Jim Sandoro’s passion began at a tender age when he would sneak into a neighbor's garage to see a Pierce-Arrow. Things improved as he soon found himself a stone-throw from the shuttered factory. The museum co-founder roamed the once-hallowed grounds in search of remnants of the past automobile giant.
While Pierce-Arrow is a major attraction on the motorcoach trip, the museum houses other noteworthy collections. Most importantly, you’ll experience this rich history with equally passionate individuals as the trips are done in a group. Keep your camera lenses glistering and clear, as there are many pictures worth taking.
Pierce-Arrow brought elegance, fashion, and luxury. The advertisements were the opposite of what other car makers put out. Instead of traditionally showing the car in the foreground, Pierce-Arrow would be placed in the background, traversing places other cars didn’t visit.
The group tour down the museum aisles is both therapeutic and educational. There’s much to pick up about Buffalo’s transport sector and the major places that once breathed life into this city.
Buffalo was once an influential industrial city with a penchant for producing one-of-a-kind vehicles. The Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum is here to remind your tour group and the rest of the world of this priceless moment in history. Feel the legacy and follow the city’s industrial evolution.
You don’t need to be a car enthusiast to appreciate the collections at this museum. The artworks display the evolution of transportation and the thoughtful minds behind it. What you’ll find is a 50-year passion under one roof, with automobiles produced in Buffalo as highlights.
With that in mind, you can expect the following on your bus trip to the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum:
Antique Vehicles
Pierce Arrow’s renowned automobiles are on display, bringing their elegance and craftsmanship from the past to the present. With their stunning colors and daring designs, these vehicles will leave you in awe of the engineering prowess of the 1990s. You’ll quickly realize why Pierce Arrow is famed as Buffalo’s luxury automaker.
There’s more than enough to feed your eyes and curiosity, from the open-roof to the close-roofed versions. Still, Pierce Arrow isn’t the only car company to steal the show at this museum. You’ll find an equally impressive collection from Thomas Flyer.
This bus tour is your chance to see the famed Made in Buffalo, Original Thomas Flyer car. This vehicle came out on top at the 1908 New York Times-sponsored “Great Race.” Covering 13,000 miles in 169 days was truly a feat at the time.
Another remarkable sight is the 1907 Thomas Flyer Model 75. The car category is sure to leave the group stunned during the motorcoach tour.
Motorcycles and Bicycles
Cars aren’t the only engineering feats to grab attention at the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum. You’ll find a variety of 2-wheelers that highlight the classics.
This category will stir your imagination about how people got around town without cars. Some designs are similar to what we have today, while others show a historical evolution.
Electric Vehicles
While gasoline vehicles were adopted for their speed and portability, electric vehicles were not left out in the evolution. The Buffalo Electric Carriage Co. is prominent for keeping the hopes of electric vehicles alive in the early 1900s. It produced the 1902 Stanhope, which is now on display at the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum.
The Stanhope had a single bench seat with a folding cloth top. It used tiller steering with a front buckboard.
A trip to this museum is ideal for learning how electric vehicles impacted transportation in Buffalo and across the United States.
Muscle Cars and Trucks
The trucks might not be massive like those today, but they served their purpose and introduced a new market. You’ll appreciate how the engineering of that decade captured mobility with load hauling. These trucks had beds like those we see today.
Jello Wagon
This horse-drawn wagon stands in stark contrast to gasoline and electric vehicles. The Jell-O Wagon came out in 1902 and 1903 and significantly helped promote the gelatin dessert.
With four massive but slim wheels, the Jell-O Wagon was a mobility piece as much as a culture piece. The bus trip with Diamondtours allows you to interact with this vehicle in close proximity instead of seeing it in videos or pictures. This closeness is one of the many reasons why the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum exists.
Hood Ornaments
Manufacturers added hood ornaments to stand out and make their car brands more marketable. Today, you can tell when a Lamborghini or a Rolls Royce drives past you. The hood ornament plays a significant role.
The museum shows visitors how the intricate hood ornaments adorned cars of the past. They were popular from the 1920s to the 1950s, with automakers looking to animals, mythological figures, and logos for inspiration.
Women’s Transportation Hall of Fame
This section highlights notable achievements and contributions from women to transportation. A prominent inductee is Joann Villeneuve. Her advocacy for racing in Canada and dedication to the car hobby has left footprints in the sands of time.
The induction ceremony occurs at the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum. Here’s your chance to learn about transportation history and how women have shaped it over the years.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buffalo Filling Station
You can’t leave the museum without appreciating Frank Lloyd’s practical blend of comfort and architecture. Although the impressive design did not make it to actual construction, the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum is treating its visitors to a full-size model.
This filling station features an observation deck, gravity-fed pumps, and a copper roof. While idealistic, the filling station echoes what would’ve been in 1927 as part of a utopian city plan.
The impressive two-story facility lines up with other historical pieces to wrap up your bus tour of the museum. It is one sight you won’t forget in a hurry.
Other Details
Car enthusiasts consider the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum one of the most unique in the world. The museum enjoys 4.7 stars on Google Reviews out of 700 reviews. Even so, the facility caters to all who visit it for the exhibitions. It does that through the following:
Visitors with physical disabilities can use the main entrance, which has no stairs. Then, they can use a ramp to access the main floor. Free parking is available.