Historic Grain Elevator Tours
These walking tours are hosted by Explore Buffalo and you will experience all of the history and mechanics of the grain elevator, as well as the malt production process in the Perot malthouse. A look at some of the regenerative projects ongoing at Silo City is included.
Buffalo River History Tour
Join us for a 90-minute narrated Buffalo River History Tour! Hear the story of the Erie Canal, Buffalo’s history as the largest grain port in the world and experience the nation’s largest collection of standing grain elevators from just a few feet away.
Arts & Culture
From poetry readings to live music festivals to immersive theater, Silo City has you & your family covered for compelling arts programming in Buffalo, NY. Visit our 2018 events calendar to take a look at upcoming events.
Kayaking & Boat Slip
We think the rich history of the Buffalo River is best appreciated paddling along the curves of the Buffalo River. If you’re looking for a kayak or stand-up paddle board, Silo City Paddling Company has got you covered. With close parking, no crowds and friendly help, we’ll have you on the water in no time.
Film Locations & Private Events
Make your private event or film shoot extra special by taking advantage of the grandeur of this site and the bucolic setting. We’ve hosted countless large-scale film productions and gatherings, and we’d love to hear more about what you’re planning.
Photography Workshop
In its six year, Mark Maio and Silo City present the Silo City Photography Workshop, October 19 – 22, 2017. Going beyond the ground and vertical tours offered at Silo City, this photography workshop offers access to all areas of the grain elevators. As a bonus, the workshop will spend an afternoon photographing at the Colonel Ward Pumping Plant.
Nya:weh
This bend of the Buffalo River — where Silo City is seated — was part of the historic Buffalo Creek Reservation, and home to regional indigenous populations for centuries prior to its use for grain storage and milling. We acknowledge the deep history of this land, we give thanks for our current stewardship, and we welcome all to the site.
Don’t just take our word for it…
“Silo City, once at the heart of the commerce that made the region wealthy, now developing an international reputation for its re-invention as a canvas for artists, musicians, theater and film producers—for anyone, in fact, with innovative ideas.”
“The space reminded me, with its rusted elevators and shafts, that one can find familiarity, even comfort, in making something new, with others, out of what was once discarded — which is art at its most indispensable.”
“I couldn’t believe how many people crossed the overgrown railroad tracks to stream into the belly of the silo for an evening where poetry, music, and installation art came together to make something else entirely. Every city should be so lucky as Buffalo.”
“The Silo City Reading Series is magical. It drops the artists & audience into a nexus of history, commerce, nature’s reclamations, & the radical work of imagination. It demonstrates how the imagination can transform ruins into a cathedral echoing the ghostly sublime, &, by extension, how the imagination can, if we trust it, transform each one of us.”
“Reading poems in a grain elevator while rain fell outside was one of the most magical poetry experiences I’ve ever had. The audience was all-in, ready to share the experience. Buffalo has something truly special–enviable–in the Silo City Reading Series.”
ONE-OF-A-KIND FILM LOCATION
Bring your next film production to Silo City to creative movie magic amidst six different historic buildings, and take advantage of our many amenities including a full service bar/restaurant (coming Spring 2018), electricity, production office spaces, and ample parking. We’ve had some massive film shoots down here, and we’d love to hear about your project. MORE INFO
SILO CITY READING SERIES
Started in the summer of 2013, the Silo City Reading Series has brought visiting poets to perform alongside local poets, musicians, and artists inside the historic grains silos along the Buffalo River. Visiting poets have included Ocean Vuong, Morgan Parker, Natalie Shapero, Maggie Smith among other literary luminaries. The series aims to celebrate Buffalo’s industrial past as it promotes its rich cultural assets.
We’ve got a lot of great friends that help make this place special.
ARTS SERVICES INITIATIVE
EXPLORE BUFFALO
TORN SPACE THEATER
PUSH BUFFALO
BUFFALO RIVER HISTORY TOURS
SILO SESSIONS
SILO CITY TAPPED
PROJEX
FLATSITTER
THE PUBLIC
JUST BUFFALO LITERARY CENTER
SQUEAKY WHEEL
RIGIDIZED METALS
BLUES FESTIVAL