Explore Niagara and western New York with Attingham Alumni and Friends in
BUFFALO, NEW YORK
June 5-8, 2025
Opens March 1
Buffalo is more than just chicken wings and snow! The Erie Canal made Buffalo one of America’s most vital cities in the 19th- and early-20th centuries, attracting business and industry and bringing with it key architectural contributions. Frederic Law Olmstead declared Buffalo to be the “best planned city … in the United States, if not the world.” Buffalo boasts Olmsted’s first full system of interconnected parks and parkways, representing one of his largest bodies of work. Join us for a masterclass in architectural history, outstanding collections of decorative arts, and iconic landscapes on the shore of Lake Erie in the City of Good Neighbors.
Clockwise from left: The Richardson Hotel, designed by H.H. Richardson in 1870 as the Buffalo State Hospital; Hallway of the The AKG (formerly, Albright-Knox Gallery) © Regan Vercruysse, 2023, Flickr; Card “The Less You Require Looking After…” ca. 1906-10, courtesy, Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State University; The Guaranty Building © Mike Schriver, Buffalophotoblog.com; Darwin Martin House © photo by Alexis Mucha, 2017; detail of leaded glass ceiling © Photo by Alexis Mucha, 2017.
Our exploration begins with a stunning hotel and inspired landscape, at the National Historic Landmark hotel The Richardson Hotel Buffalo, designed by H. H. Richardson in 1870 as the Buffalo State Hospital and set amidst 40-acres of landscape and grounds designed by Frederick Law-Olmstead. This respite in the heart of the city will be our welcoming base as we explore the area’s culture, landscapes, and architectural history.
Highlights will include a downtown walking tour, led by Preservation Buffalo Niagara, to see buildings designed by Sullivan, Burnham, Upjohn, Green, and Yamasaki and visits to a few of the interiors. The group will tour Frank Lloyd Wright designed sites including the Darwin Martin House, and Graycliff, the Martin family summer house, both of which have been recently restored. We will visit Elbert Hubbard’s Roycroft Campus in East Aurora, an early 20th-century center for craft workers and artists that formed part of the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States.
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A very special thank you to Alexis Mucha ’14, Queen City native and Director of Rights, Sales, Production, and Promotion for the Bard Graduate Center, for hosting the 2025 Study Trip.
REGISTRATION AND TRAVEL INFORMATION
TRIP DATES Registration and check-in begins at the hotel at 9:00 a.m., Thursday, June 5. Our program ends after a farewell lunch on Sunday, June 8, finishing in the early afternoon.
Please note there is an optional, pre-trip cocktail hour on Wednesday, June 4, at 6:00 p.m.
COST The cost of the Study Trip is $1,600 per person, inclusive of a $300 donation to AFA, tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. This trip fee includes all tours fees and entrances, three meals a day, drinks, and transportation during the trip.
REGISTRATION To register, please complete this Google Form (click here). Alternatively, you may download and complete the “American Friends of Attingham Study Trip 2025 Registration Form” (link forthcoming). Please submit a PDF of your completed registration form via email to
Registration is limited to 25 people and we fully expect this trip to sell out. If you’re not able to register, we will gladly add your name to a wait-list should a place become available. Please complete this short Google Form to add your name to our Interested and Wait List (click here).
The deadline to register is Friday, April 17, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Do you wish you could attend, but unfortunately cannot? Consider making a contribution to our scholarship appeal instead! Doing so will put you in touch with a young scholar who will share their course report and images with you. You can make a contribution via our website (click here) or you can mail a check to our office at 205 Lexington Avenue, Suite 901, New York, NY 10016. Please contact AFA Administrator, Erin Kuykendall, if you have any questions. Thank you for your support!
SCHOLARSHIPS The American Friend of Attingham is pleased to offer one full scholarship for this domestic study trip. To apply for a scholarship, please complete your AFA Study Trip Scholarship Application after submitting the 2025 Study Trip Registration Form above.
The deadline to apply for a scholarship is March 14.
PAYMENT A minimum deposit of $300 per person is required upon registration. Payments can be made online by debit or credit card – click here – or by mailing a check to the American Friends of Attingham, 205 Lexington Avenue, Suite 901, New York, NY 10016. Your place on the trip will be confirmed once your deposit is received. The final balance is due by May 4, 2025. All participants must have paid in full to participate in the complete itinerary. Please be aware that late payments are subject to an additional service fee.
WAIVER Once your deposit is confirmed, please complete the “American Friends of Attingham Study Trip 2025 Waiver of Liability” (click here). Please submit your waiver via email to or send by mail to the American Friends of Attingham, 205 Lexington Avenue, Suite 901, New York, 10016. All participants must have signed the waiver to participate in the itinerary. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
CANCELLATION POLICY In the event that you must cancel your place with us, the amount of your refund depends on the date of cancellation and on whether a replacement attendee is found. Please note that your preliminary deposit is non-refundable and will be considered a tax-deductible and charitable contribution to our scholarship fund should you cancel at any time. Cancellation within 15 days of the trip without a replacement attendee will result in a forfeiture of 100% of the fees. Cancellation of the trip within 30 days without a replacement will result in a forfeiture of 50% of the full fee. If we are able to find a replacement attendee for your place on the trip, then you may receive a full refund of the trip fees.
HOTEL Kindly note that participants are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. There is a room block reserved at The Richardson Hotel, located at 444 Forest Avenue, for a nightly rate starting at $219 + tax. To book a room, please call the hotel sales coordinator, Cara LoVullo, directly at (716) 493-2610 ext. 7006 and mention American Friends of Attingham to receive this discounted rate. The group rates expire on May 4, 2025, and the rate can be used from Wednesday, June 4, 2025 – Sunday, June 8, 2025. Note that your credit card will not be charged at the time of your reservation; you may cancel your reservation at any time prior to two days before arrival.
Participants may wish to consider alternate accommodations, from the upscale Hotel @ The Lafayette (391 Washington Street) or the city’s only AAA diamond-rated boutique hotel, Mansion on Delaware (414 Delaware Avenue), to more budget-friendly options such as the Hyatt Regency (Two Fountain Plaza) or the downtown Embassy Suites by Hilton (200 Delaware Avenue).
Please note that all activities will depart by bus from The Richardson.
GETTING THERE The Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) is the closest airport to the hotel, located 9.5-miles east, or about 17-minutes by car.
Guests traveling to Buffalo by by Amtrak will enjoy a scenic ride north along the Maple Leaf Line to the Buffalo, Exchange Street Station, located at 75 Exchange Street. Since the mid-19th century, Exchange Street has been synonymous with the railroad. The red brick depot is south of Coca-Cola Field and within walking distance of famous Niagara Square.
The Richardson Hotel has free, on-site parking for guests for those wishing to drive or rent cars. Self-parking and street parking is not permitted. For information about hotel parking restrictions and guidelines, please call the hotel at (716) 493-2610.
Participants will be responsible for their own travel transfers to and from their accommodations. The hotel does not offer a free shuttle service for guests arriving from/departing to any local airport, so please plan accordingly.
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For any questions, please contact: or call (212) 682-6840.
Itinerary and information subject to change.
Above: Detail of the stunning Art Deco semicircular skylight depicting the heavens from the Buffalo City Hall Council Chamber, designed by architects George J. Dietel and John J. Wade and built between 1929-31. Image by Alexis Mucha, 2017. Top of page: Detail of the upper central panel of the stained glass window, New Jerusalem, installed in the east transept of First Presbyterian Church in 1916 by Tiffany Studios.