"On June 28, 1921, the Historical Society unveiled a small boulder, bearing a bronze tablet, to mark the site of the Pan-American Temple of Music in which President McKinley was fatally shot, September 6, 1901. It was intended to be, and is, simply a marker, to keep an historic site from being lost...More than once, since the tragedy of 1901, this Society has taken up the matter of marking the Pan-American site, but for reasons not necessary to specify here, permission was not secured until a few months ago.
"On the afternoon of June 28th, a pleasant company gathered at the designated spot, in Fordham Drive, some 300 feet west of North Lincoln Boulevard. Besides officers and members of the Historical Society, the invited guests included the presidents or other representatives of patriotic societies, Grand Army posts and other organizations. "
Fordham Drive, 2008, showing the McKinley marker.
"The location of this little marker was determined through the kind assistance of the City Engineer, Capt. George H. Norton, and Major Edward B. Guthrie, a very competent engineer who had shared in surveying and laying out the Pan-American grounds. Referring the Exposition surveys and maps to the assessors' maps on which the present streets are laid down, it appears that the center point of the Temple of Music was 324 feet west of the west line of North Lincoln Boulevard, and 19 feet north of the south line of Fordham Drive, as now established by the city engineer's office.
"We have not attempted to fix the exact point in the Temple of Music where the President stood when shot. The marker has been set here because, in this strip of parking, it is readily seen without obstructing the street, without infringing on any private property, and it because it is well within the area formerly covered by the Temple of Music." Text from Buffalo Historical Society Publication, Volume 25, 1921, pages 356-361, Frank Severance.
Detail of the McKinley Marker.
In 2009, many Western New Yorkers are surprised to learn of the existence of this marker.
Map from the Roy Nagle Collection showing modern streets overlaid on the Pan-American grounds.
The green circle shows the location of the Temple of Music.
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