close
close

Double-decker bus tour revisits Buffalo’s presidential history

Buffalo, New York (WBEN) – Starting this Wednesday, people will be able to experience a new double-decker bus tour and see all the sites of Buffalo history associated with the tragic assassination of President William McKinley and the rapid and unexpected from his Bull Moose successor, Theodore Roosevelt.

The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site has partnered with Buffalo Double Decker Bus Tours to offer history buffs the opportunity to board an English Leyland Olympian double-decker bus to tour Buffalo’s historic sites, including the place where President William McKinley was shot and the estate where McKinley stayed during his ill-fated convalescence.

“To some extent, the bus tour covers the same story that we tell on a tour of our museum, which is the story of President McKinley, his visit to Buffalo, his shooting and eventual death, and Roosevelt’s inauguration here at home, but he tells it from a different perspective,” says Mark Lozo, educational director of Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration site.

“The bus allows us to travel to different parts of the city to see places related to this history and to talk about aspects of this history and perspectives that we don’t normally get the opportunity to talk about on a tour .the museum itself So it’s an opportunity, even if you’ve been to the Roosevelt site, to learn new facts and aspects of this story that you may not have heard before.

The bus takes you to tour the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition and the Hall of Music, including the Buffalo History Museum, the only major building still standing from the exposition, according to Lozo.

“We will also head downtown to visit the train station area, where Vice President Roosevelt is said to have arrived in Buffalo, after the assassination of President McKinley. We will then pass by where the headquarters was located of the police at the time, and the Old County Hall where President McKinley’s body would be placed after his death and where, ultimately, the assassin would be tried,” Lozo added.

Tickets are going fast for this month’s tour, which takes place on June 26 starting at 5:30 p.m. ET, but don’t worry. Three more tours will take place until September. The dates are: July 24, August 28, September 25. Each ticket costs $35 or $30 if you are a member of the inaugural TR site. You can click here for more information. Tickets include half-price admission to the museum and a bonus “Pan American Fields Guide.”

This is just the start of more exciting things to come for the inaugural TR site, according to the site’s new executive director, Spencer Morgan, who took over from the previous director in April.

“This takes the TR site to the next level. If you’ve visited the TR site in the past, you know we have wonderful technology, wonderful sensory experiences during your visit and as you start walking through the house. We are I plan to add more And I’m really excited about some of the advancements, especially the technological ones that we’re going to make here on site Another exciting element of the TR site is our virtual reality components that we have accessible through our. website. .

Featured Image Photo Credit: Courtesy of Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site