By Kate Bartlett
Explore Buffalo has been offering tours of Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs for over 11 years. Their Sacred Spaces Tours have become a popular winter activity, providing opportunities to learn about these incredible buildings and their significance to Buffalo while staying warm on an indoor tour.
Explore Buffalo was founded in 2013 with the mission of promoting Buffalo and Western New York history, architecture, and neighborhoods. They offer a variety of tours, over 120 in total at this time, in Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs. Explore Buffalo has been growing steadily since its inception, adding new tours and new opportunities to explore this great city each and every year.
While the Sacred Spaces Tours are available year-round, they’ve become a popular winter activity. These tours are mostly indoor and provide a unique opportunity to get out and explore a dozen houses of worship during the colder months. The tours are docent led, and range from 60-90 minutes providing interesting facts and information about each building and it’s time period.
According to Brad Hahn, Executive Director of Explore Buffalo, the 12 houses of worship featured in the Sacred Spaces Tours are interesting in their own regard. “These buildings were mostly constructed within a 20–30-year time span during the late 1800’s-early 1900’s when Buffalo was at its peak. Every community, from the wealthy to the working class, put significant contributions into building houses of worship; they were the cornerstones of their communities. They hired architects and stained-glass artists to build these incredible spaces. These buildings are a great representation of the time, and provide a glimpse into the past, ultimately helping us better understand these moments in time.”
The Explore Buffalo office is actually located inside a house of worship – the First Presbyterian Church at 1 Symphony Circle, the oldest congregation in Buffalo. “Our office is in such a unique location, and we don’t take that for granted,” says Brad. “We’re fortunate to have our office in the building where Theodore Roosevelt attended worship after President William McKinley was shot at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. I walk these halls daily, and that’s just incredible.”
Houses of worship included in the Sacred Spaces tours include a variety of churches in downtown Buffalo and on Buffalo’s East Side. Newly added this year is Saint Adalbert Basilica, one of the largest churches in Buffalo and the first Basilica in the United States. Located on Buffalo’s East Side near the Broadway Market, this space is a popular tour; a building with a great story. The interior of St. Adalbert’s features stained glass windows from Germany and murals by Buffalo artist Josef Mazur, completed in 1924.
The Unitarian Universalist Church Tour on Elmwood Avenue offers a glimpse into Buffalo’s rich history as it was designed by renowned architects William and Edward Kent. The exterior is English-Village Gothic style while the interior is a mix of Gothic and the Arts and Crafts styles, blending two beautiful styles of this time period. An interesting piece of Buffalo history also lies in this church, as architect Edward Austin Kent was the only Buffalo native to set sail on the Titanic, where he tragically died in its sinking.
The Sacred Spaces tours allow guests to take a moment to learn about different cultures and religions. “Not only do guests have the opportunity to have a glimpse into the past, but they’re offered the opportunity to learn about a different way of life. They can learn about different traditions, ask questions that spark their curiosity in a comfortable, learning atmosphere.”
Each tour is available for single visit purchase, but Explore Buffalo also offers an Explorer Pass membership which allows unlimited walking, bike, and Sacred Spaces tours for just $65/person or $100/dual. “For the price of just 4 tours, guests can enjoy unlimited tours for an entire year. We offer a variety of tours, year-round, so essentially guests could take a new tour every week.”
For more information and a full list of tours, visit explorebuffalo.org/sacredspaces, call (716) 245-3032 and follow on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) @ ExploreBuffalo.