Travel Adventures in Upstate New York, Part 2: Buffalo

This is my second post about our travel through upstate New York. I suggest reading the first post from the trip before this one. Because I blog about educational travel, I was given admission tickets and other benefits for some of the places we visited during our trip. Other places are free for everyone. We paid full price for the rest. This has no bearing on my reviews. If you see any gaps in my narrative, it is because I didn't love that particular attraction, restaurant, or hotel enough to recommend it, regardless of how much I paid or didn't pay.

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Buffalo, New York

After a long day of travel and a good night's sleep at the excellent Residence Inn Buffalo Downtown, Steve and I were excited to finally explore a city I've been wanting to visit for decades. We started our morning at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site. 

It is literally across the street from the hotel. This is the view from our window. 

And here we are at the Inaugural Site looking back at the hotel. So convenient!

The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site is, obviously, where TR was inaugurated as the 26th President of the United States on September 14, 1901. 

Why did the inauguration happen in September at a house in Buffalo instead of in Washington DC on March 4 (the official Inauguration Day until 1933, when it was moved to January 20)? On September 6, President William McKinley was shot by an anarchist while at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. Vice President TR came to Buffalo and stayed with a friend, attorney Ansley Wilcox, while awaiting the recovery (or not) of McKinley. McKinley died eight days after being shot and TR was inaugurated in the library in the Wilcox house. 

Visits to the Inaugural Site start with an immersive guided tour. Our docent brought us back to 1901 to understand the importance of the Pan-American Exposition and the cultural climate of the time. It felt like we were really there. Our guide was outstanding and the exhibits were fascinating.

He took us through the assassination attempt and the (unsuccessful) effort to save McKinley. Then we entered into the Wilcox home. 

This is the library where TR's inauguration actually took place. There were a dozen of us in the room for the tour, but well over 50 were crammed in for the inauguration. 

After the guided tour ended, we had time to explore the exhibits on our own and do the hands-on activities.  

For the record, I would not choose rocky road as our national ice cream. 

It's interesting (and disturbing) how history repeats itself. The same issues facing the nation in 1901 are issues in 2025. 

We had a fantastic time at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site and definitely recommend a visit. 

Our next stop was just a few blocks away at the iconic Anchor Bar. It is the home of the original buffalo wings. You can't come to Buffalo and not have buffalo wings! 

We weren't very hungry, so we had a single buffalo wing each and split another Buffalo specialty, beef on weck. Both were delicious. 

Take a few minutes to look around at Anchor Bar. There's a lot to see!

After lunch, we headed to Canalside. The revitalized waterfront area has lots of things to do and see. It also marks the westernmost spot of the Erie Canal, where it met Lake Erie.  

Before I tell you what we did at Canalside, take a moment to note the Buffalo Bills flag on the boat and the buffalo on the post at the parking lot. 

  

There are buffalos EVERYWHERE in Buffalo. That didn't surprise me all that much. What did surprise me is there are Buffalo Bills things EVERYWHERE. Easily 1/3 of the people walking around were wearing Bills gear during our entire time in Western New York. Almost every restaurant and store had Bills stuff for sale and as decoration. We've been to a lot of NFL cities and we've never seen anything like the team spirit Buffalo has for their Bills. 

The first thing we did at Canalside was see the Waterway of Change exhibit at the Longshed. 

2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the Canal's opening in 1825. This exhibit looks at how the Erie Canal transformed Buffalo into a major port and shipping hub. It starts with a look at the traditional homeland of the Haudenosaunee people and includes many different perspectives about the impact of the Canal. 

  

This was my favorite part. The model shows the elevation change of the Erie Canal, with Buffalo at the highest point on the left and Albany at the lowest point on the right. You can see the 83 original locks represented as steps. 

I definitely recommend a visit to Waterway of Change. And when you go, allow time to explore Canalside! Even in the off-season, there is a lot to see and do. We were there 4 days after Labor Day, which is officially off-season. There were a handful of other tourists there, but we largely had the place to ourselves. 

The Beach was completely empty...  

... as was the outstanding Buffalo Heritage Carousel. Do not miss it! From the outside, it looks like it's just a carousel, but inside you'll find all sorts of information about carousels and their connection to the Buffalo area. 

Be sure to check their website before going. Not only are the fall hours limited, but they close when the Bills play! I'm telling you, if you don't care about football, don't move to Buffalo. 

This particular carousel was made in 1924 in North Tonawanda, a town just north of Buffalo. It operated in various locations in Massachusetts before eventually being renovated for its new home at Canalside. 

That sea dragon is the only "horse" not original to the carousel. 

The missing horse is on display, to show what condition it was in and what needed to be done to bring the carousel back to its shining glory. 

We learned a lot about carousels during our visit. Did you know that the horse immediately behind a chariot is considered the lead horse? It is the fanciest of the horses, with the best paint job and most attention to detail. Here's a lead horse. Compare it to the horse on its left. Not only is the design more detailed, but the lead horse has a tail made of real hair versus the wooden tail of its neighbor. 

Here's a close-up of another lead horse. There were three chariots on this carousel, thus three lead horses. 

We loved looking at all the details on this beautiful carousel, including the scenes painted at the top. 

While I checked in for our boat tour, Steve raced next door to the Buffalo Naval and Military Park to quickly look at ships. The Park features four decommissioned ships: USS The Sullivans, USS Little Rock, USS Croaker, and PTF-17. If we'd had more time in Buffalo, we would have done a proper visit. 

When Steve returned, we boarded the Harbor Queen for a history tour of the Buffalo River. I'll tell you about that tomorrow, along with the rest of the things we did in Buffalo.