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BUFFALO NIAGARA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

2 0 0 6ANNUAL BUSINESS REVIEW

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VISITORS ARE BIG BUSINESS IN BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY. Convention delegates, tourists, group tour participants, business travelers, amateur

athletes and their families – they all mean dollars spent in our hotels, restaurants, shops

and attractions. When these visitors rent a car, go out to dinner, buy a cup of coff ee, hail

a taxi, go to the theater or enjoy a night out, they help to keep more than 20,000 of our

friends and neighbors employed – as sales reps, accountants, front desk personnel,

maintenance workers, chefs, waiters, bartenders and cab drivers.

In the last year alone, conventions

and athletic events such as the Heart-

land Travel Showcase, Travel Expo

New York (left), the International

Aviation Snow Symposium, the USA

Hockey Women’s Championships

and the New York State Democratic

Convention brought thousands of

visitors and millions of dollars into

our community. On top of this solid

foundation of conventions and athletic

events, CVB staff worked to entice group and leisure travelers to our region – eff orts that

helped result in a 6.5 percent increase in hotel occupancy and a 12 percent increase

in revenue at Erie County hotels.

How big is our local visitor industry? In the year just past, a statewide economic

impact study concluded that travel and tourism sales in Erie County amounted to more

than $1.1 billion in direct spending in 2005. Th is fi gure included $176 million spent

on lodging, $390 million spent on food and beverage, and $250 million in retail sales.

Conducted by Tourism Economics, a unit of Philadelphia-based Oxford Economics

USA, the study provided authoritative documentation on the size and scope of the

visitor industry.

Th e study confi rmed what the Buff alo Niagara CVB and our partners have been

saying all along: Erie County’s travel and tourism industry is a major contributor to the

local economy, generating jobs, creating disposable income and fi lling state and county

coff ers with tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue.

Among the more notable conclusions of the study was the fact that tourism in

Erie County generated more than $61 million in local taxes, including more than

$6 million in bed tax on hotel rooms consumed by visitors to Erie County, and another

$58 million in state taxes in 2005.

Th is data supports our contention that Buff alo’s convention and tourism industry is

a vital contributor to the local economy and needs to be funded accordingly if we are to

continue bringing visitors to our region and customers to our many attractions.

A M E S S A G E F R O M

RICHARD GEIGERP R E S I D E N T & C E O

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In an attempt to grow this already signifi cant industry, Buff alo Niagara has been

investing heavily in new tourism products that have begun to make our region more

attractive to visitors. In the last year alone, substantial work has been accomplished on

the Erie Canal Harbor on the waterfront. Th e Martin House Restoration Corporation

completed the re-construction of buildings demolished more than 40 years ago at Frank

Lloyd Wright’s Darwin Martin House Complex. A new visitors center was built at Old

Fort Niagara. A Regional Underground

Railroad Interpretive Center opened on the

campus of Niagara University. Ground was

broken on a new home for the Burchfi eld-

Penney Art Center. Th e Buff alo Zoo added

two new aquatic exhibits. Th e Botanical

Gardens continued work on a far-reaching

restoration. Th e list goes on.

It’s important to note, however, that while Buff alo has been investing in product

development in recent years, so have our competitors. Th ere are many like-minded

cities out there intent on re-inventing themselves and reinvigorating their economies

through tourism. Th ey are sparing no expense in their attempt to off er potential visitors

new experiences. In each case, the investment in bricks and mortar is accompanied by

signifi cant marketing dollars to get the word out about the new attractions.

Th is is the competitive context Buff alo fi nds itself in as we look eagerly toward

the completion of these projects. Consumers have innumerable travel options available

to them and if we are not visibly, actively promoting Buff alo as a destination, they will

choose to go elsewhere. It’s really that simple.

Without a dedicated source of destination marketing funds, it will take many years

for the reputations of Buff alo’s attractions to spread, thus delaying the fi nancial return

to the community for its investments in various restoration and development projects.

In order to leverage the investments made in new product and infrastructure, the bed

tax must be dedicated to tourism sales and marketing.

Th e Buff alo Niagara CVB looks forward to working with our partners throughout

the region in making Buff alo Niagara a world-class visitor destination.

Sincerely,

Richard Geiger

President & CEO

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WHO’S COMING TO BUFFALO?0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Leisure(Non-group)

29%

Group Tour3%

Conventions/Meetings/Amateur Sports (Group)

30%

Corporate Transient 38%

Erie County Hotel/Motels(Total Room Nights Reported 819,007)

SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCHERIE COUNTY HOTEL REPORT

OCCUPANCY AVERAGE RATE HOTEL REVENUES

2006 65.90% $78.47 $165,441,831

2005 61.90% $75.09 $147,732,856

NOTE: Th e survey results compiled above were based on a sample of 819,007 room nights

reported by participating properties, which accounts for approximately 38% of the

total room nights consumed in Erie County during 2006.

Hotel/Motel Market Segmentation

Th e chart below outlines the allocation of hotel rooms occupied in Erie County

in 2006. Approximately 38% of all the room nights consumed in 2006 were

generated by corporate transient visitors, 30% by conventions/meetings and

amateur sports groups, 29% by leisure visitors and 3% by group tour visitors.

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Th e convention sales and services staff at the Buff alo Niagara Convention &

Visitors Bureau works tirelessly to promote our city as a meetings and competition

destination to convention, meeting and amateur athletic planners. Most often the

process of landing a convention or sporting event can be a daunting task – from initial

contact to hosting the event can often

take years. Th e sales process begins

with phone calls, meetings and corre-

spondence to the potential client. In the

meantime, the CVB staff collaborates

with local hotel and attraction partners

to assemble a proposal and presentation

to the organization. Before producing a

signed contract, meetings, discussions

and negotiations regularly take place.

Th e sales department’s eff orts in 2006

resulted in 392 new sales leads

and they hosted 45 site visits for

organizations interested in Buff alo. During 2006, the sales department booked

208 future conventions, meetings and

events. As a result, nearly 130,000 people will

visit Buff alo and utilize over 105,000 hotel

room nights in Erie County hotels. While this

represents a signifi cant “win” for the CVB,

the real impact will be seen in our local

restaurants, hotels, stores and entertainment

venues where out-of-town visitors will make

expenditures of more than $60 million.

CONVENTION SALES0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 C O N V E N T I O N S B Y T H E N U M B E R S 0 105,435 Booked 105,435 hotel room nights

208 Booked 208 conventions, meetings or events

392 Generated 392 new sales leads

45 Conducted 45 site inspections for convention and event planners

7 Attended 7 trade shows promoting Buffalo Niagara

Amateur athletics and special events is a source of considerable revenue

for Buff alo Niagara’s hotels, restaurants and other service providers. Among site

selectors, meeting and event planners and sports

offi cials, Buff alo is known for its outstanding

venues, commitment to service and

community hospitality. In the amateur

athletics community, the Buff alo “brand”

is strong and growing stronger. In 2006,

Buff alo Niagara’s

economy was

enhanced by almost

$20 million

from 56 amateur

athletic events that were held at area sports venues.

Over 36,000 athletes and spectators consumed more

than 37,000 hotel room nights due to competitions

held in Buff alo.

AMATEUR SPORTS0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

5

0 A M AT E U R S P O RT S B Y T H E N U M B E R S 056 Amateur sports events

36,900 Attendance

37,600 Hotel room nights

$19,600,000 Economic impact

H I G H L I G H T E V E N T S AT T E N D A N C E

USA Hockey – Girls Divisions 2,400 US Swimming – Eastern Zone 1,800 Buffalo Erie Marathon, Inc – Annual Marathon 1,500 Northeast YMCA State Swimming Championships 1,200 USA Taekwondo – National Qualifi er 1,200 USA Track & Field Association – Region II 1,200 Atlantic 10 Swim Championships 1,000 USA Hockey – Women’s Championship 700

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Buffalo used the right bait to land a big one last year. Chuck Giglia, CVB convention sales manager, had been casting his line into the water since 2002 hoping to hook an ESPN BASS tournament and 2006 was the year he reeled it in.

For the past four years, a group of Buffalo community partners hosted a variety of events that demonstrated the city’s ability to hold successful fi shing tournaments. The dedicated team consisted of the CVB, the NFTA Boat Harbor, and the Erie County Fishing Advisory Board. Everyone involved in planning and pitching Buffalo as host to the Bassmaster tournaments put their best foot forward and waited patiently to land the big one.

“Buffalo is an angler’s paradise,” said Scott Gould, professional angler and Fishing Advisory Board representative. “The region has some of the best smallmouth bass fi shing in the world and it’s only minutes from downtown Buffalo. Within a short drive from the city, anglers can fi sh Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the Niagara River.”

Following a lengthy bid process, the CVB and its partners successfully secured one of the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments. Buffalo will be home to 100 BASS Elite pros and 100 amateur partners for the prestigious tournament July 19 – 22, 2007. Elite Series anglers will compete for a top prize of $100,000.

According to Giglia, ESPN decision makers cited Buffalo as an outstanding tournament venue and the number one reason for selecting the city to host the 2007 tournament.

“The site selectors also noted that the local organizing committee will bend over backwards to accommodate tournament directors’ needs,” said Giglia. “They noted that it’s rare for a city to have a marina the size of ours that has the amenities and ability to host a tournament of this size – including dockage, ramps, manpower, and space for pre-and post-tournament events.”

“Hosting this event for the fi rst time means even more to Buffalo than its initial economic impact,” Giglia noted. “The media exposure on a highly-watched national network will help to position Buffalo as a fi shing and visitor destination.”

“Prime time exposure on ESPN2, with Buffalo and its beautiful waterfront as a back-drop, is a priceless addition to our marketing efforts,” said CVB President Richard Geiger.

More than 1,200 hotel room nights throughout Erie County will be used by com-petitors, organizers, media, vendors and families during the tournament that will have nearly a $1 million dollar impact on the local economy.

“With the bodies of water and locations these Elite anglers will visit in 2007, I expect big fi sh on the scales, lots of BASS members and fans in the crowds and growing viewer-ship on ESPN2,” said Don Rucks, BASS vice president and general manager.

LANDING A BIG ONEHow we reeled in the CITGO Bassmaster Tournament

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Th e tourism department of the Buff alo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau has

the task of selling Buff alo as a place to visit. In order for Buff alo to see cars and buses

full of visitors pulling into the city, the department spends years cultivating relationships

with group and leisure markets.

In attracting the group tour market, the tourism department utilizes a variety of

tactics and communications tools to gain the attention and interest of tour decision-

makers. Once the tour operators are impressed with Buff alo, they then have to convince

consumers to book a tour to the Queen City. In 2006, the tourism department hosted

24 familiarization tours and 10 site inspections for more than 850 tour

operators. Th e department also conducted six sales blitzes. As reported by Erie

County hotels, more than 16,000 hotel room nights were consumed by group

tours in 2006.

For the leisure travel market, the department advertised in the New York State TPA

(Tourism Promotion Agency) Council Cooperative Advertising Program in regional and

national publications, including Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies Home Journal, More

Magazine, Family Circle, USA Weekend and Th e New York Times. Tourism sales staff

attend “One Tank Getaways” trade shows which are used to promote the area’s assets to

consumers within a 300 mile radius. Th e tourism staff collaborates with local tourism

industry and cultural attractions to develop incentives, promotions and packages for the

Southern Ontario market promoting shopping and Buff alo Bills and Sabres weekends.

More than 350,000 Buff alo Visitors Guides were

distributed to meeting planners, group tour operators,

convention delegates, business travelers, visitor centers,

New York State Gateway Centers, rest stops and AAA and CAA

offi ces. An integral part of the CVB’s ongoing eff ort to re-brand

Buff alo Niagara as a destination rich in culture, heritage and

family entertainment, the 72-page Visitors Guide is the primary

tool utilized by staff to tell the Buff alo story to potential

visitors. Th e cover of the 2006 guide featured an illustration

of the Darwin Martin House by local artist Michael Gelen.

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 TO U R I S M B Y T H E N U M B E R S 0 24

10850

Designed and conducted 24 fam tours and 10 site inspections for 850 tour operators and group leaders

8 Attended 8 trade shows to promote Buffalo Niagara

6 Conducted 6 sales blitzes with local tourism industry partners

66,000 Responded to 66,000 visitor inquiries

Sometimes all the stars align. That’s what Leah Mueller, CVB Tourism Sales Manager, thought when she made a routine follow up call and landed a nice piece of business. In the fall of 2003, Mueller began contacting and reaching out to AYS Tours of Indianapolis with the goal of getting the tour company to bring motor coaches full of visitors to Buffalo. Over the years, she used every connection possible to sell a Buffalo tour to the Midwest company. She included them in a schedule of sales blitz tours. She met with them at industry trade shows such as Heartland Travel Showcase (right) and Travel Expo. She added them to invita-tion lists for group familiarization tours and events scheduled as part of a conference. She invited them to the CVB’s popular I LOVE NY fun auction and dine-a-round programs. “If one approach didn’t work, we’d try another,” she said. “You just never know what’s going to spark an interest in Buffalo – sometimes it takes years and repeated contacts before results begin to show.” In the case of AYS Tours it was a broadcast of WNED-TV’s “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buffalo” documentary along with a well-timed phone call that fi nally did the trick. “I’d been trying to put together a group tour of Frank Lloyd Wright properties for college professors and professionals and while watching the PBS special on Wright I began to realize that Buffalo’s Darwin D. Martin House Complex and Pennsylvania’s Fallingwater would make a terrifi c tour for this group,” said Beverly Roberts of AYS. “And it just so hap-pens that both Leah and the Hyatt Regency Buffalo called to check in with me!” Roberts recalled Buffalo’s beauty and amazing architecture that she saw during the Heartland Travel Showcase February FAM tour. Seeing the PBS special was just what she needed to begin to make plans for a group tour to Buffalo. “Even though we consistently use every marketing and sales tool at our disposal, in this case the connection is obvious and the result is just as we hoped,” added Mueller. “AYS Tours will bring a motor coach full of visitors to Buffalo, the community will real-ize a $12,000 economic impact for every night they stay, and each of the visitors will leave with a new impression of Buffalo that they will share with others back home.” The tourism department continues to work with AYS Tours to bring more business to Buffalo.

WHATEVER IT TAKESUsing every sales tool at our disposal to bring business to Buffalo Niagara

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Working in collaboration with Resnicow Schroeder Associates, a New York City-

based media relations fi rm specializing in cultural clients, and OEB International,

a marketing communications fi rm headquartered in Toronto, the Communications

Department successfully placed stories with a variety of national and international

media in 2006.

Notable placements included an extensive article

entitled “A Frank Lloyd Wright Showpiece is Brought

Back to Life in Buff alo” in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer;

an article about the Martin House and “Frank Lloyd

Wright’s Buff alo” in Th e Capital Times of Madison,

Wisconsin; an article entitled “Buff alo Builds, Once

Again” in the Architect’s Newspaper; an Associated

Press article about the BPO’s production of “Shining

Brow” and the Frank Lloyd Wright Immersion

Weekend that ran on the Associated Press national wire and was picked up by more than

50 newspapers, including the International Herald Tribune; an article about the

Martin House and the Roycroft Campus in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; an article in

Th e Globe & Mail entitled “Th e city of Buff alo shows it has the Wright stuff ”; and an

article in Chatelaine, Canada’s no. 1 women’s magazine. Electronic coverage included

four features about Buff alo’s summertime diversions on Th e Weather Channel; a seven-

minute feature on CBC Radio about the Martin House; and a segment on Fashion

Television (interviewing Eric Lloyd Wright at the Martin House, above), a Canadian cable

channel devoted to fashion, art and architecture.

Buff alo Niagara also began to be noticed in the blogosphere in 2006 with postings

on the Prairie Mod blog and the Frank Lloyd Wright Newsblog.

Locally, Th e Buff alo News and Business First continued their steady coverage

of the hospitality industry. Both publications weighed in on the bed tax issue with

forceful commentary supportive of the restoration and dedication of the bed tax.

COMMUNICATIONS0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 C O M M U N I C AT I O N S B Y T H E N U M B E R S 0112 Distributed news releases that led to 112 out-of-town

print media hits

49 Facilitated 49 appearances by the CVB staff for electronic media

65 Managed media relationships and pitched stories that resulted in 65 local print placements

10 Secured 10 speaking engagements and presentations by CVB staff to community organizations

12 Wrote and distributed 12 e-mail newsletters to an average of 6,000 subscribers

He came to Buffalo on assignment for South-west Airlines’ Spirit Magazine, fell in love with our fair city and wound up coming back with his wife and mother-in-law. Visiting writers and photogra-phers are often wowed by the unexpected charms of Buffalo, but no one in recent memory fell quite so hard as Randy Duchaine.

Duchaine’s photographs of Buffalo graced a 10-page spread (right) extolling the virtues of our region’s indigenous delicacies and renowned res-taurants in the October 2006 issue of Spirit – an in-fl ight magazine seen by more than one million Southwest customers throughout that month. The article was the perfect marriage of words and pictures, depicting the very best of Buffalo’s culinary delights.

Hosted by the Convention & Visitors Bureau, Duchaine spent the better part of a week here last summer clicking away at dining spots ranging from Ted’s to Anderson’s, Gabriel’s Gate, Spot Coffee and the Left Bank. He left town dazzled by our hospitality, grateful for the assistance and more than a little smitten by the neighborhoods he passed through as he completed his assignment.

Describing himself as something of a “culture vulture,” Duchaine went back to Brooklyn singing Buffalo’s praises to his friends and family. “People I know in New York City go to Europe all the time,” he told The Buffalo News. “I know they would go wild for this place. There is so much culture and art, it’s incredible.”

Determined to come back and explore Buffalo as a tourist, Duchaine convinced his wife and mother-in-law that an Upstate road trip would be just the thing to do on a lovely Sep-tember weekend. The three of them made their way to Buffalo via the Corning Museum of Glass and set about creating their very own arts and culture immersion weekend. They attended a production of “3 Mo’ Divas” at Studio Arena Theatre, enjoyed dessert at the Chocolate Bar on Chippewa Street, dropped by the opening of Craft Art Western New York at the Burchfi eld-Penney Art Center, took in a performance by violinist Sarah Chang at the season premier concert by the Buffalo Philhar-

monic Orchestra at Kleinhans Music Hall, toured the Darwin Martin House and the Roycroft Campus and still had energy left over to stroll through the Elmwood Village.

“You have a market here for people like me,” said Dee Sato, Duchaine’s mother-in-law. “Buffalo is one of the few places that didn’t tear down its great buildings. Whether it’s because you didn’t have the money to, or you had the foresight not to, you have all of this great architecture left. I’m quite impressed.”

The Duchaines left Buffalo as ambassadors for our often over-looked and under-appreciated region, promising to pass along the news of our “golden gems” to their friends in New York City.

“I’m not into a Disneyland kind of experience,” concluded Duchaine. “I like the real thing, and Buffalo has the real thing.”

“I’m not into a Disneyland kind of experience . I like the real thing , and Buffalo has the real thing .”

R A N DY D U C H A I N E

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WHEN BUSINESS BECOMES PLEASUREA visiting photographer fi nds a lot to like in Buffalo

In 2006, the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau began the implementa-tion of an integrated marketing communications plan designed to raise the profi le of our architecture and art attractions in the highly competitive tourism marketplace. The tools we employed included media relations, familiarization (fam) tours, advertising, direct marketing, and an enhanced Web presence.

This marketing initiative was funded through the generosity of the John R. Oishei Foundation, M& T Bank, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Empire State Development Corp., Sen. Mary Lou Rath and the Phyllis W. Pierce Charitable Lead Annuity Trust. In-kind services were contributed by the Convention & Visitors Bureau in the form of grant writing, project management, design services and fi nancial oversight.

Highlights of the yearlong initiative included:

• An aggressive media relations campaign that em-ployed the services of Resnicow Schroeder As-sociates of New York City and OEB International, a Toronto-based marketing communications fi rm. Signifi cant coverage in publications ranging from The Globe & Mail to The New York Times was a direct result of our engagement of these fi rms.

• The gobuffaloniagara.com web site was re-designed and re-launched as wrightnow-inbuffalo.com. More than 150,000 unique visitors have spent time on the site since its debut in June.

• An ad promoting Buffalo as an architecture destination appeared throughout the year in Preservation Magazine, the member publica-tion of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Nearly one thousand inquiries requesting additional information were received as a result of these insertions.

• ArtsMarket, a cultural tourism research and planning consulting fi rm, was engaged to assist our partnering organizations (Martin House Restoration Corp., Graycliff, Roycroft Inn, Roycroft Campus Corp., Albright-Knox Art Gallery) better understand who their customers are, where they come from, what moti-vated them to visit Buffalo and how to effectively target more like-minded individuals.

• CVB staff worked closely with WNED-TV and the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier to successfully win a $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo’s 21st Century Fund to promote “The Buffalo Architecture Experience.” These dollars

AMERICAN MASTERS, AMERICAN TREASURESThe Architecture and Art Marketing Initiative

We’re not trying to build Buffalo up.Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan and H.H. Richardson already did that.

We’re not trying to build Buffalo up.Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan and H.H. Richardson already did that.

H

American MastersAmerican Treasures

Buffalo is a vast outdoor museum, displaying the work of many of the greatest architects of the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. The homes and public buildings they erected are often breathtaking and always interesting...The architectural treasures of Buffalo are riveting. They must be seen. - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

1-800-BUFFALOwrightnowinbuffalo.com

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were used to advertise the nationwide broadcast of WNED’s production of “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buffalo,” create interpretive signage and produce a ten-minute mini-documentary entitled “Buffalo’s Architectural Treasures.”

• The CVB created a line of merchandise (T-shirts, posters, coasters and magnets) featuring images of our historic architecture that is for sale in the gift shops of partnering organizations.

In 2006, the CVB’s role as our community’s storyteller took on new life, energy and impetus thanks to the vision and generosity of our many Architecture & Art Initiative funding partners. We gained signifi cant traction in devel-oping a unique selling proposition for Buffalo under the banner of “American Masters, American Treasures.” This concept was broad enough to encompass our art, architec-ture and heritage attractions, as well as our natural wonders. We developed a distinctive inventory of illustrations of local landmarks that visually distinguish Buffalo from competitor cities and the many timeworn clichés of the destination marketing industry. We articulated a point of difference for our community based on assets and attractions that are authentic, organic and profoundly “Buffalo” in nature. In short, we began the process of creating a new Buffalo brand.

The Architecture and Art Marketing Initiative represents a very signifi cant step forward in re-imagining our city and reinvigorating our marketing efforts.

The CVB continues to utilize online resources to generate interest in Buffalo. The visitbuffaloniagara.com web site remains a prominent clearinghouse of reliable and current destination information. From the casual tourist to the group tour planner, this web site dispenses all the relevant information needed in considering Buffalo as a travel destination.

In July 2006, the CVB re-launched the gobuffaloniagara.com web site under the new domain name of wrightnowinbuffalo.com. The reconfi gured site’s objective is to draw attention to Buffalo’s incredible wealth of architecture, art and heritage attractions by making them readily accessible to online audiences in an attractive, authoritative and compelling manner. The site’s interactive tools have garnered signifi cant attention, with over 1,200 visitors viewing the online videos of “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buffalo” and “Buffalo’s Architectural Treasures.” Through the site, over 225 requests have been made for the CVB’s “Art & Architecture Package” – a familiarization kit of our region’s treasures.

Visitbuffaloniagara.com and wrightnowinbuffalo.com attracted more than 425,000 unique visitors in 2006, a 36% increase over 2005.

BUFFALO ONLINETelling Buffalo’s story to a worldwide audience

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

186,648

229,858

314,438

428,424

I N H U N D R E D S

2003

2004

2005

2006

Unique

Visitors

To CVB

Web sites

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“ Music lovers and fans of Gothic Revival architecture have a new reason

to visit Buff alo, the hometown of the punk folk-singer Ani DiFranco.

Ms. DiFranco recently raised $10 million to buy and restore a Victorian

church, which has been converted to house a performance hall, offi ces

for her recording company, Righteous Babe Records, and an arts center.”

“DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LOOK WHILE AT

THE DARWIN D. MARTIN HOUSE COMPLEX, YOU GET

IMPRESSIONS OF THREE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS :

AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RUIN, A 1904 CONSTRUCTION SITE ,

OR A WELL-PRESERVED HISTORIC HOME. REST ASSURED THAT

THEY’RE ALL WORTH THE TWO-HOUR DRIVE TO BUFFALO .”

“ Against all odds – crumbling and vanished buildings, a transformed

landscape and a daunting price tag to make it all right again –

this lakeside city 14 years ago dared to think the unthinkable and do

the undoable. Th e result? Th e restoration of the Darwin D. Martin

House and the miraculous regeneration of its outbuildings, an expansive

Frank Lloyd Wright-designed estate long given up for gone. Driven by

a desire to make their city a must-see stop on the architectural

tourism trail, Buff alonians raised $35 million in public and private

funds to revive one of Mr. Wright’s most important early houses and

resurrect its long-demolished pergola, conservatory and carriage house.”

“THE FOLKS WHO DISMISS THE CITY’S BLUE-COLLAR

CHARM HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ALL THAT BUFFALO

HAS TO OFFER. FROM THE WORLD-CLASS COLLECTION OF

MODERN ART AT THE ALBRIGHT-KNOX ART GALLERY, TO ITS

PRISTINE OLMSTED-DESIGNED PARK SYSTEM, TO THE

ART DECO MASTERPIECE THAT IS CITY HALL, THE NICKEL CITY

HAS ALWAYS BEEN, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, UNDERRATED .”

“ Few places in America measure up to the waters around Buff alo, N.Y.,

for variety and quality of fi shing. Within a few minutes drive of the

bustling downtown, fi sherman can work the sprawling Lake Erie

waterfront for smallmouth bass and walleyes; fi sh in the picturesque

Niagara River for smallies, walleyes, trout and salmon; or tap nearby

Lake Ontario for the same species. Th e proximity of these three diverse

waterways aff ords Buff alo-area anglers the opportunity to catch fi sh in

virtually any weather 12 months of the year.”

“THE ALBRIGHT-KNOX IS, OF COURSE, JUSTLY CELEBRATED

FOR ITS MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY COLLECTIONS –

ONLY MOMA OUTSHINES IT IN TERMS OF QUALITY AND DEPTH .”

“ If architecture crystallizes a moment in time, the clock is doing strange

and wonderful things at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin

House. It’s running backward and forward at the same time.

Recognized globally as a masterpiece of Wright’s pivotal, early

20th-century Prairie Style, the Martin House is undergoing a long,

loving and expensive restoration and reconstruction.”

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT BUFFALOWinning Friends and Infl uencing PeopleThrough the Media

T H E N E WYO R K T I M E S

The

Globe

and

Mail

P I T T S B U R G HP O S T-G A Z E T T E

Spirit

Magazine

O U T D O O RL I F E

The

Financial

Times

C L E V E L A N DP L A I ND E A L E R

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617 Main Street i Suite 200 i Buffalo, NY 14203716 852 0511 i www.visitbuffaloniagara.com