Hidden gems around Buffalo: Local artists and legendary sites

By: Mikayla Boyd, Editor-in-Chief

Assistant sports editor Peter Neville and I visited the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site and Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center for our class, Art in Buffalo, last Friday, Jan. 30. Even as a Buffalo native, I have learned so much through this class and The Buffalo Experience, a similar Honors course. Without further ado, let’s dive into the tours!

We started at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site, a historical space located at 641 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, N.Y. After a short exhibit about the Pan-American Exposition to lay the background as to why Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated here (spoiler alert: President McKinley was assassinated at the exposition), we moved to the dining room, which had its original items like the chandelier and ceiling crown molding. It was interesting to look at these things and see the exact same things that Roosevelt would have on the morning of his inauguration. They even included an old newspaper on the table and mentioned that he read the newspaper while having breakfast! Next, we walked to a short presentation where we sat in a theatre-style room and an audio recording played while images were lit up on a glass wall. This was one of my favorite parts of the tour because it acted as a look into Roosevelt’s mind while he was on a walk before the inauguration. It featured the issues of America he would inherit and how he weighed the ways to go about tackling them. I think it was a beautiful and creative way to introduce visitors to the historical context and climate. 

Then, we moved into the small library (the size of a living room) where Roosevelt was sworn in, and when our tour guide told us almost 100 people squeezed into the room to witness the inauguration, I was really shocked (but then it made sense why there were no pictures). It was such an interesting and rare experience to stand almost in the spot where a president of the United States was inaugurated. I also loved how our tour guide told us what pieces in the library were original to Roosevelt’s time at the house, such as a bookshelf, some of the books on it, a beautiful lamp in the shape of a woman and a couple more items. We then visited another room with a desk, a telegram machine and letters from Roosevelt. They had copies of them that visitors could read, including a telegram to Booker T. Washington about rescheduling Roosevelt’s trip to the South, which was interesting after the audio presentation talked about Washington and Roosevelt’s relationship. 

Our tour guide then led us upstairs to the museum portion. Something I really loved was that upstairs was also a polling place – with the special election for state senate, I was able to vote there! It was particularly interesting to be involved in the political process while at a place where a president was inaugurated; it just felt special. After voting, I explored the museum portion, which featured labels around the walls with text explaining things like the history of the Wilcox residence and how it eventually became the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site. This level housed the ultra-interactive elements of the presidential desk replica integrated with technology to get a picture and veto/sign bills as Roosevelt would, and a ‘Holo-Ted’ you can talk to in person using AI. Peter particularly enjoyed introducing AI Teddy Roosevelt to the New England Patriots. 

Another aspect of the museum portion that I personally enjoyed was a chart with Roosevelt’s positions on all of the issues that plagued America during his time. Along with this were newspaper articles from his time and then ones from today that paralleled it. Then, it said that Roosevelt reshaped the presidency and asked visitors a very open-ended question of what kind of president Roosevelt would be today. There were sticky notes so visitors could answer the question, and it was interesting to see people’s responses. With that, we had explored all of the site, so we headed to Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, an artistic space at 341 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, N.Y. – inside a repurposed church!

I enjoyed Hallwalls a lot. I had never been to a small, local art gallery before, usually big museums like AKG or Burchfield Penney, so I was expecting more works. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the more intimate space. Looking through the works in person, it was awesome to see Buffalo and western N.Y. shine through. Pieces from Robert Finn felt so quintessentially western N.Y., especially the “Knox Farm” piece that depicted – as the name suggests – Knox Farm State Park in East Aurora. There was a well-curated array of works that I think juxtaposed the others well. There were so many different types of art, from works on quilts to a stack of televisions to ‘regular’ pieces of oil on canvas. The works from Christy Francis were beautifully painted and had a spooky element that was emotion-provoking. Through reading the exhibit magazine, I found out this inspiration came from her feeling like the experience of women in society is inherently unsettling, which she tried to convey in her work. I would say it definitely accomplished that in a way I admire a lot. 

I particularly enjoyed the intimate space because it was different from a larger museum in terms of how I digested the art. I feel like in a larger museum, it’s easy to judge works of art in comparison to the other works in the curated room. What is around them affects how you perceive them because the context and environment of moving through it at a faster pace often necessitates comparison. At Hallwells, it was different. I was able to focus on one piece at a time because there were fewer pieces and more time for each. Overall, the pieces were just so amazing and looked like they belonged in museums like the AKG or MoMA, which made me consider how we have such talented artists right here in Buffalo. They even had free pamphlets and magazines, which I took full advantage of (I left with an entire bag of them). It felt good to go here, donate, bring some of the free magazines home to share with my family and feel like I was supporting them in a couple of ways. Ultimately, I hope you get a chance to explore one or both of these hidden gems around Buffalo and immerse yourself in our city’s wonderful culture!