Docent in the news (Business First)

Congratulations Meagan Baco!
People on the Move

Architectural History Lecture about Buffalo City Hall

This Wednesday, October 13th, 7pm, the Historical Society will host a lecture about the architectural history of our beloved Buffalo City Hall.

Admission is $7.00 to the public, free to members of the Historical Society and to members of the local Louise Bethune Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians.

See the full entry at Buffalo Rising:
http://www.buffalorising.com/2010/10/architectural-historian-to-highlight-unique-history-of-city-hall.html#SlideFrame_0

Quarter-sawn oak

How much do you know about quarter-sawn oak?

Here's a link to a very good, but simple, description of this highly-valued material. A photo of the figured surface and a diagram of the cutting process are very instructive. The author discusses its benefits (less warping and cupping) and its use in Arts and Crafts furnishings.

http://barnyardgazette.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-is-quarter-sawn-oak.html

Recall that the wooden, original, doors of the ECC City Campus (Old Post Office) building are of quarter-sawn oak. Once you can identify it, you will spot it in many older homes and buildings. Then you can show-off your docent skills by telling everyone nearby what it is.

Buffalo City Schools

New Academy of Architecture & Design in the Buffalo City Schools

Special EventTuesday, October 12, 2010

Architecture & Design Academy Press Conference. Help us celebrate the opening of International Prep's Architecture & Design Academy during Buffalo's "Architecture Week". The Honorable Mayor Brown will share a proclamation during a press conference at International Prep @ Grover Cleveland on October 12. Dr. James A. Williams, Superintendent of Schools, will be joined by Brian Carter, Dean of University at Buffalo's School of Architecture & Planning, Eugene Partridge, Executive Vice President of LPCiminelli, Kelly Hayes McAlonie, Vice President of Public Advocacy, and many more dignitaries. A tour of the Academy will be available after the press conference.
Site: PS 198 The International Preparatory School at Grover AuditoriumStart Time: 10:00 AMEnd Time: 11:30 AM

A source of new docents?

Lafayette Hotel Listed on National Register of Historic Places!

National Park Service announcement:
http://tiny.cc/kqosf

Buffalo Rising has a related post: http://tiny.cc/tpp9s

Downtown development on Main & Washington Streets

Article describes and shows renovation of building with access from both Main and Washington streets.

From Buffalo Rising: http://tiny.cc/m6dv0

TVGA's 50 Employees to Fill 620 Main Street

From Buffalo Rising. http://tiny.cc/0fz8q

Engineering services, etc., firm moving into an Esenwein & Johnson designed neoclassical building on Main Street.

Study up.

Martin House Japanese Prints & Congrats Atsuko!

"Japanese art to adorn Martin House." Buffalo News.

Martin family descendants have donated Japanese prints FLW specified for the home.

AND, one of our own BT docents, Atsuko Nishida-Mitchell, is featured at the beginning of the article. She completed her certification on Friday, and has become the first docent trained to give Darwin D. Martin House tours in Japanese.

Read the entire piece at http://www.buffalonews.com/city/article174528.ece

Free Outdoor Film about Olmsted

The Olmsted Parks Conservancy presents a new, one-hour, documentary film about Frederick Law Olmsted, called "The Olmsted Legacy, America's Urban Parks".

It will be shown, appropriately enough, in a Olmsted-designed landscape, Buffalo's Delaware Park, on Friday August 28th, at 7:30pm, near the Parkside Lodge off of Parkside Avenue.

Bring a blanket, a beverage, and some bug spray. (The park's alcohol policy is unknown to me.)

Here's a Buffalo Rising post about it:
http://tiny.cc/6z06u

History of the Hydraulics - series

Latest installment in a series about the area around the Larkin company buildings. Links to the first three parts can be found towards the end.

http://tiny.cc/6qrvk

Buffalo's Central Park neighborhood - new book

The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society has produced the book "Central Park, Buffalo, New York: A Neighborhood of History and Tradition."

The link includes an WNED-am interview with a writer of the book. It is available only at BECHS and features many photographs.

http://tiny.cc/6z1cy

Picture Book of Earlier Buffalo

Links:
Available Online
Featured at Buffalo Rising today

Tom Mudra Video Clip

Congrats to docent Tom Mudra for being featured on Skunkpost.com during his Queen City Downtown tour. To see the video, click here:

http://www.skunkpost.com/news.sp?newsId=2920

Find Resources And New Knowledge (FRANK)

The Research Library Catalog of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, FRANK.

Docent in the News

Suzanne Prabucki was recently featured by Buffalo State College for her work curating the Fraunces Tavern Museum, a Revolutionary War landmark in New York City. While studying at Buffalo State, Suzanne gave several tours and even wrote a new tour highlighting EB Green's residential architecture in Buffalo. For more about Suzanne, visit the website for Buffalo State College.

Valuable Reference Book now online

Buffalo Architecture: A Guide

Garden Walk Bus Tours

(Deb Wagner)
While it's still fresh in our minds, we should capture our thoughts and suggestions about the Garden Walk bus tours.

• I thought the tourists got a lot out of it. More than one stayed on the bus through the entire circuit to get the full tour. At least one rider made a point of coming over to the table to tell us how much he enjoyed it.
• We had three buses (and at times on Sunday, only two.) The shuttles were consistently full, to overflowing. At times the drivers denied access to additional riders. When they were down one bus on Sunday they did allow standing, but otherwise tried to prevent it. I think they need four buses.
• A few problems occurred with the PA systems. We also need to check how far back the sound reaches. Kudos to those who could function without the PA.
• Does the Garden Walk survey the tourists for their input? Do they know how crowded it was? Or how the tours were received by the riders?
• Final loop: We need to have a consistent message from the bus company on when the final circuits will be made.
• I thought the route was appropriate for garden seekers and to show highlights of the city. It went to Niagara Square, when there really wasn't a garden stop nearby. Folks seemed to enjoy seeing the new Federal Court House, the Avant, and New Era Cap Company with its gun turrets. It gave an opportunity to highlight positive developments in downtown. And a chance to plug the City Hall tours.
• As extensive and useful as Greg's script is, we need to fill in the gaps. There are sections where there aren't many/any significant sites to point out. We can each come up with our own material, but would want to give first timers some ideas.
• I had fun and I think it definitely contributed to a fuller experience for the garden tourists.

Erie Canal Harbor

One Hour Tour
Canal District Information

In a map of the Retail Places of Business, prepared by the Christian Homestead Association in 1893, the Canal District had:

75 Houses of Ill-Fame

108 Saloons

19 Free Theatre Saloons

76 Second-Hand Clothing Stores, Barber Shops, Restaurants etc.
(Source: Rare Book Room, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library)

Docent Events Calendar Now Available

Rather than searching thru your emails, you can now find the latest on docent events by clicking the link at the right (under Frequently Used). It provides additional options to get directions and to add the event to your own calendar.

Docent to Docent Continuing Education Forums

Welcomes guest speaker:

Irene Ayad

Beyond the Script - What Does 'Revival' Really Mean?

Getting your Georgian Revival and your Federal revival mixed up? How about your Gothic and your Richardsonian? Buff state professor Irene Ayad will talk about architecture, revival art forms and what it really means.

Come join us and refresh your architectural terminology at this fun, relaxed, and informative D2D dutch treat forum.

When: 7:00pm Tuesday, June 15th

Where: The Place

229 Lexington Avenue

Buffalo, NY

An RSVP is not necessary, but is appreciated.

Please respond to Docent2Docent@gmail.com

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What would you like to see at future forums? Submit your ideas or comments to Docent2Docent@gmail.com

Docent to docent Organizational forum

The first Docent-to-Docent (D2D) forum was held at Bullfeathers on Tuesday May 11th. 16 docents braved a rainy night to attend the initial presentation of the 'D2D Continuing Education Forum'. The powerpoint presented was created by a few docents who have met over the last several months (Marla Bujnicki, John Fagant, Paul & Cindy Gorski). It had been previewed at the May monthly docent administrative meeting. The purpose of D2D Continuing Education is to establish a regular forum run by docents for docents to share and compare experiences and knowledge with the goal of growing as a docent - and to have fun doing so!
This initial meeting announced the concept and sought ideas and input from ALL docents. A few topics were given as examples for a framework of the forum. These included Current Events around Buffalo, Recognition, Guest Speakers, Docent Speakers and a Book Club. Attendees were asked to consider what they heard and respond back with their ideas. The intent is to have all docents engaged and contributing in what ever way they feel comfortable.
Communication tools to be used include the existing docent only blog( http://btdocent.blogspot.com), a flickr page for pictures( http://www.flickr.com/groups/buffalotours/) and a new docent email for D2D (docent2docent@gmail.com).
Part of the monthly forum will be annoucements and discussions of pertinent items such as Tabling opportunities, the Docent Census, the Scavenger Hunt and the new Tour garb available for purchase.
The next meeting will be at The Place on June 15th at 7pm. Alll docents are encouraged to send their ideas and questions to the new D2D gmail account. We will compile all ideas and present them at the next meeting. The purpose of that meeting will be to put in place the format for D2D Continuing Education Forums. Please join us!

Docent Gear for Purchase

Docent Tom Mudra has set up a way to buy some Buffalo Tours gear. If you're interested, check these out and E-mail Buffalo Tours with your order.

Polo Shirt: light blue, logo on left chest, name on right chest
Cost $18.00 ea.. men or women sizes..s,m.l,xl,..$2.00 more for xxl and up.....plus $3.00 for name

Fleece Vest: navy blue, logo on left chest, name on right chest
Cost $25.00 ea...men or women sizes..s,m,l,xl...$2.00 more for xxl and up.....plus $3.00 for name

Fleece jacket: navy blue, logo on left chest, name on right chest
Cost $30.00 ea...men or women sizes..s,m,l,xl...$2.00 more for xxl and up.....plus $3.00 for name

Please e-mail order to tgmudra@buffalo.com with specific item wanted, quantity, size, men or women's cut and if you want name added, order will be placed and when received will be be available for pick up in the office. Payment is due when picking up items.

Buffalo Docent Training Begins February 13th

Learn to tell Buffalo’s stories to the world! Beginning February 13th, Buffalo Tours hosts its docent training program for those interested in sharing Buffalo Niagara’s architectural, environmental, cultural, and historical heritage. During weekly Saturday sessions from 9:30am to 12:30pm, trainees will learn about Buffalo’s cultural heritage, develop public speaking skills and practice docenting and concierge techniques.

This year Buffalo Tours partners with the Roycroft Campus Corporation, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site, and the Buffalo Religious Arts Center to train volunteers who are passionate about leading tours in the Buffalo Niagara region. Buffalo Tours’ main architectural tour is called Queen City Downtown. Roycroft Campus tours give visitors a glimpse into the 1900’s arts and crafts community located in East Aurora. The TR Site tells visitors about the most famous (or infamous) event in Buffalo’s history, while the Buffalo Religious Arts Center preserves and displays sacred cultural artifacts. Niagara Riverkeeper EcoTours give participants the opportunity to paddle around Strawberry Island and Cayuga Creek, hike the Niagara Gorge and Scajaquada Creek, and lead programs with Buffalo Audubon.

Each Saturday session includes training and related lectures or field trips around Western New York. On field trips, trainees deepen their understanding of local history and current events and the influence of world famous architects like Wright, Green, Richardson, and Olmsted while exploring places like the Roycroft Campus, the Niagara Falls Power Vista, and Gothic Revival cathedrals. The entire class lasts ten weeks.

The first five joint classes run from February 13th to March 13th at different locations. Volunteers choose to continue training with individual organizations for the remaining sessions. A one time fee of $75 will cover the cost of docent training materials and other costs. To register, please fill out an online application at BuffaloTours.org before the February 1st deadline. For more information, call 716-852-3300 or send an email to info@BuffaloTours.org.

Buffalo Tours is a public education program of Preservation Buffalo Niagara, a nonprofit organization created to identify, preserve, protect, promote and revitalize historically and architecturally significant sites, structures, neighborhoods, commercial districts and landscapes in Erie and Niagara Counties. Visit P-B-N.org for details.