Scandalous Buffalo: Downtown Walking Tour

Join us for a tour of the scandalous side of Buffalo history! On this downtown walking tour, you’ll learn some of the darker stories of the Queen City’s past. Stops included on the tour include the site of a triple hanging in 1825 and the former location of a Ku Klux Klan office. You’ll also find out what happened to the assassin who shot President William McKinley at Buffalo’s 1901 Pan-American Exposition.

On this tour, you’ll learn about the role some of Buffalo’s lawmen played in maintaining civil order, including a popular anti-Prohibition Mayor and the Erie County Sheriff who became the only American President to have executed a prisoner by hanging. The architectural landmarks of downtown Buffalo provide a magnificent backdrop for these stories, many of which sound straight from a movie script & but they’re all true!

This tour meets outside Spot Coffee at 227 Delaware Avenue, at the corner of Chippewa Street. Two-hour metered parking is available on Delaware Avenue and other nearby streets, or private parking lots are available & the closest is on Delaware Avenue, next to Spot Coffee. The nearest MetroRail station, Fountain Plaza, is three blocks away. Street parking downtown is free on weekends and after 5PM. This tour is approximately ninety minutes in length and 1.5 miles of walking. 

Tour Procedures & Policies: 

• Reservations are required for all tours, including for Explorer Pass members. Walk-ups without reservations cannot be accommodated. Tours are generally limited to a maximum of 18 people per group. 
  • Reservations close two hours before the tour’s scheduled start time (for example, reservations close at 8am for a 10am tour). 
  • To redeem an orange Explore Buffalo walking tour pass, please email [email protected] at least 24 hours in advance to reserve your tour. 
  • The Explore Buffalo docent for your tour will have a list of tour reservations for their tour; you do not need to print or bring any tour confirmation. 
• Accessibility: Please contact us at [email protected] or (716) 245-3032 if you plan to attend this tour and will require accommodations or if you have questions about accessibility. 
• Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. Tours generally proceed rain or shine. In the event of weather that requires a tour cancellation, we will contact registered tour guests in advance of the tour. 
• See our FAQs page for our refund policy and answers to other questions.
• By confirming your reservation for any Explore Buffalo tour, you acknowledge and accept Explore Buffalo’s tour policies.