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.

  

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.