Buffalo History Museum facts for kids

The Buffalo History Museum
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
South facade, 2023
Location in New York Show map of New York Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	One Museum Court, Buffalo, NY
Area	less than one acre
Built	1901
Architect	Cary, George
Architectural style	Neoclassical
NRHP reference No.	80002606
Quick facts for kids Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 23, 1980
Designated NHL	February 27, 1987

The Buffalo History Museum is a cool place to learn about the past! It was first called the Buffalo Historical Society. Later, it became the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society. You can find it in Buffalo, New York, inside Delaware Park.

History of the Museum Building

The Buffalo History Museum, pediment detail

The building where the Buffalo History Museum is today was built in 1901. It was made for the Pan-American Exposition that year. This was a big world's fair held in Buffalo.

The museum building is the only permanent structure left from that famous exposition. After the fair, the Buffalo Historical Society moved right in.

A talented architect named George Cary designed the building. Its front looks a bit like the ancient Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece. In 1987, the building was named a National Historic Landmark. This means it's a very important historical place in the United States.

The Buffalo Historical Society started in 1862. Its first president was Millard Fillmore, who was once a U.S. President! The museum offers many fun exhibits and events. School kids, families, and students love to visit. For over 100 years, the museum has celebrated Lincoln's Birthday. There's even a bronze statue of Lincoln by Charles H. Niehaus from 1902.

From 1879 to 1947, the Society published many important books. These books shared the history of the Niagara Frontier area. You can even find many of these old books online now!

The museum's name has changed a few times. In 1960, it became the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society. Then, in 2012, it officially became The Buffalo History Museum.

Awesome Exhibits

The museum has three floors full of exciting exhibits! You can explore many different topics here.

Some popular exhibits include:

• The Rotary Gallery, with amazing model trains.
• The Pioneer Gallery, showing early life.
• The Erie County Room.
• The State Court.
• The Community Gallery.
• The Native American Gallery.
• The Neighbors exhibit.
• And the ICONS exhibit.

In October 2014, a special recreation of Tim Russert's office opened. Tim Russert was a famous journalist. This office was first shown at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

In November 2017, the museum opened Icons: The Makers and Moments of Buffalo Sports. This cool exhibit looks at Buffalo's rich sports history. It shows the special bond between fans and their favorite teams and sports heroes. You can see things like Ralph Wilson's Hall of Fame jacket. There's also the only helmet Scott Norwood ever wore as a Buffalo Bill. Plus, there's a changing exhibit featuring the Buffalo Beauts.

Research Library

The Research Library at the museum is a treasure chest for people who love history! It's great for historians, people looking into their family history (genealogists), and researchers. If you want to learn about the history of a house, this is the place!

Some of the amazing collections you can find here include:

The library also has tons of other resources, like:

All these items help tell the story of people, places, buildings, and events in the Buffalo and Niagara frontier area. You can also find many detailed lists of books on popular topics online at WorldCat.

The library has a growing online catalog called FRANK. It lists 25,000 books and manuscripts. You can search it for free online!

Amateis Pediment

The top part of the museum building has a special sculpture called a pediment. It was designed by Edmond Amateis. This sculpture includes several figures that add to the building's beauty.