images

In the center of downtown Buffalo is Niagara Square. It was designed in 1804 by Joseph Elliot and is the intersection point of four main Buffalo streets, Delaware Avenue, Niagara Street, Court Street and Genesee Street.

Buffalo’s City hall overlooks Niagara Square, along with other government buildings. In the center of the square is a monument to President William McKinley. He was assassinated in Buffalo during the 1901 Pan Am Exposition.

Shot twice, McKinley died several days later from gangrene. Theodore Roosevelt was the Vice President at the time and came to Buffalo to be sworn in as President upon McKinley’s death. This historical site is known as The Wilcox Mansion on Delaware Avenue. Visitors can tour the museum that is now there and full of information on the McKinley/Roosevelt story.

The assassination was in the Temple of Music, but, like most of the buildings used in the expo, it was torn down after the fair was over. There is a marker at the shooting site, but the Temple of Music was not located near Niagara Square.

According to Buffaloah.com, the Niagara Square site was an unplanned space that was lacking direction. The idea to construct an obelisk monument surrounded by fountains was commissioned and in 1907, six years to the day McKinley was shot, the monument was dedicated to the fallen President. That was  September 6^th 1907 and the monument still graces Buffalo today, after more than 100 years.

Erie County Disc Golf Courses

Courtesy of Bing Images

Disc Golf has become incredibly popular, and for good reason; it's cheap. Some of the Disc golf courses are free or relatively inexpensive to play. With over 20 courses in Western New York there is sure to be one close by. Maybe even plan a “disc golf getaway” and spend the weekend exploring the many different courses in an area.
In Erie County, Evangola State Park in Farnham has 18 holes which have recently been reworked to accommodate the construction of reintroduced wetlands that were removed years back for roads and other park plans. 10191 Old Lake Shore Road is the address for the course. During the summer there is an entry fee to get into the park, but off season disc golf is free.
In 2010, Ellicott Creek Park in Tonawanda opened up an 18 hole disc golf course within the grounds of this scenic park. It is a mostly flat course, with trees scattered throughout. Also in Tonawanda, Veterans Park has a 9 pitch and putt that was added in 2009.
Como Lake Park in Lancaster created The Lighthouse Disc Golf course in 2007. It is very scenic, with some shots near wild fields, others amongst big, old trees and still others leaving players holding their breath near the water holes. 2220 Como Park Blvd is the address for this course.
6121 Chestnut Ridge Road in Orchard Park is another free disc golf course. Established in 2001, beautiful views of the City of Buffalo can be seen from the hilltop. This course is rather hilly and is one of the shorter courses in the area. Because of the terrain it makes for a more challenging work out.
Emery Park located at 2084 Emery Rd in South Wales is a free 18 hole course laid out in two loops of nine holes each. The first half of the course is heavily wooded and hilly, while the second half is flatter and takes players through the historic park.

Buffalo's beautiful Forest Lawn Cemetery

In 1849, Charles E. Clarke purchased some land about 2.5 miles outside of the downtown Buffalo area as Buffalo’s population boom created a need for a large cemetery. Forest Lawn appeared to be the perfect location with its hills and trees of what was then considered “the country.”
The city of Buffalo continued to expand and today Forest Lawn sits among bustling intersections, businesses and private residences. The style of the cemetery was modeled after Père-Lachais in Paris, France with a natural landscape adorned by ponds and hills.
Besides the beauty of Forest Lawn, many famous men and women are buried here. Forest Lawn is the resting place of over 155,000 people and continues to expand still today. Millard Fillmore, America’s 13th President is buried here, along with Willis Carrier, the inventor of air conditioning. John Albright is the donor of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and is interned at Forest Lawn. Stop by and visit Rick James, a well-known rock star from the Buffalo area that died in 2004 and is now part of the Forest Lawn population. Louise Bethune was the first American woman architect and designed the Lafayette Hotel. The list of names goes on and on and is clearly designated on the maps available at the gate.
Red Jacket‘s memorial statue stands close to the Delaware entrance of Forest Lawn. A Seneca Indian, Red Jacket lived from 1750 to 1830. The name Red Jacket most likely came from the fondness he had for the red British officer’s coat during the Revolutionary War. After his death he was buried at the Old Indian Cemetery on Buffum Road in Buffalo. His remains were allegedly moved from there to Forest Lawn, but some say his bones never made it there. As the story goes, Red Jacket’s remains were taken to the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, more in accordance with his final wishes. Some say he haunts this spot in Forest Lawn, as reports of an Indian apparition have been frequently reported.
Ghosts, spooks and specters have been reported here as long as anyone can remember. Before it was Forest Lawn Cemetery, it is believed that this was a burial ground for soldiers of the war of 1812. Mass graves were often used because deaths of many occurred every day.
Two separate stories also exist regarding two little girls. The first is a barefoot little child whose sightings have been reported for over 50 years. She apparently disappears just as quickly as she manifested and no one is really sure who she is.
The other sighting is a little girl who is said to be seen at the Delaware entrance of the cemetery. She is known as one of Western New York’s vanishing hitchhikers. It has been said that once she has been picked up by a passerby she vanishes, leaving her ride and driver confused and maybe a little spooked.
Haunted or not, Forest Lawn is a very beautiful place to walk and commune with nature. With a variety of monuments made from marble or stone scattered throughout is just breath-taking. Forest Lawn is located at 1411 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo. The phone number there is (716) 885-1600. Tours are available and entry into the cemetery is free. Call the Forest Lawn office for more information.