Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Buffalo (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Darwin D. Martin House, Buffalo Zoo, and Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Also, be sure to include Buffalo State Sports Arena in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Buffalo (New York).
Table of Contents
Darwin D. Martin House
Museum in Buffalo, New York. The Darwin D. Martin House Complex, also known as the Darwin Martin House National Historic Landmark, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built between 1903 and 1905. Located at 125 Jewett Parkway in Buffalo, New York, it is considered to be one of the most important projects from Wright's Prairie School era, and ranks along with The Guggenheim in New York City and Fallingwater in Pennsylvania among his greatest works.
Wright scholar Robert McCarter said of it:
It can be argued that the Martin House Complex.. is the most important house design of the first half of Wright's career, matched only by Fallingwater over 30 years later.[1]
Address: 125 Jewett Pkwy, 14214 Buffalo (North Buffalo)
Buffalo Zoo
Exotic and endangered wildlife since 1875. Founded in 1875, the Buffalo Zoo, located at 300 Parkside Ave in Buffalo, New York, is the seventh oldest zoo in the United States. Each year, the Buffalo Zoo welcomes approximately 400,000 visitors and is the second largest tourist attraction in Western New York; second only to Niagara Falls. Located on 23.5 acres of Buffalo's Delaware Park, the zoo exhibits a diverse collection of wild and exotic animals, and more than 320 different species of plants. The zoo is open year-round.[2]
Address: 300 Parkside Ave, 14214-1963 Buffalo (North Buffalo)
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Works by renowned and cutting-edge artists. The Albright–Knox Art Gallery is an art museum at 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, in Delaware Park. As of September 2021 the Albright-Knox's Elmwood Avenue campus is temporarily closed for construction. It is hosting exhibitions and events at Albright-Knox Northland, a project space at 612 Northland Avenue in Buffalo’s Northland Corridor. The new Buffalo Albright Knox Gundlach Art Museum is expected to open in 2022.
The gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art. It is directly opposite Buffalo State College and the Burchfield Penney Art Center.[3]
Address: 1285 Elmwood Ave, 14222 Buffalo (Elmwood)
Buffalo State Sports Arena
Sports complex in Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo State Sports Arena is a multi-purpose sports complex, in Buffalo, New York, located at Buffalo State College, a campus of SUNY. The building contains an ice arena, sports arena, fitness center, the Houston Gym, Robert Kissinger Memorial Pool, and a varsity weight room. The sports arena seats 3,500, and is home to the Division III Buffalo State Bengals in the State University of New York Athletic Conference. The facility also houses a 1,800-seat ice arena that is home to the Buffalo State Bengals men's and women's ice hockey teams. It used to serve as host to Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey which competes in Division I Atlantic Hockey until they moved to the LECOM Harborcenter in the fall of 2014 and the Buffalo Wings of Roller Hockey International. It also serves as the home for several youth hockey programs.[4]
Address: 1300 Elmwood Ave, 14222-1095 Buffalo (Elmwood)
Buffalo City Hall
Art deco landmark with observation deck. Buffalo City Hall is the seat for municipal government in the City of Buffalo, New York. Located at 65 Niagara Square, the 32-story Art Deco building was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones.
The 398-foot-tall (121.3 m) building is one of the largest and tallest municipal buildings in the United States and is also one of the tallest buildings in Western New York. It was designed by chief architect John Wade with the assistance of George Dietel. The friezes were sculpted by Albert Stewart and the sculpture executed by Rene Paul Chambellan. The foyer features a bronze tablet honoring Mayor Roesch, created in 1937 by regional sculptor, William Ehrich.
Buffalo City Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.[5]
Address: 65 Niagara Sq, 14202-3313 Buffalo (Downtown Buffalo)
Colored Musicians Club
Colored Musicians Club is a historic jazz club located Buffalo, New York. Opened in 1935, it is home to the oldest continuously operating African American musicians' organization in the United States.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. As of 2021, the Colored Musicians Club is undergoing a massive reconstruction and renovation including expansion of the upstairs performance venue and installation of an elevator. There is a planned reopening Spring of 2022.[6]
Address: 145 Broadway St, 14203-1629 Buffalo (Downtown Buffalo)
Forest Lawn Cemetery
Cemetery in Buffalo, New York. Forest Lawn Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Buffalo, New York, founded in 1849 by Charles E. Clarke. It covers over 269 acres and over 152,000 are buried there, including U.S. President Millard Fillmore, First Lady Abigail Fillmore, singer Rick James, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, and inventor Lawrence Dale Bell. Forest Lawn is on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]
Address: 1411 Delaware Ave, 14209 Buffalo (North Buffalo)
Allentown
Neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. The Allentown district is a neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. The neighborhood is home to the Allentown Historic District.[8]
Buffalo History Museum
Museum in Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo History Museum is located at 1 Museum Court in Buffalo, New York, just east of Elmwood Avenue and off of Nottingham Terrace, north of the Scajaquada Expressway, in the northwest corner of Delaware Park.[9]
Address: 1 Museum Ct, 14216-3119 Buffalo (North Buffalo)
Niagara Square
Park in Buffalo, New York. Niagara Square is a public square located at the intersections of Delaware Avenue, Court Street, Genesee Street, and Niagara Street in Buffalo, New York. It is the central hub of Joseph Ellicott's original radial street pattern that he designed in 1804 for the then village of New Amsterdam. It continues to be the nexus of downtown Buffalo.[10]
St. Joseph Cathedral
Cathedral in Buffalo, New York. Saint Joseph Cathedral, is located at 50 Franklin Street, in downtown Buffalo, New York and is currently the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.[11]
Address: 50 Franklin St, 14202 Buffalo (Downtown Buffalo)
LECOM Harborcenter
Mixed-use development in Buffalo, New York. LECOM Harborcenter is an American mixed-use development in Buffalo, New York developed by Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The building occupies a full 1.7 acre city block formerly known as the Webster Block, directly across from and connected to the KeyBank Center and Canalside. The building is also near the southern terminus of the Erie Canal Harbor station.
The development features retail and restaurant space, a 205-room Buffalo Marriott Harborcenter Hotel, as well as two hockey rinks that are the home of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, the Canisius Golden Griffins of the NCAA, and the Erie Kats of the National Junior College Athletic Association. The rinks are also the Buffalo Sabres practice facility.[12]
Address: 95 Main St, 14203 Buffalo (Downtown Buffalo)
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
Historical place in Buffalo, New York. Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site preserves the Ansley Wilcox House, at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York. Here, after the assassination of William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as President of the United States on September 14, 1901. A New York historical marker outside the house indicates that it was the site of Theodore Roosevelt's Inauguration.[13]
Address: 641 Delaware Ave, 14202-1001 Buffalo (Elmwood)
USS Croaker
Ship. USS Croaker, a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the croaker, any of various fishes which make throbbing or drumming noises.[14]
St. Paul's Cathedral
Cathedral. St. Paul's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York and a landmark of downtown Buffalo, New York. The church sits on a triangular lot bounded by Church St. Pearl St. Erie St. and Main St. It was built in 1849-51 to a design by Richard Upjohn, and was believed by him to be his finest work. Its interior was gutted by fire in 1888, and was redesigned thereafter by Robert W. Gibson, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 for its architecture.[15]
Address: 139 Pearl St, 14202 Buffalo (Downtown Buffalo)
St. Louis Roman Catholic Church
Catholic church in Buffalo, New York. Saint Louis Roman Catholic Church is the oldest Catholic parish in Buffalo, New York. It was the first Catholic church built in Buffalo, and holds the title of "Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo".[16]
Address: 35 Edward St, 14202 Buffalo (Elmwood)
Edward M. Cotter
Edward M. Cotter is a fireboat in use by the Buffalo Fire Department at Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally named William S. Grattan, it was built in 1900 by the Crescent Shipyard of Elizabeth Port, New Jersey. Due to age, it was rebuilt in 1953 and renamed Firefighter upon its return to service. The following year it was renamed Edward M. Cotter. its namesake, Edward Cotter, was a Buffalo firefighter and leader of the local firefighters union who had recently died.
Edward M. Cotter is considered to be the oldest active fireboat in the world and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996. Along with its firefighting duties, during the winter Edward M. Cotter is used as an icebreaker on Buffalo's rivers. Edward M. Cotter mounts five fire monitors that are capable of pumping 15,000 US gallons per minute (0.95 m3/s; 12,000 imp gal/min). It can often be seen sailing out of its berth and south-west to Lake Erie, returning north through the breakwall and firing its fire monitors.[17]
USS Little Rock
Cleveland Class. USS Little Rock is a Cleveland-class light cruiser and one of 27 completed for the United States Navy during or shortly after World War II. She is one of six to be converted to guided missile cruisers and the first US Navy ship to be named for Little Rock, Arkansas. Commissioned in mid-1945, she was completed too late to see combat duty during World War II and was retired post-war, becoming part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in 1949.
In the late 1950s, she was converted to a Galveston-class guided-missile cruiser, removing her aft six-inch and five-inch guns to accommodate the Talos missile system. Like three other of her sister Cleveland ships converted to missile ships, she was also extensively modified forward to become a flagship. This involved removal of most of her forward armament to allow for an enlarged superstructure and was recommissioned in 1960 as CLG-4 (redesignated CG-4 in 1975). In this configuration, she served in the Mediterranean, often as the Sixth Fleet flagship.
She decommissioned for the final time in 1976 and is now a museum ship.[18]
Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Church Buildings
Building. Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Church Buildings is a historic Romanesque revival Roman Catholic church complex located at Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It is part of the Diocese of Buffalo.[19]
Address: 331 Leroy Ave, 14214 Buffalo (North East Buffalo)
Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens
Botanical garden in Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens are botanical gardens located within South Park in Buffalo, New York, United States. These gardens are the product of landscaping architect Frederick Law Olmsted, glass-house architects Lord & Burnham, and botanist and plant-explorer John F. Cowell.[20]
Address: 2655 South Park Ave, 14218 Buffalo (South Buffalo)
Corpus Christi R. C. Church Complex
Catholic church in Buffalo, New York. The Corpus Christi R.C. Church Complex is a series of several buildings located on Buffalo's historic East Side within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. The complex contains the Kolbe Center, Sears Street Hall, Rectory, Convent and the huge sandstone church that towers over the neighborhood. The complex school was closed in 1982 and has been razed.[21]
Address: 199 Clark St, 14212-1407 Buffalo (East Buffalo)
McKinley Monument
Monument in Buffalo, New York. The McKinley Monument is a 96-foot tall obelisk in Niagara Square, Buffalo, New York. Its location in front of Buffalo City Hall defines the center of Buffalo that all of the main roads converge on.
The monument was commissioned by the State of New York and dedicated September 6, 1907 to the memory of William McKinley, 25th President of the United States, who was fatally shot while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo on September 6, 1901. Daniel H. Burnham influenced the process of designing the monument by advising that a obelisk should be built in order to call to the importance and significance of the monument. A full restoration had occurred in 2017 as the result of environmental conditions compromising the integrity of the monument.[22]
Peace Bridge
Scenic bridge joining the U.S. and Canada. The Peace Bridge is an international bridge between Canada and the United States at the east end of Lake Erie at the source of the Niagara River, about 20 kilometres upriver of Niagara Falls. It connects Buffalo, New York, in the United States to Fort Erie, Ontario, in Canada. It is operated and maintained by the binational Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority.
The Peace Bridge consists of five arched spans over the Niagara River and a Parker deck type truss span over the Black Rock Canal on the American side of the river. The length is 5,800 feet (1.77 km). Material used in the construction included 3,500 feet (1.07 km) of steelwork, 9,000 tons of structural steel and 800 tons of reinforcing steel in the concrete abutments. The Peace Bridge was named to commemorate 100 years of peace between the United States and Canada. It was constructed as a highway bridge to address pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic which could not be accommodated on the International Railway Bridge, built in 1873.[23]
Address: Peace Bridge, 14213 Buffalo
Shea's Performing Arts Center
Theater in Buffalo, New York. Shea's Performing Arts Center is a theater for touring Broadway musicals and special events in Buffalo, New York. Originally called Shea's Buffalo, it was opened in 1926 to show silent movies. It took one year to build the entire theatre. Shea's boasts one of the few theater organs in the US that is still in operation in the theater for which it was designed.[24]
Address: Buffalo, 646 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14202-1906
Kleinhans Music Hall
Concert venue in Buffalo, New York. Kleinhans Music Hall is a concert venue located on Symphony Circle in Buffalo, New York. The hall "is renowned for its acoustical excellence and graceful architecture." Kleinhans is currently the home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, a regular venue for the Buffalo Chamber Music Society, and is rented out for other performing groups and local events. The building was designed by father-and-son team Eliel Saarinen and Eero Saarinen, with help from local architects F. J. and W. A. Kidd, Stanley McCandless as lighting consultant, and Charles C. Potwin as acoustical adviser. Kleinhans has two performance spaces, as well as additional rooms for rehearsals or private events. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989 for its architecture, 49 years after its completion.[25]
Address: 3 Symphony Cir, 14201-1232 Buffalo (West Side)
Buffalo Museum of Science
Museum in Buffalo, New York. The Buffalo Museum of Science is a science museum located at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Buffalo, New York, United States, northeast of the downtown district, near the Kensington Expressway. The historic building was designed by August Esenwein and James A. Johnson and opened on January 19, 1929. The attractions include exhibits showcasing animals, astronomy, the science of technology, and additional science topics.[26]
Address: 1020 Humboldt Pkwy, 14211 Buffalo (East Delevan)
Patina 250
Mixed-use development in Buffalo, New York. The Delaware North Building is a mixed-use development in Buffalo, New York. The 12-story, 330,000-square-foot mixed-use building features Class A office space, a 120-room Westin hotel, ground level retail, a 7,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard, and an adjacent structured parking ramp. Delaware North's World Headquarters anchors the building.[27]
Lafayette Square
City park in Buffalo, New York. Lafayette Square is a park in the center of downtown Buffalo, Erie County, New York, United States that hosts a Civil War monument. The block, which was once square, is lined by many of the city's tallest buildings. The square was named for General Lafayette, who visited Buffalo in 1825.
The square was part of the original urban plan for the city as laid out by Joseph Ellicott in 1804. Its eastern edge has long been defined by important civic structures; first, the Erie County Courthouse, followed by the original Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Presidential history was made in Lafayette Square when former United States President Martin Van Buren received the Free Soil Party nomination for the 1848 election. President-elect Abraham Lincoln also spoke at the square.
Today, the square offers a clear view of Buffalo City Hall, an Art Deco building three blocks to the west. A granite Civil War monument, titled Soldiers and Sailors, gives a strong vertical and ceremonial definition to the space. Conceived by Mrs. Horatio Seymour, the monument's dedication ceremony was attended by Grover Cleveland and other prominent figures. Until 2011, Lafayette Square hosted the annual Thursday at the Square summer concert series and is occasionally the site of rallies and demonstrations.[28]
Address: 465 Main St, 14203-1716 Buffalo (Downtown Buffalo)
Burchfield Penney Art Center
Art institute in Buffalo, New York. The Burchfield Penney Art Center, or just the Burchfield Penney, is an arts and educational institution part of Buffalo State College, located adjacent to the main campus in Buffalo, New York, United States. Dedicated to the art and vision of American painter Charles E. Burchfield, it was founded in 1966 as the Charles E. Burchfield Center. The center features a museum, library, and activity space for the arts. It maintains the world's largest collection of Burchfield's work, as well as many other distinguished artists of Buffalo, Niagara and Western New York. It is engaged with every aspect of Buffalo and the region's rich cultural activity.[29]
Address: 1300 Elmwood Ave, 14222 Buffalo (Elmwood)
St. Adalbert's Basilica
Basilica in Buffalo, New York. Saint Adalbert Basilica, is a historic Roman Catholic church located on Buffalo, New York's East Side within the Diocese of Buffalo. It is a prime example of the Polish Cathedral style of church architecture in both its opulence and grand scale. A rare and special designation bestowed on the parish occurred in 1907, when the Vatican proclaimed St. Adalbert a basilica, the first in the USA. The proclamation, as well as its English translation, can be viewed to this day in the basilica's museum room.[30]
Safe Harbor Boat Rentals
Sailing, Marina, Park
Address: 1111 Fuhrmann Blvd, 14203-3133 Buffalo (Buffalo River)
Museum of disABILITY History
Museum in Erie County, New York. The Museum of disABILITY History is a museum related to the history of people with disabilities from medieval times to the present era. Located at 3826 Main Street in Buffalo, New York, US, it is the only "brick-and-mortar" museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to preserving the history of people with disabilities. The museum seeks to promote a higher level of societal awareness and understanding, and a change in attitudes, perceptions and actions that will result in people with disabilities having the greatest possible participation in their communities.[31]
Address: 3826 Main St, 14226-3238 Buffalo
County and City Hall
Tower in Buffalo, New York. County and City Hall, also known as Erie County Hall, is a historic city hall and courthouse building located at Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It is a monumental granite structure designed by Rochester architect Andrew Jackson Warner and constructed between 1871 and 1875, with its cornerstone being laid on June 24, 1872. The building has four floors and features a 270-foot high clock tower.
The County and City Hall building originally held offices for the City of Buffalo and Erie County. City offices moved to the Buffalo City Hall as it was being constructed starting in 1929, and the building now houses Erie County court offices and records.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, maintained by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1976.[32]
Address: 92 Franklin St, 14202-3925 Buffalo (Downtown Buffalo)
North Buffalo
Neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. North Buffalo, is a neighborhood in the city of Buffalo, New York.[33]
Hamlin Park Historic District
Hamlin Park Historic District is a national historic district and neighborhood located at Buffalo in Erie County, New York. The district encompasses 1,368 contributing buildings, 3 contributing sites, and 6 contributing structures in a predominantly residential section of Buffalo. The district includes a variety of residential buildings built primarily between about 1895 and 1930, and later improved through Model Cities Program grants between 1966 and 1975. It includes a variety of pattern book houses in popular architectural styles of the late-19th and early-20th century, with some interspersed Bungalow / American Craftsman style dwellings. Located in the district are the separately listed Robert T. Coles House and Studio and Stone Farmhouse. Other notable buildings include the Lutheran Church Home, the former Second United Presbyterian Church, and the former St. Francis DeSales Roman Catholic Church.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.[34]