“Right Here, Right Now: The Power of Place” is the theme of the 2022 AASLH Annual Conference. Our host city, Buffalo, is a perfect location for exploring the importance of place, from its rich Indigenous history to its boundless stories and historic sites. We invite you to explore the intersection of place and history by participating in an optional tour while at the conference.

More detailed descriptions about these tours and costs, dates, and times can be found beginning on page 16 of the preliminary program.

Exploring the Seneca Nation of Indians’ Allegany Territory
Learn about Onödowá’ga: (Seneca) history, culture, worldview, and cultural persistence by visiting the Onöhsagwë:De’ Cultural Center and taking a tour of the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum and the center’s other facilities. After lunch, you’ll drive through Jimersontown and Salamanca and visit the sacred oil springs at the Seneca Nation Oil Spring Territory.

A tour group outside the Art Deco City Hall in Buffalo, New York.

Buffalo City Hall. Photo by Eric Frick.

Like Architecture?
You’re in luck—Buffalo has an abundance of unique architectural treasures. There are four tours with a focus on architecture:

  • Tour City Hall with Preservation Buffalo Niagara and see one of the largest city halls in the country. One of the city’s most significant architectural treasures is an Art Deco masterpiece.
  • See the work of Louis B. Sullivan (Guaranty Building), Eliel Saarinen (Kleinhans Music Hall), and Henry Hobson Richardson and the landscape team of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux (Richardson Olmsted Campus) on the Famous Architects Tour. As a bonus, you’ll visit the Roycroft Campus, the hub of the American Arts and Crafts Movement.
  • The Queen City Downtown Tour: Preservation Buffalo Niagara will take you on a two-hour walking tour of Buffalo’s architectural landmarks and most important stories, including the Erie Canal.
  • Louis B. Sullivan’s Guaranty Building isn’t just gorgeous but makes an important case for preservation. Learn more during a tour on Saturday.
  • Wright Here, Wright Now: We’re talking about Frank Lloyd Wright, of course. This tour visits the Martin House and Graycliff, the Martin family’s summer home. It also stops at the Larkin District, site of the now-demolished Larkin Soap Company building.

The Michigan Street Baptist Church. Photo by KC Kratt.

Explore Buffalo
Get to know the many places that make Buffalo unique with one of these tours:

  • Canalside is the downtown waterfront district. This tour includes visits to the Buffalo Maritime Center, the Buffalo and Erie County Navel & Military Park, Explore & More—The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum, and the Buffalo Heritage Carousel.
  • Experience the newly launched immersive tours at the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor. Tour stops include the Michigan Street Baptist Church, a stop on the Underground Railroad, the home of the Nash family (who made significant contributions to the church and neighborhood), and learn about WUFO and the Black History Collective to see the impact Black radio has had on the community since the 1960s.
  • The Exploring the Rainbow City tour will tell the story of Buffalo’s Pan-American Exposition in 1901. Visit the Buffalo History Museum, the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, and Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Old Fort Niagara. Photo by Rhea Anna.

Explore Western New York
Venture outside Buffalo and explore western New York in these tours:

  • JELL-O Gallery Museum and Genesee Country Village & Museum: The JELL-O Gallery Museum tells the intriguing story of America’s most famous dessert, which was invented in LeRoy, New York, in 1897. The Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford is the third largest living history museum in the country.
  • Empire and Industry begins at Old Fort Niagara, a key site for the fight for control of North America in the 18th century. It also visits the Erie Canal Discovery Center, which became the gateway to the west in 1825.

Photo by Rhea Anna.

Niagara Falls
No visit to Buffalo is complete without a visit to the powerful Niagara Falls!

  • Daredevils, Freedom Seekers, and Visionaries: Sites of Niagara Falls will take you to the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, the Oakwood Cemetery (where many daredevils rest), and the Castellani Art Museum.
  • We will be offering a tour to Niagara Falls on Saturday, September 17 and possibly Wednesday, September 14. Details of this tour will be sent to emails in our database when finalized. You can sign up to receive our emails on our homepage.

Add any of these tours when registering for the conference!