Museum Road Trip: The Buffalo Transportation Pierce Arrow Museum
Last weekend, my friend Jerry Rokoff and I took a road trip to Buffalo to see our New York Jets play the Bills and to visit the amazing Buffalo Transportation Pierce Arrow Museum.
Although the Jets went down to defeat, the Pierce Arrow Museum is definitely a Pro-Bowler of automobile museums. It is definitely worth a trip north!
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
The museum's collection of historic automobiles, bicycles, Pierce-Arrow memorabilia and documents is unlike any other in the world. You will find a selection of significant transportation items with an emphasis on Pierce-Arrow, the E.R. Thomas Motor Company and other Buffalo-made automobiles and their accomplishments
1903 Pierce Stanhope
The 1903 Pierce Stanhope followed the Motorette and was built on light frame tubing featuring a folding top. The Stanhope was similar to the Motorette as its Pierce-made engine was mounted directly under the driver’s seat. The four-passenger automobile included two hidden folding seats in the front and has two forward speeds and a reverse gear. The George N. Pierce Company produced 50 Stanhopes in 1903, and sold them for $1,100. The Stanhope, one of the earliest Pierce models, paved the way for later, larger models, the Arrow and Great Arrow.
1909 Thomas Flyer 6-40 Flyabout
Edwin Ross (E.R.) Thomas (1850-1936) sold gasoline propulsion gear for bicycles in 1896. From 1900 to 1913, Thomas manufactured automobiles at the factory at 1200 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY. The building is used today as headquarters for Rich Products.
In 1908, a Thomas Flyer driven by George Schuster, a test driver and factory inspector, beat out six competing cars from three other nations in the 22,000 mile, New York to Paris Race. The race began in Times Square on February 12, 1908. 169 days later, George Schuster arrived in Paris to win the world record.
Frank Lloyd Wright Filling Station
In 1927, world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed a unique fuel filling station intended for the corner of Michigan Avenue and Cherry Street, downtown Buffalo. The station was never built.
After obtaining rights to build the station from Wright's drawing, the Buffalo Filling Station was constructed in 2014 as a one-of-a-kind installation to complement the automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles on display at the museum.
James Sandoro, owner and founder of the museum, gave Jerry and me a personal tour of the museum. Thanks Jim for an unforgettable afternoon!
The last happy moment for the Jets this season with 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, trailing 19-17 and in the red zone! Wait until September!!
Comments
Looks like quite the museum, impressive!