The Public's Guide to the Preservation Conference | Events

The National Preservation Conference will have an outstanding, almost overwhelming, array of activities for the public as well as registrants. This e-newsletter provides the suggestions of Preservation Buffalo Niagara on the multiple ways non-registered persons can enjoy and benefit from the conference.

PBN's National Conference web page has a calendar of activities open to the public for each day during Conference Week (Saturday, October 15 to Sunday, October 23). Conference Week activities are also available via lists on this web page.

Go where you normally cannot go!

The Conference has opened doors not usually available to the public, such as tours of the Connecticut Street Armory , a tour/ride on the city's historic fireboat, the E.M. Cotter and an open house at the Twentieth Century Club. Also, there are two tours that will go inside private homes, including Inside the Homes of Prospect Hill and the Kleinhans Community Association Tour of Homes.

Or go where you should have gone before!
Consider worshiping in an historic church or visiting the Buffalo Religious Arts Center, take in the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum and the Riviera Theater, visit the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site.... Or get a Niagara Parks Commission - Heritage Trail Pass to visit Fort Erie or other Canadian sites. Have you visited the Darwin Martin House recently?

Learn more About the Historic Preservation Movement

Attend Wednesday's session, Preservation 101 for New Yorkers, now open without charge to the public. Browse the Conference Bookstore and Exhibit Hall.  Attend a State Historic Preservation Board Review meeting.  To meet international preservation leaders, attend the US/ICOMOS breakfast.  

If you can take the time --

Focus on Thursday...to 10 PM!

October 20 will undoubtedly be a highlight for both registrants and the public.  If you can, go on the Buffalo City Hall tour at noon, take a few hours to tour the downtown exhibits, visit the bookstore and exhibit hall in the Convention Center, and then, starting at 4 PM, take the Walk and Gawk to Kleinhans.  At Kleinhans, attend the Awards Ceremony, now open to the public, with its heartwarming stories from across the country.   Then enjoy Museums by Moonlight, a unique opportunity to visit three great museums plus Buffalo State's Art Conservation Lab and Richardson's Psych Center. Enjoy Dining and Shopping on Elmwood. Special Note: You can leave your car downtown and take buses from Kleinhans to downtown or to the Museums by Moonlight with return buses to downtown. But please do not leave you car at Kleinhans, as buses will not return there after 7 PM.

...or Friday

Visit the downtown exhibits, bookstore and exhibit hall, open until 5:30, then take a brief tour of the Buffalo City Hall lobby before the 6 PM lecture on Buffalo Architecture in Common Council Chambers. You can also attend the premier of Buffalo Unscripted.  Close out Friday with a party in the Ellicott Square Building.

At the Convention Center you can check at the registration desk to see if any of the Conference's field sessions are available.  They go on sale 15 minutes before stated starting time.

Attend a Polka Party

Learn About Buffalo in Different Ways

Hear an architectural historian's take on Buffalo Architecture and novelist Lauren Belfer's talk on the City of Light. Visit CEPA Galleries Showing the Grain Exhibit and take Buffalo Tour's Grain Elevators Walking Tour.  Learn About America's first female architect (a Buffalonian)!  And visit other exhibits on Buffalo's architectural heritage downtown and at other area venues.

Play SCVNGR a game for your smart phone featuring Buffalo sites.

Enjoy More Tours, Tours, Tours

Walking Tours - Downtown Tours, Millionaire's Row, Allentown Tours, Humboldt Parade, Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Building Tours - Buffalo City Hall, Blessed Trinity Church, Shea's Theater, Temple Beth Zion, Iron Island Museum, St. Louis Church & Museum.

Bus Tours Black Rock Historic Village Tour, Breweries of Buffalo Tour, Best of Forgotten Buffalo Neighborhoods.

Preservation Buffalo Niagara is the host organization for the 2011 National Preservation Conference.