The Central Library After Hours: The Grosvenor Room Genealogy Lock-In

On October 6^th, an evening of fellowship and discovery was hosted by the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (BECPL) and the Western New York Genealogical Society (WNYGS).  A “Genealogy Lock-In” was organized in support of the Western New York Genealogy Conference: Finding Home & Forging the Future. The all-day WNYGS conference featured award-winning genealogists such as D. Joshua Taylor, a host of PBS’s Genealogy Roadshow and president of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and Blaine Bettinger, author of  The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy and Genetic Genealogy in Practice.  The conference was held at the Embassy Suites in Downtown Buffalo.

The Lock-In offered genealogists from Wisconsin, Kansas, California, and other faraway places an opportunity for after-hours research in the Grosvenor Room.  The Grosvenor Room is the Library’s Special Collections Department and repository of its genealogy, local history, maps, music scores, and rare book materials.

The night began with an overview of the Library’s genealogy collection, presented by Genealogy Librarian, Rhonda Konig.  “Must See” resources such as WNY church records, vital records, the WNYGS library (housed in the Grosvenor Room), and Erie County Poorhouse records were featured.  (Keep watching the Library’s Digital Collections webpage for the Poorhouse records; they are coming soon and they are fascinating.)

Personalized assistance was provided by BECPL genealogy specialists and WNYGS volunteers throughout the night.  Volunteers included WNYGS President and Augspurger Award winner, Jennifer Liber Raines; WNYGS board member and professional genealogist, Nancy Koester; and Niagara Falls Historian, Elaine Timm.

Participants immersed themselves in the Library’s resources, completed checklists, and shared stories of families or facts found.  Most stayed until the event ended, 10:00 p.m.

By all accounts, the Lock-In was a success.  Our visitors were happy to have library access that worked with their tight travel schedules, and staff and volunteers enjoyed sharing their expertise and showcasing Western New York.

The Play’s the Thing…in Buffalo

“Sari” at the Star Theatre. Buffalo, NY, 1914. [Playbill]

Buffalo theater-buffs had plenty of entertainment options during our illustrious history, and the Grosvenor Room has the playbills and programs to prove it!  Vaudeville, dramatic theater, and musical comedy were all popular, and hundreds of venues have come and gone from Buffalo’s theater scene.  Major stars of the stage graced our city, and some were even from Buffalo.  We won’t go too much into our very extensive theater history, but you can read a fascinating timeline on this Buffalo History website.

Thanks to donations to the library from those theater-goers, largely during the 1940s and 50s, the Grosvenor Room has thousands of programs and playbills from over 90 theatrical venues in Buffalo and Erie County.  The earliest date from the 1850s and 1860s, but most of the programs are from 1900 to 1950.  We continue to add recent productions from local theaters, as well as donations of historic programs.

The programs are a treasure trove of printed design trends; covers reflect the era’s style, from ornate illustrations to minimal typography.  Here are some of our favorite finds from the collection:

The quintessential theatre-going couple adorn “Dishonored Lady” at Shubert-Teck Theatre, 1930.

Julius Caesar at Star Theatre, 1903. Note the ticket stub pasted inside, along with the initials of the people who attended with the owner of this program.

Cat and the Canary at Teck Theatre, 1926. Delightfully spooky.

A mythological dancing faun at the Shubert-Teck, 1928.

A charming illustration on “The Cat on the Oregon Trail” at Studio Theatre, 1961.

Playbills printed on cloth, likely for special events. Left: My Brother’s Sister at Academy of Music, 1889. Right: The Dutch Champion at Lafayette Theatre, 1911.

And last, but not least: One local theatre-goer was so overcome with emotion after seeing Sarah Bernhardt that she wrote on the program below “She’s wonderful—But she tears one to pieces. I wasn’t fit to be seen for a week after.”  According to the program, the “World’s Greatest Artiste” performed the “Death of Cleopatra” and other tragic scenes.

Sarah Bernhardt at Star Theatre, 1916.

For more on our programs and Buffalo theater history, including a list of all the theaters in our collection, see our updated research guide.