Month: March 2016

Letter from the Executive Director

Spring 2016 Newsletter CoverGreetings!

This spring we explore “connections” of all sorts, starting with our three buildings. Each building has fascinating history; sharing those stories remains a focus. However, with the buildings’ unique character so goes the upkeep. Last March, a thaw of snow and ice caused 500 gallons of water to pour into The Buffalo History Museum’s Reinstein Center. The water intrusion wreaked havoc on our daily operations forcing Buffalo State’s Museum Studies program to halt their work cataloguing the Howard Beach Collection and 7 of our full-time staff members set up make-shift offices in public areas of the Pan-Am building which was closed for City funded electrical renovations. A twist of “luck” for the relocation, indeed!

It didn’t take a waterfall to let us know a thorough and sound plan for repairs was in order. A generous grant by John R. Oishei Foundation funded a $120K facility and space utilization study of our three building campus to be delivered summer 2016. The resulting road map will explore the potential of our entire campus, services and relationships, while prioritizing capital projects and estimating costs.

In January, the Museum board and staff participated in a transformational planning session assessing TBHM priorities and considering national trends for history museums. This precious time for sharing and thinking, facilitated by author, architect and historian Franklin Vagnone, opened the floor to discussions around relevancy, identity, physical fitness and commitment to the community. The results of these discussions and our facility “road map” will frame our strategic vision for 2016-2019.

I encourage you to remain, or become, engaged in the further processes ahead so that through our actions we better serve and reflect your aspirations and expectations of The Buffalo History Museum.

All my best,

Melissa

P.S. Please remember to check out our calendar of events and join us for a season of fascinating stories!

Spotlight Artifact: Niagara Gorge Suspension Basket
Basket, Suspension 610

Basket, Suspension Iron Judge T.G. Hulett Ca. 1847

In 1846, New York State granted a charter to the International Bridge Company to build a suspension bridge across the Niagara River. At the same time, Canada granted a charter to the Niagara Falls Bridge Company of Canada West for the same purpose. The two companies came together to form a joint board of directors and hired Charles Ellet, Jr., a noted engineer and bridge builder from Philadelphia to build a wire railroad suspension bridge across the Niagara river about two miles below the Falls. It was Charles Ellet, Jr. who approached Theodore Graves Hulett about overseeing the iron works for the bridge and came to him with the first task of establishing a convenient means of communication across the gorge.

The Niagara gorge suspension basket has always drawn visitors’ attention. Constructed to carry people, with their tools and messages, across the Niagara gorge below the Falls, Ellet originally planned for this car to be made of wood. He wanted to build two towers on either bank with a wire cable stretched between and a car or basket suspended from the cable, large and strong enough to carry at least two people.  T.G. Hulett eventually convinced Ellet that a basket made of iron, with wooden seats, would be light enough to cross the wire with the use of iron rollers, but be strong enough to support passengers. The first passage was in the spring of 1848 and was made by Charles Ellet, Jr. This basket carried workmen and civilians alike, and it is estimated that approximately three-fourths of the passengers were women.

Rebecca Justinger
Registrar

*This article was featured in The Buffalo History Museum‘s Fall 2015 issue of The Album.