Archive - WNY Heritage

Accept Everything America Can Produce: Glenn Curtiss Comes to Buffalo

The onset of the First World War brought Glenn Curtiss’ quest to send an aircraft across the Atlantic to a temporary halt. But it also brought incredible changes to his small-town aeroplane and motor business.

Another Look: Timeless Teaching Tug

The 113-year-old vessel worked the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes for nearly a century. Today, it operates as a teaching tug, but the years of wear and tear require extensive repairs.

Old Photo Album: The Black Rock Lock

This year marks the centennial of this important engineering project and aid to navigation. Our photo essay chronicles its construction in the early 20^th century.

Buffalo Steam Yachts and the Gilded Age

Steam yachts provided Buffalo’s wealthy with a fashionable means of racing, cruising—or even commuting to work! Here we take a look at a number of these luxury craft and the men who owned them.

Amos W. Sangster’s Niagara

Known as the “Painter of the Niagara Frontier,” Amos Sangster is best known for his historic series of etchings, published from 1886 to 1889, which chronicled the complete Niagara River from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.

Bon Voyage: La Salle on the Niagara, Part II

Part II of our look at La Salle’s “Grand Enterprise” completes this compelling re-evaluation of the Griffon’s design, as well as the final stages of the explorer’s westward adventures.

The Grand Enterprise: LaSalle on the Niagara

The story of La Salle's exploration of the Great Lakes is well known, but many mysteries surround his ship, the Griffon. The first part of this two-part story presents new interpretations of this storied ship's design.

Endnotes: Brayley & Pitts Watercolor

A never-before-published watercolor depicts the Brayley & Pitts Company, the Erie Canal and the New York Central Railroad, among other fascinating details.

Western New York Heritage

The Archive