Pan Am Expo with Melissa Brown & Teddy Roosevelt’s Inaugural Site with Stanton Hudson on This Week’s State of Greater Western New York Report – May 13, 2021

Have you ever wondered how Buffalo landed a worldwide exposition in 1901? In the first segment of today’s show, Melissa Brown, Executive Director for the Buffalo History Museum, tells us what exactly was going in at the turn of the 19th century that had people thinking “Buffalo” when it came to hosting the Pan-Am Exposition. You’ll learn what other city was in the running and why Buffalo was considered in the first place. Now, as you may know, the Pan-Am started a bit slow, and you’ll never guess why (although you probably won’t be surprised. Finally, other than the assassination of President McKinley, what is the legacy of the Expo?

Right on cue, the second half of the show starts with Theodore Roosevelt, who was inaugurated in Buffalo following the death of William McKinley. After that, Stanton Hudson, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site, reveals the surprising reason why the 1830s structure was originally built. Next, he explains what exactly happened that made Teddy Roosevelt leave the ailing only to return after he died, why Roosevelt refused to be immediately inaugurated when he arrived in Buffalo, and just how come there are no photographs of the actual inauguration. In an extra special extended version of the State of Greater Western New York Report, Hudson finishes by taking us on a tour of the building and gives us a heads up about some events that are coming up.

Both guests answered questions from the live audience. Would you like to be a member of our live audience so you can ask our guests questions? Click here to join the growing number of members who share your feelings on StateOf.GreaterWesternNewYork.com because then we can automatically send you the link to watch our shows live.

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