This fall marks eleven years since the formation of Preservation Buffalo Niagara and while it has been an incredible journey, the last year has solidified PBN’s direction and mission. In 2019 alone, we’ve witnessed several preservation success stories.
PBN’s tour and workshop program continues to offer high quality educational programming to children and adults alike. We have continued to offer our weekly tour program which includes our City Hall, Guaranty Building, and Queen City Downtown Tours, to both locals and visitors alike, brought back our EB Green Tour de Force Bike Tour over the summer and added a new touch with our Terra Cotta City! and Queen City by Night Tours. Hard Hat and Members Only Tours included Chandler Street and a jewel box of a mid-century house on Dana Road in Buffalo. We unveiled our first annual Modernism Week Western New York, which featured buildings from Fredonia to Niagara Falls and everywhere in between. All in all, our docents will give tours to over 5,000 people in 2019, including 600 school children. In addition to tours, we conducted over 20 informative and educational workshops steadily throughout the past year from East Aurora to Lockport.
Our advocacy and direct preservation programming efforts have also seen new levels of success, including the launch of our Revolving Fund, getting the National Trust for Historic Preservation to name Willert Park/AD Price Courts as an 11 Most Endangered Site in the United States, and being tapped by Empire State Development to design and manage a Building Preservation Fund to stabilize at-risk historic buildings in target investment areas on Buffalo’s East Side.
With the support of our members and donors, we have been able to effectively pursue our advocacy efforts. As the end of 2019 approaches and we embark on our annual giving campaign, we hope you will consider donating to our Annual Appeal to help us continue to do this important work throughout Western New York communities. This work cannot be done without you.
Too long, didn’t read? Here. Watch this:
I fully support PBN’s mission, and have done so since the days of the Preservation Coalition. But for next year’s video, please hire a new vidiographer. Who makes a video where music drowns out already sub-par audio, so much so that you must use subtitles? This video unfortunately make PBN look amateurish.
Thanks for your input! We will consider it.