By Bob Travers, Principal
Several years ago our agency was working with the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) on a marketing campaign that would hopefully attract more tourists to Western New York, primarily the Buffalo area. We were directed to take a fresh look at understanding visitors to our market, and we conducted research with potential visitors from Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Toronto. We found out that people who would come to this area from surrounding major markets in the U.S. think of our area only in terms of visiting Niagara Falls, not Buffalo. However, prospective tourists from Toronto and Southern Ontario were inclined to visit Buffalo when they had a better understanding of our variety of cultural and historical resources and shopping alternatives, not just Niagara Falls.
The results of this research changed the CVB’s marketing strategy. Previously their major marketing hook to encourage visitors to Buffalo was a stop at Niagara Falls. During the last several years, the CVB’s marketing communications has focused on not only landing more events in Buffalo but also using many of our cultural and historical resources to attract more visitors to Buffalo. This strategy has spearheaded and encouraged many in our community and local government to support investment in Buffalo’s various architectural, historical and cultural assets. While the CVB has received significantly less financial support from Erie County compared to what Convention and Visiting Bureaus receive in other New York State counties and many other markets similar to Buffalo’s size, the CVB along with many local galleries, museums and cultural organizations have made a real difference in the reputation and the benefits of a visit to Buffalo.
Recently, The New York Times picked its “44 Places to Go in 2009” and Buffalo made the list! According to The Times, the 44 destinations feature "this year's most compelling destinations awash in sublime landscapes, cutting-edge art and architecture, gala music festivals and stylish new resorts."
A few weeks ago, my sister (who lives on Long Island), asked me if I could make a recommendation of interesting places to visit in Buffalo. Friends of hers were going to the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake and were going to stay in Buffalo because the cost of a hotel room was a lot less. I sent an email out to everyone in our company for their suggestions and got a lot of great responses. I guarantee the list will make you an ambassador for both our great city and the Buffalo Niagara region. (And if this list isn’t enough, check out this video for some more endorsements on why you should visit Buffalo).
Where to Stay
First, you might want to consider staying at one of our downtown hotels: Hyatt Regency Buffalo, the Mansion on Delaware, Adam’s Mark, or the Hampton Inn. Every place on this list is at most a 5-20 minute drive from downtown Buffalo and very easy to get to.
For the History Buff
The restoration of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site at the Wilcox Mansion was completed and opened at the end of June. A five-minute walk from downtown, the museum offers all new state-of-the-art exhibits and a guided tour.
The Nash House is the former residence of the Rev. J. Edward Nash, the pastor of the Michigan Avenue Baptist Church. Many of Rev. Nash's sermons and letters are a crucial part of Buffalo's African-American community history are on display for viewing.
The Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society houses artifacts and records of Western New York history, including many products made originally in Buffalo.
Best of Buffalo Architecture
If you have an interest in architecture, you can drive by the Guaranty Building designed by the famous architect Louis Sullivan at 26 Church Street. It was finished in 1896, and was ranked not only as Buffalo’s finest advanced-design office building, but one of the finest in the country as well. Louis Sullivan was considered one of the most important architects of the 19th century. Architectural historians consider the Guaranty Building one of his greatest achievements.
Designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson (one of America’s foremost architects in the 19th century), the Buffalo Psychiatric Center is of the Richardson-Romanesque design with soaring red Medina sandstone twin towers. Frederick Law Olmsted and his partner, Calvert Vaux, planned the hospital grounds. New York State is committed to investing millions of dollars to restore the building.
Olmsted, considered the father of American Landscape Architecture, also designed Buffalo’s six major parks and multiple parkways between 1869 and 1915. Buffalo’s Olmsted Parks are on the National Register of Historic Places as a cultural landscape.
The Darwin Martin House is a must-see. People come from all over the world to see the Darwin Martin House, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Visitors to Wright’s magnificent “Prairie Style” Martin House Complex will find a new 6,000-square-foot visitors’ center recently completed. By the way, Buffalo has the second largest number of Frank Lloyd Wright structures in the U.S. – only Chicago has more.
Art Enthusiasts
Don’t miss the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The Gallery enjoys a worldwide reputation as an outstanding center of modern art. Thomas Hoving, art historian and former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, recently said, "The Albright-Knox Art Gallery should be on everyone's list to see, for it's an overwhelming art experience. Small, intimate and seductive, the museum has one of the most thumping modern and contemporary collections in the world."
The Burchfield Penney Art Center is diagonally across the street from the Albright-Knox. Recently, the Art Center underwent a $30,000,000 renovation and rebuild, opening the new doors in late 2008. The new Art Center houses more than 7,500 works by artists who have lived or worked in Western New York (including some who are world-renowned) going back to the 19th century, and contains the largest public collection of works by one of America’s greatest watercolorists, Charles E. Burchfield.
On the Waterfront
The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park is the largest inland park of its kind in the nation. All branches of the Armed Forces are represented in the park's exhibits. You can tour the decks and hulls of a guided missile cruiser, destroyer and WWII submarine and view uniforms and memorabilia in the museum and exhibits aboard the ships.
While there, check out the Erie Canal Harbor, newly reopened in 2008. Here you can learn about Buffalo's roots and experience a self-guided walking tour of the restored Harbor area. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the harbor functioned as the bustling "western terminus" of the Erie Canal. Visitors can experience many elements of the original Erie Canal Harbor, including the refurbished "Commercial Slip," "Central Wharf," "Whipple Truss" foot bridge, cobblestone "Commercial Street," and the excavated foundations of several canal-era buildings. The site is accessible year-round. And enjoy lunch at Shanghai Red’s restaurant – a great view.
O Canada!
Visiting one of Canada’s most beautiful towns, Niagara-On-The-Lake (NOTL) is well worth it. Just a half hour drive from downtown Buffalo, NOTL has great shops, restaurants, wineries and theatre. The Shaw Festival, a celebration of playwright George Bernard Shaw, runs from April thru October each year.
The following are a list of places you might want to visit while there:
Inniskillen Winery with its great ice wine.
Jackson Triggs Winery
Peller Estates Winery
Hillebrand Estates Winery
Though you will find a lot of excellent restaurants at NOTL, the Stone Road Grille was highly recommended by one of our associates.
Not far from NOTL in Canada is the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory. This is the world's largest glass-enclosed butterfly conservatory with over 2,000 free-flying tropical butterflies in a rainforest setting.
Old Fort Erie would be an interesting stop on the way to or from NOTL. Old Fort Erie is a beautiful historic site overlooking Lake Erie and the Niagara River. Reenactments include The Fenian Raid in June, The Siege of 1814 in August and The French and Indian War in September.
Of course there are many more places to see and visit, but the above places are certainly a good start.
