From October 30 to November 1, 2024, the Olmsted Network took to New York for three days of memorable tours and meals in Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
On Wednesday, October 30, our small group arrived at The Richardson Hotel, which sits inside of the former Buffalo State Asylum. Now known as the Richardson Olmsted Campus (ROC), the three center buildings — advancing the Kirkbride plan and designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in 1871— were preserved and adapted into a hotel and event space in 2017.
After guests checked into their room in either the Hobson or the Olmsted wings, everyone met upstairs in the Glessner Room for a welcome dinner. We enjoyed cocktails and a brief introduction from Olmsted Network President & CEO Dede Petri before receiving a warm welcome from Buffalo Mayor Christopher P. Scanlon. Scholar and author Frank Kowsky, heritage architect Clinton Brown and President of the ROC and the Lipsey Architecture Center Paris Roselli also spoke at the dinner.
On Thursday morning, the group gathered bright and early for a Halloween tour of the ROC with Roselli and horticulturalist Nell Gardener. We heard about the past, present and future of the ROC and learned about Olmsted’s South Lawn. Once a magnificent, open area designed for the rest and recreation of asylum patients, it was paved over for a parking lot in the 1930s but then restored as a community lawn in 2013. The tour ended with a very exciting hardhat tour of the unrestored female dormitory of the asylum.
Hotel entrance, Richardson Olmsted Campus, Buffalo, NY. 
Olmsted’s South Lawn, Richardson Olmsted Campus, Buffalo, NY. 
Richardson Olmsted Campus, Buffalo, NY. 
Richardson Olmsted Campus, Buffalo, NY. 
Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY. 
Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY. 
Blocher Grave at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY. 
A path in Delaware Park, Buffalo, NY. 
Raincoats on for a tour of Niagara’s Cave of Winds. 
On the viewing platforms at Niagara Falls.
Up next was a two-hour tour of Forest Lawn Cemetery with guide Jonathan White. Founded in 1849, the cemetery inspired both Olmsted and his partner Calvert Vaux as they recommended locations for Buffalo’s parks and parkways.
After these two magnificent tours, we stopped for lunch at Parkside Lodge, where our partners at Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy are headquartered. There, Director of Engagement & Inclusion Zhi Ting Phua shared information about the Conservancy before we headed out on a trolley tour of the Buffalo Olmsted Park System.
Tour guide Lauren Becker facilitated the three-hour tour. Becker, formerly a National Park Service Interpretive Ranger, kept the group engaged by passing around historic photos, maps and even candy as we explored Delaware Park, Front Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Cazenovia Park, Riverside Park, along with historic parkways and circles.
Later that evening, we capped off our day with drinks and a private dinner at The Terrance at Delaware Park. The restaurant, which overlooks the beautiful Hoyt Lake, was decorated for Halloween and offered an assortment of local foods, including beef on weck and Buffalo wings.
On a balmy and windy Friday morning, the group toured Niagara Falls State Park with Mark Mistretta, Director, Niagara Region, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. On the trolley ride up to the falls, Mistretta shared the history of Olmsted and Vaux’s involvement in the Free Niagara movement and offered insights into their designs for the grounds. The group saw the falls from Luna Island before slipping into ponchos and embarking on the Cave of the Winds experience. We also visited Terrapin Point and the newly built Visitor’s Center. From the amazing views to seeing a sleeping beaver up close, touring Niagara Falls proved to be a magical ending to our trip.
All photos by Victoria Vanhuss.
Find more photos from Pop-Up Buffalo here: https://bit.ly/3Av0ycq
