The Art & History Crawl:
A Peek into Buffalo’s History through Stained Glass
August 10, 2025

Calling all art and architecture enthusiasts, history buffs, stained-glass aficionados, pub crawlers and Everything-Buffalo-Lovers: here’s an opportunity to “church crawl” through five amazing sacred spaces that are filled with incredible stained-glass. The Downtown Family of Parishes and Explore Buffalo are sponsoring this epic adventure on August 10, 2025.

The five participating churches include Blessed Sacrament, the Oratory of St. Anthony of Padua, St. Joseph Cathedral, St. Louis, and St. Michael. The churches will offer a total of 15 different tour slots that begin at 11:30 am and conclude at 5:30pm.

Each tour will last 45 minutes. There is ample time between tours for participants to travel to the next site of their choosing. Travel can be done by foot, car or rail throughout the downtown area. The tours are staggered so that different churches will be offering tours at different times making it possible for you to experience all five stained-glass window collections in the participating churches.

The tour schedule follows:
Blessed Sacrament Church (in the Elmwood Village): 5 Tours
11:30-12:15
1:00-1:45
2:30-3:15
4:00-4:45
4:45-5:30
Oratory of St. Anthony of Padua (in the Civic District): 2 Tours
2:00-2:45
3:30-4:15
St. Joseph Cathedral (in the Harbor District): 2 Tours & 1 Organ Concert:
11:30-12:15
1:00-1:45
2:30: Organ Concert
St. Louis Church (in Allentown): 3 Tours
12:30-1:15
2:00-2:45
3:30-4:15
St. Michael Church (in the Theatre District): 3 Tours
1:30-2:15
3:00-3:45
4:30-5:15

Tour maps are available at all five participating churches. All are invited to this free event, donations appreciated. To participate simply show up at a church and enjoy the tour! Don’t miss this opportunity to discover the beauty of these stained-glass treasures in downtown Buffalo’s sacred spaces. Learn how the early parishioners built these amazing architectural structures that became a place of worship for a variety of ethnic communities.

For additional information contact Michael@thepitekgroup.com