The Martin House was a really cool visit during my day trip to Buffalo and the Niagara Region with…read morefamily. The building (interiors and architecture) was gorgeous and impressive, especially its history and restoration. There is a small quiet cafe between info center and the gift shop (the stables). We did the shorter guided tour. The tour is about the main home. It starts in the info center and ends in the stables (where the gift shop is). There is a longer tour that includes the other buildings on the property. During the tour, you aren't able to take photos of the interior spaces. You are able to explore the grounds and take photos without being in a tour. The tour was really informative. The volunteer guides knew what they were talking about. It was more information than what I have learnt in college.

What an absolute treat to visit the Martin House!…read more The Martin House, formally known as the Darwin D. Martin House, is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest architectural works and a defining example of his Prairie School style. Located in Buffalo, it was designed for businessman Darwin D. Martin and his family, and built between 1903 and 1905. This is a massive residential estate, which Wright considered it one of his finest creations. Some of its most distinctive features include the following. The house emphasizes long horizontal lines, broad overhanging eaves and low-pitched roofs mirroring the Midwestern landscape. And rather than dividing the home into many enclosed rooms, Wright created interior spaces connected by wide openings and carefully arranged sightlines. This was a radical departure from the Victorian homes of the time and that are notable popular in the neighborhood surrounding the property. Quick note: You are required to have a tour to visit the home interiors, but you don't need a tour to enjoy the welcome center and the grounds, including the long walkway connecting buildings. The pergola is one of my favorite features. And it is such a joy that it has a replica of the Winged Nike (The Nike of Samothrace, located in Paris at the Louvre, which is a beautiful sight!). It is placed on a 3-foot-high concrete plinth, prominently visible from a 180-foot view starting at the front door of the main house. A dreamscape, really. I was enthralled. But it is not the original, unfortunately. A fiberglass resin replica was installed in 2007. The estate includes the main house, the Barton House (for Martin's sister and brother-in-law), a conservatory, a pergola, the carriage house and the gardener's cottage. These structures were connected both physically and visually, so the entire estate looks and feels very cohesive. A favorite -- the art glass windows. Apparently, there are something like 400 or so art glass windows. Wright referred to them as "light screens" because they filtered light while preserving views and privacy. Wright embraced the idea of "total design." He designed not only the buildings but also much of its furniture, lighting, decorative glass, fireplaces and other interior details. This means that pretty much every element worked together as a unified whole -- striking! In addition to the daily public tours, the events calendar is usually full. There are summer evening events, lectures, nights dedicated to kids, plant decorating events, musical performances and more. Although the property fell into severe disrepair during the mid-20th century, a decades-long restoration completed in 2019 reconstructed missing buildings and restored many original architectural details. Today, the Martin House is a National Historic Landmark and is widely regarded as one of the best-preserved and most important examples of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie architecture. I highly, highly recommend a visit -- plan for at least an hour, two if you can swing it.

There this one exhibit I absolutely love j was a little scary when I was little it's called the…read moremummy exhibit i don't know if they are still there but I had a very great experience in that exhibit and all the other exhibit especially the ones tht beat, kid Area ,the thunder area and the one tht use to scare me at first but loved it the space exhibit

It is a great place for kids. They have interactive things and a variety of things to look atread more

This was a fun activity to do with my friend and her daughters this Saturday . $20 for adults , $15…read morefor children for unlimited time to pose in front of the selfie stations . I was especially excited to see some nostalgic scenes such as Hills , Blockbuster and the SNICK couch . The girls had a lot of fun (and some bickering ) posing in front of the more kid friendly backgrounds . The workers were very nice while explaining the process to our group . Other areas looked like they were currently under construction or needed some fixing . Overall , an hour was more than enough time to get our selfie groove on and I would recommend it to others looking for a unique experience.

I stopped here four nights ago with my friend Leighann. She is a part of the Underground Meetup…read moreGroup and they were meeting up there on Friday night. It's in the Tops plaza on Main Street across from UB South. The fee was around $20 per person. There were many different areas decorated in cool or interesting ways where you could take a selfie. Each person after paying was given a clicker. You're supposed to sync into the Bluetooth for your clicker. You're supposed to put your phone on the holder. There is a halo light around it. Technically when you hit the upper button for iPhones, or the lower button, if you have an android, your camera is supposed to take a photo of you. There has never been more than 10 people in the business at once using the clickers so none of our clickers were working. We were all bouncing off of our friend's clickers so we had to take our selfies the old school way, which was fine with me. Ray is the owner and he is going to work on the clicker issue. He is pictured in the Hills selfie with me. (He was behind the booth selling popcorn and alcohol. I asked if I could take a selfie with him to promote his business. Ray's main goal is to raise money for local charities. He had a DJ there too playing awesome music!!! All-in-all, this business is really cool and I'm glad I had the chance to check it out!! I hope Ray has success.

I highly recommend stopping in if you've never been. You'll be surprised to learn all the…read moreconnections Cheektowaga has! They're open the first Sunday of every month from 2-4. I stopped in today and the museum has been slightly re-arranged since the last time I was here. The layout is better and more organized now. The video is new, I highly recommend watching at least part of the 20 minute DVD as it gives a lot of insight of what's in the museum and ties to Cheektowaga. Enter through side entrance and sign the guest book when you get in. Also in that room is information about the Forks hotel and Eddie Fechter, the famous bar magician there. Beside that case is an old jail cell door, and also in that small room are photos and artifacts from Cheektowaga's FIVE drive-ins! The adjacent room is split into 3 themes- 1960s Doctor's office, 1940s Kitchen, and some household antiques in glass cases from the late 1800s to mid 1900s. In the room with the TV, checkout the story on Cleveland Hill's Pledge of Allegiance Day and how they got schools in all 50 states to participate! There's also some Native American artifacts in here. In the room over, there's information about some of the national landmarks in Cheektowaga. Including a letter from Queen Elizabeth, some war memorabilia and connections to Cheektowaga as well. The last room focuses on some of the founding families of Cheektowaga, including the George Urban family and the Reinsteins. There are also laminated maps of the town from the late 1800s until mid 20th century. There are some larger antiques in the basement, but this space is pretty much just storage. The basement is not handicap accessible. I highly recommend checking out this unique and interesting museum dedicated to the Town of Cheektowaga.

My boyfriend, introduced me to this little gem of a museum, with a lot of history and great…read morelearning on Buffalo history. There is a short 10 minute video, that illustrates the steel production process and how its still essential today. The museum has additional exhibits on railroads, and knowledgeable, helpful volunteers to answer questions. They have limited hours, and the museum is donation based, so be sure to check it out and expand your historical knowledge as well.

I love that I stumbled across this little gem. Especially because it's such an integral part of…read morebuffaloes history. The lot that I didn't know about steel production and about the railroads in Buffalo. They also have a speaker series once a month on topics relevance to Buffalo. Definitely worth checking out

Very small, but what a gem! Tons of history. I had no idea how many products were made in the…read morebuilding. The facility itself is fresh and new. Tiles, floors, walls... just gorgeous. The upscale restaurant 'Eckl's' is located inside, along with a lunch bistro right next to the gallery. The gallery is free admission, there is a $3 parking lot right across the street

A lovely little place, that seems like it needs a little bit of TLC itself…read more This year, as a Yelp resolution, I've vowed to visit at least one historical museum or site a month, so let's get started! The Williamsville Historical Society Museum is located within the Williamsville Meeting House (for all intents and purposes, they share a name) on the upper floor of the building. The building was originally constructed as a church for The Disciples of Jesus Christ back in 1835 - later acquired by the Lutherans in 1871, completed and improved. The building eventually fell to some disarray in 1948, in which the bell tower was removed, and by 1976 the congregation (then practically disbanded) sold the building to the village for $1. This was when the Historical Society came into possession of the building, renovating it into an awesome museum space, as well as wedding/concert/meeting venue! The building is on the National Register of Historic Places, so it is definitely worth a visit! I was lucky enough to be driving down Main in the morning, spying a sign on the lawn that said 'Museum Open Sunday 1-3pm' so I naturally made it a part of my day to stop by. I'm not entirely sure if they're open every Sunday, or if they even have set hours, so it's definitely worth looking in to. The museum itself, like I said before, could definitely use some TLC. The museum is on the top floor of the building, and is filled with all sorts of really cool artifacts, but could benefit from some organization. It seemed more like an archive to me, than a museum. There were dozens of really cool articles to read, blurbs paired with artifacts both found and donated. The way some things were displayed seemed a bit juvenile, pinned to foam boards and propped against walls, but some of the other displays were nice (like the cases, the bottles, uniforms, maps). A lot of the things here were actually really interesting and cool to read, informative in the sense that I had honestly never known some of the real history behind the buildings I pass by every single day. It was cool to see photographs of these places when they were first built! When I arrived here, it seemed like there were some people from the Historical Society having a meeting...which I have no problem with, of course, but I felt like I was intruding a little bit, so I didn't stay long. (Even though the 'Museum Open' sign was out front? Cue my awkwardness.) I would definitely be eager to return again and take the time to read through everything that can be found here. Going to cross my fingers that I see the sign again!

Wow! This free and modern fire museum is bigger than it looks from the outside! Highlights:…read more - There are displays for many of the Lancaster and area fire departments, including Depew, Alden, and more! - There are many newspaper articles on display about major fires around WNY, organized by town - There's lots of historic firefighting and protective equipment - An informative and unique display on Scott firefighter protection equipment. Scott has a plant in Lancaster and is internationally recognized for their oxygen-related equipment, today used in the aviation industry. There's plenty of close and free parking for the museum, and it's handicap accessible. Great for kids and adults alike. I encourage everyone to stop in!

Enjoyed a couple hours looking around at all the fire fighting equipment and the history behind it…read more They have lots of old helmets, fire rigs and many articles on the major fires around the buffalo area. Being close to Christmas they also still had all of their decorations out which my daughter loved. If you love fire fighting and the history behind it this is a great little stop. It's cool to see the evolution of all the equipment and techniques. They have come a long way over the years but there was some real innovation back in the day that was used to overcome the challenges that firefighters would face on a regular basis. Admission is free, they had suckers and a souvenir hat for kids and small donations are appreciated especially if you enjoyed your visit.

enjoyed a great conversation and walk around the Buffalo Fire Department historical museum the…read moreother day. Our guide Ms. Coughlin, was great at telling the story of BFD, from its inception to current day... all of the other volunteers there were also fun to talk with. each had a little different look at the workings of the fire department. the layout of the museum is easy to follow, and guided tour or not there is a wealth of information, and sights. there is some interactivity for kids, and if you knew someone who is BFD, one of the folks here has a story about them. very nice museum to tour on a cold day (they have free coffee) or a place out of the sun on a hot day. admission was free but donations are accepted. a building full of interesting history.