It only took 27 years, but the complete reconstruction of Buffalo's Canal District is within sight. Governor Andrew Cuomo initiated a contest last February to develop concepts for the future of the Skyway. The competition was overseen by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC). On September 17, a winner was chosen that clears the path for the reconstruction not only of the Canal District, but other neighborhoods and streets as well. The central idea was to remove the northern viaduct of the Skyway, the Thruway interchange, and the on/off ramps, freeing up acres of land to reconstruct neighborhoods and connections... Continue reading

Postcard with colorized Terrace Park, 1902. North is to the left, south to the right. This is a detail from a 1902 panorama of the city. The original park extended four blocks farther south, but was abandoned by the city for tracks and a station built by the NY Central, seen in the middle of the illustration. POSTCARD FROM BUFFALO: TERRACE PARK 1902. Buffalo's very first public park—going back to Joseph Ellicott's original 1803 survey and platting of New Amsterdam—was The Terrace Park. It ran from Seneca Street northwest to where Court and Jackson Street intersect today. Topography argued for... Continue reading

From Skyway to Skywalk: Campaign proposal preserves the main Skyway spans, the southern viaduct, and the Outer Harbor Embankment to create a new walking and bike artery that doubles as a recreational amenity offering great views of the city, rivers, and Lake Erie. The Campaign for Greater Buffalo has, since its founding, supported removal of the Buffalo Skyway and its interchange with the Thruway. In 2007, it issued an illustrated concept called the Skywalk to mitigate the damage the bridge caused and allow reconstruction of the Canal District, Terrace Park, and the historic neighborhoods around them. The Campaign is working... Continue reading

POSTCARD FROM BUFFALO: WILLIAM STREET NEAR KRETTNER C. 1910. The subject of this postcard is probably the newly constructed Savoy Theatre, which, in 2019, stands in a long-derelict state. Of special interest is the classic commercial-residential wooden structures and the continuous strip of display window along the sidewalk. There are two display cases projecting onto the public sidewalk, one housing a mannequin in a fancy dress at the Slotkin clothing store—much like a cigar store indian—and one in front of a retail space in the Savoy building. Streets such as this provided a person walking along with a new display... Continue reading

The Campaign is fighting together with neighbors to save the Meidenbauer House at 204 High Street in the Fruit Belt, just as we successfully fought to create the High Street Historic District, of which the Meidenbauer House is an integral part. The house has been owned by the city for 14 years, during which it has done nothing to maintain the building, now it wants to demo it. Councilmember Darius Pridgen also wants it demolished. City reaction thus far has been to issue another Request For Proposals (RFP), and effort it would seem destined—if not designed—to fail. It is unclear... Continue reading

As you know, The Campaign for Greater Buffalo and its members were instrumental in saving Buffalo's Canal District in an epic effort that culminated in a March 2000 federal court decision and order that opened the way to saving, rather than destroying and burying, the Commercial Slip, Central Wharf, and the surrounding streets. We've led that effort ever since. In 2016, we unveiled our own plan for development of The Canal District (please don't call it Canalside, a fakey-commercial name decided upon by a former publisher of the Buffalo News). To refresh your memory, or to make first acquaintance, here... Continue reading

There is no better way to learn about Buffalo than to travel around and about Buffalo with the experts of The Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture. They have the Open-Air Autobus, a mobile classroom and part of The Campaign’s Learn About Buffalo outreach— the best way to see, hear, and smell Buffalo (toasted oats, chicken wings, charcoal-grilled hot dogs!). The Campaign is Buffalo’s most dynamic preservation organization. Our trips reflect our character: Passionate, lively, and knowledgeable, led by experts who love exploring the world around them.Our trips are built on 30 years’ worth of architectural and historical... Continue reading

Electric scooters: Urban boost or danger? Dedicated preservationists and urbanists are big supporters of mass mobility as a way to preserve and enhance pre-automobile neighborhoods and build vibrant new ones. Car-dependency can't do it. So, I was excited to follow the development of electric scooters and scooter-sharing systems. So excited, I shelled out $500 for my own scooter, made by the same company which supplies Bird. Big mistake. Find out why in the video. Continue reading

The Buffalo Public Schools, in collaboration with the City of Buffalo, are looking for a field house. Cannon Design has been hired to develop proposals. A public input session was held on December 11. That's when it got complicated. Read about The Campaign for Greater Buffalo's response to building on parkland, and ignoring transit-oriented development, community revitalization, and historic preservation. Download Greater Buffalo #26.3Armory med-res Or, click on the page images to read on-screen. Greater Buffalo #26.3 Save the Armory! Continue reading

The Administration of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is about to cost downtown Buffalo 437 jobs and all the economic and social consequences that entails. The Buffalo News on August 13 reported an announcement by a deputy county press secretary that the county is moving the Department of Social Services employees from their long-time home at one of the most equitably accessible locations in Erie County to the out-of-the-way and failed Appletree Mall on Union Road at Bennett Road in Cheektowaga. Prior to 1985, the mall was known as the Como Park Mall, and struggled almost from the day it... Continue reading

The one absolute, non-negotiable asset we must build on the Outer Harbor Waterfront is a large Community Porch overlooking a rolling Olmstedian meadow down to Lake Erie. We deserve nothing less and can accept nothing less, nowhere else. Trowbridge, Wolf, Michaels landscape architects have been given a contract for Buffalo Billion II improvements in the middle section of the Buffalo's Outer Harbor. A general understanding was reached in September 2017 meeting at Empire State Development Corporation offices between ESDC officials and community representatives, including The Campaign for Greater Buffalo, Waterkeeper, the Outer Harbor Coalition, and Assemblyman Sean Ryan, that included... Continue reading

Eagle-eyed readers of the New York Times (that would be us) alerted local state officials in April of New York State Canal Corporation plans to render as surplus "30 decommissioned barges, tugboats and tenders from the Erie Canal and upstate waterways," and have them sunk as part of a series of artificial reefs. Gulp. At the same time the state and localities up and down the canal—not the least of which, Buffalo—are trying to celebrate the canal and their connections to it. During the 200th anniversary period of its construction and opening (1817-1825). The Campaign suggested that the Erie Canal... Continue reading

The Campaign for Greater Buffalo is proposing a series of of structures for the Buffalo Outer Harbor that are linked in a "visibility chain," united in their utilitarian aspect with the historic character of the Outer Harbor, and provide instantly communicated shelter, sustenance, and sociability. The could all be built for $5,000,0000, or one-third the amount the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation has obtained for all Outer Harbor improvements to this stage. The most expressive structure proposed is a snackbar/cafe conceived of as an outpost for beach goers and bicyclists, the so-called “Beach and Bicycle Club” at the entrance to... Continue reading

If you can make your transportation infrastructure picturesque, do so. If you can make your public transportation friction-less, do it. If it can connect people to line-of-sight destinations, do it. Vancouver does it. Not one, but two, ferry companies provide 5-minute headways to Granville Island from downtown Vancouver, a 3-minute ride. Together, an amazing 2-1/2-minute headway on this one route. One literally can go to the dock and immediately board a waiting ferry anytime between 7:00am and 10:00pm. Yes, we have a bicycle ferry and a new ferry landing. It just doesn’t operate frequently or long enough. And it ain’t... Continue reading

The Campaign for Greater Buffalo creates umbrella for educational field trips on Open-Air Autobus, lectures, building information. The Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture and Culture is launching a new brand to help the public more easily identify and access its educational services. LearnAboutBuffalo.org has just been launched by The Campaign, to consolidate and rebrand the non-profit’s public education components: the Open-AirAutobus, its lecture series, building histories, photographs, and digital collections. “This was driven by the need to differentiate our Open-Air Autobus, which for 10 years was the only such vehicle in Western New York, from the commercial services which... Continue reading

The Buffalo Outer Harbor is a long, thin belt of land along the Lake Erie shore largely owned by public entities. The Campaign for Greater Buffalo proposes to create a chain of useful, seasonal structures governed by what people want, need, and can practically get to. This means providing shelter, sustenance, and sociable places in support of those coming to enjoy the primary resource: the scenic qualities of Buffalo’s front yard on Lake Erie. Buffalo has been down this path before: Large piece of open space facing the immensity of Lake Erie, a population hungry for recreational space. In the... Continue reading

Add Assembly Member Erik Bohen to Congressman Brian Higgins and Assembly Member Sean Ryan to the list of local officials who support The Campaign for Greater Buffalo's proposal for a new transit plaza and intermodal hub instead of merely rebuilding Amtrak's existing Exchange Street (BFX) station under a Thruway viaduct. In calling for Governor Andrew Cuomo to re-evaluate the BFX plan and consider the Campaign's proposal for a train station on Washington Street (or "BFW"), south of the Thruway, Bohen said, “After visiting the site and studying both plans from New York State and the Campaign for Greater Buffalo, it... Continue reading

The Campaign for Greater Buffalo has embarked on an ambitious building documentation project. Begun early this year, Campaign interns have already researched, compiled data, and written narratives of over two dozen Buffalo buildings. Dan Richer, a recent history graduate of SUNY Fredonia, and Ryan Wheatley, a history and anthropology graduate of Gettysburg College who is going on to Temple University for a PhD, worked under the direction of Campaign Board members. Tim Tielman, executive Director of The Campaign, and Paul McDonnell, Chair of the Campaign, who sit on the Landmarks Subcommittee of the City of Buffalo Preservation Board, are regularly... Continue reading

There is no better way to learn about Buffalo than to travel around and about Buffalo with the experts of The Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture. They have the Open-Air Autobus, a mobile classroom and part of The Campaign’s Learn About Buffalo outreach— the best way to... Continue reading

The giant cement manufacturing and shipping complex that has marked the southern border of the Buffalo waterfront for almost a century is under dire threat of demolition. A wrecking company has set up shop on the site, installed signage, and a number of people were observed working on the site the morning of June 14—prior to a Preservation Board hearing to consider the demolition request. All such requests must be reviewed by the board to ensure that no significant structure "fall through the cracks" before a landmark designation or other measures can be taken to protect it, stemming from the... Continue reading

Please make the time to attend the Campaign's important meeting on Canal District development and DOT's April 16 proposal to spend $25,000,000 for a two-bit train station in exactly the same place as the old, failed, Amtrak station. And they did it without an environmental review, sidestepping the public meeting process and any discussion of alternatives. Thereby jeopardizing the successful rebirth of the Canal District, which we preservationists have been fighting for for 25 years, and cementing for the next hundred years the untold harm to our public transportation system and the people who would use it The Buffalo News,... Continue reading

The Campaign for Greater Buffalo is holding a public meeting to call attention to the problems of an isolated new downtown Buffalo train station and lack of public process. "A New Nexus for Buffalo," will take place at 1:00pm Saturday, May 12, 2018 at the Pizza Plant restaurant, 125 Main Street, Buffalo. Tim Tielman, Exceutive Director of The Campaign and Principal of urban consultants Place Advantage, will review D.O.T.'s controversial proposed project—a single-mode station under the Thruway, the same place as the current station—and offer an intermodal alternative sited on Washington Street, facing Main Street with interconnections to all other... Continue reading

Green & Wicks-designed factory for Brunn & Company, designers of Lincoln, Pierce Arrow, custom cars • Seymour Knox-backed Aqua-Cheetah made splash in WWII • Agent for Medical Campus recently demolished Green & Wicks house on site . On Tuesday October 24 at 2:00pm, the Buffalo Common Council's Committee on Legislation is holding a public hearing on the designation of the Brunn Coachworks site (also known as 980 Ellicott Street) as an official City of Buffalo landmark. The Buffalo Preservation Board, after its own public hearing, recently voted unanimously to designate an early automobile factory as a City of Buffalo landmark.... Continue reading

Hi Gang, check out our tours for Summer 2017: our ever-popular Whirlwind Tour and our new Picturesque Buffalo Tour. All the info you need is on the reproductions of our mini-posters below. You can download the pdfs, pass them along to friends, or print them out! Reserve online by clicking the button below, or call us for reservations at 716-854-3749. Download 2017 Picturesque Buffalo tour Download 2017 Buffalo Whirlwind Buffalo Whirlwind tour The Campaign for Greater Buffalo's 2017 Open-Air Autobus tours Dear Buffalo Lover, there is simply no better way to see Buffalo and grasp what it is all about... Continue reading

Once again, The Campaign for Greater Buffalo is conducting a special Open-Air Autobus tour that covers the route of the annual Buffalo Marathon. Although focusing on runners and their friends and families, the tour is open to the general public. It is an ideal way to scout the route, fix landmarks and distances in your mind, and learn a little bit of the history and architecture of the city. While it has never been used, the bus has a roll-down, see-through roof in case of rain. The cost is $40 per person in advance, plus convenience fee, and $50 at... Continue reading