By JOE LOGAN (9/4/2005 6:22:06 AM)
The battles waged against the franchising of East Aurora is paying off in dollars.
Having spent years fighting
developers and their government friends, preservationist are starting to see the fruit of their
labors not only in making East Aurora a quality place to live, but a great place to visit as well.
Although some battles have been lost, like when our great Town Supervisor Terence Yarnall cast the deciding vote to allow for the
large Anytown USA strip center to be built on our histroic circle, others have taken note of our historic village.
This article is from the Asbury Park Press out of New Jersey.
ASBURY PARK PRESS -- 09/04/05
There is an air of celebration in the historic village of East Aurora, 20 miles
southeast of Buffalo, N.Y.
Even without a host of significant anniversaries, there's plenty to laud in this
village with a thriving Main Street, a 633-acre state park and streets filled
with 19th-century Victorian homes.
The centerpiece of the village is the century-old Roycroft Campus, founded by
Elbert Hubbard as a community of artisans and devotees of the Arts and Crafts
movement. This year, the Roycroft Inn is celebrating its centennial. It reopened
10 years ago after undergoing a magnificent $8 million restoration.
Its survival as the crown jewel of the village is a tribute to residents who
fought to preserve their heritage.
A local foundation provided funding for the restoration. Just five years
earlier, the inn was one of the landmarks on the National Trust for Historic
Preservation's 11 most endangered places list. Since then, it has won several
national awards for its meticulous restoration.
Original and reproduction furnishings adorn the public rooms, including the
dining rooms and 29 guest rooms and suites that still bear the names of notable
personalities who visited. Among them were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Edison,
Henry David Thoreau and Susan B. Anthony, who journeyed to East Aurora for
inspiration from Hubbard. His philosophy was "better art, better work and a
better and more reasonable way of living."
Genius for promotion
Hubbard was known as "the sage of East Aurora."
Before becoming a philosopher, writer and movement leader, he was a successful
soap-company executive, who had a genius for promotion. His talent for marketing
attracted some of the country's most talented artisans. At the height of the
Roycroft Movement, more than 500 Roycrofters worked on the campus as printers,
coppersmiths, furniture makers, silversmiths, potters, artists and innkeepers.
The inn was created out of
several buildings on the Roycroft campus 100 years ago, when rates were 25 cents
a meal and 50 cents to stay the night. A massive solid oak door engraved with a
favorite Hubbard motto — "Produce Great People — the Rest Follows"— still
welcomes travelers.
"A century-old Morris chair is placed by the window. Many people have asked how
we can use these priceless antiques as everyday furniture," she says. "I reply
that these furnishings were made to be used in the inn and we are simply adding
to the patina. It is wonderful to sip a cup of coffee under murals painted by
Alexis Jean Fournier in 1905 and know that someone was there before you — 100
years ago."
Air of revival
Hubbard and his wife, Alice, died en route to Europe while aboard the liner
Lusitania, which was sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915. The Roycroft Campus
continued to thrive under the guidance of his son, Elbert Hubbard II, until the
Depression led to its closing in 1938.
The inn continued on under various owners until bankruptcy forced its closing in
1987. Eight years later, it reopened in its present reincarnation.
Nostalgia to go
The Roycroft chapel, built with stones from neighboring farms, houses the
Aurora Town Hall on Main Street.
A few blocks down the street is Vidler's 5 & 10, celebrating its 75th
anniversary this year. Ed Vidler's father began the store.
"My grandmother was upset that she had to go all the way to Buffalo to get a
needle and thread, which led to the opening of the store," Vidler, 77,
explained. "Now, people from far afield journey here to visit our store. They
enjoy the nostalgia and atmosphere that we offer."
Ed and his older brother Bob, who is retired from full-time duties at the store,
appear in regional TV ads for their store. A member of the family usually is at
the store. If one isn't available, there are full-size cardboard cutouts of the
brothers standing sentry duty at one of the doors.
Look for a red-and-white striped awning at 676-694 Main St.
"We are having such fun in this store and just enjoying the history and
small-town atmosphere in the village," said their mother Anne, visiting with the
children from Annapolis, Md.
Grand movie palace
Across the street is the Aurora Theatre, a grand movie palace that opened
during silent film days in 1925 and features first-run movies today.
Tony Rome's Globe Hotel, also across the street, has been welcoming diners since
1824. Local lore has it that area residents driving livestock to Buffalo for
sale would stop at the Globe for refreshment while the animals freely roamed
Main Street.
It's easy to imagine a young Millard Fillmore walking across Main Street from
his law office to meet with town leaders at the Globe. Fillmore, the country's
13th president, built the Greek revival cottage at 24 Shearer Ave. for his
bride, Abigail.
Climb a steep, narrow staircase to the second floor, where a quilt made by
Abigail Fillmore is displayed on their bed that traveled to the White House and
back to East Aurora. Next door is a child's playroom, where it's believed that
Fillmore's son Millard Powers was born.
"Toy Town USA"
East Aurora is known as "Toy Town USA" because it's the birthplace and
headquarters of Fisher-Price Toys, which is observing its 75th anniversary this
year. Every year, the last weekend in August is celebrated as Toyfest weekend in
honor of its toy heritage.
Founded in 1987 to preserve the area's rich toy heritage, Toy Town is a toy
museum and children's activity center. The museum showcases early Fisher-Price
toys from the 1930s, including classic wooden pull toys that marked the
company's debut into the toy industry. Snoopy Sniffer and Buzzy Bee are among
the favorites.
A hand-carved reproduction of a 1915, 40-foot-diameter Herschell Spillman
portable carousel sits in a place of honor in one room. Another feature is a
collection of more than 300 tin wind-up toys, dating from the early 20th century
through the 1960s. A new exhibit, featuring an exhibit of Buffalo Bills NFL
memorabilia, just opened.
The museum sponsors an annual fire hydrant program, in which the municipal
hydrants are painted to resemble various toys to raise awareness of the
village's toy history.
The village also is home to one of New York State's newest parks, Knox State
Park, named in honor of Seymour Knox, a local banker, nationally known art
patron (Buffalo's Albright Knox Art Gallery is also named for him) and
philanthropist, who lived amid the village's rolling acres and kept his polo
ponies in the barns. The park was created four years ago. The park is still home
to horses as well as sheep, llamas, goats and other farm animals. Visitors may
bring horses and ride over the park's paths.
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