The parent organization of the Albright–Knox Art Gallery is the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, founded in 1862, one of the oldest public arts institutions in the United States.[2] On January 15, 1900, Buffalo entrepreneur and philanthropist John J. Albright, a wealthy Buffalo industrialist, donated funds to the Academy to begin construction of an art gallery.[3] The building was designed by prominent local architect Edward Brodhead Green.[4] It was originally intended to be used as the Fine Arts Pavilion for the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, but delays in its construction caused it to remain uncompleted until 1905.[2] When it finally opened its doors on May 31, 1905, it was named the Albright Art Gallery.[2]