Buffalo Naval Park to open for season on Saturday

Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park to open for season on Saturday

BY Brian Campbell City of Buffalo

PUBLISHED 9:54 AM ET Mar. 20, 2025 PUBLISHED 9:54 AM EDT Mar. 20, 2025

The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park will officially open for its 46th season on Saturday. USS Little Rock veteran Paul Enser will be honored as the first official visitor of the season during a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Enser, a Buffalo native, served aboard the USS Little Rock in 1961 and 1962 working for the Fleet Admiral as a radioman and crypto operator for 2nd and 6th Fleet communications. He has been volunteering as a docent at the Buffalo Naval Park for more than a decade.

This season, the Naval Park will celebrate the 80th anniversary of USS Little Rock with events and specialty tours to raise awareness about long-term preservation efforts.

The Buffalo Naval Park will be open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Starting May 1, the Naval Park will be open seven days a week.

Brian Campbell - Digital Producer

After many years in the newspaper industry, Brian Campbell joined Spectrum News as a digital producer. He graduated from Buffalo State with degrees in journalism and creative writing.