Buffalo, New York - United States of America

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May 16th 2004

Published: May 16th 2004

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Buffalo

Buffalo, New York - United States of America

May 16, 2004

City official name :Buffalo
Founded date :
Location :New York State
Elavation :? ft (? m)
Area :Approximately ? square miles (? kmÂ²).
Facts :Buffalo is an American city in western New York State. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 292,648. It is the state's second-largest city, after New York City, and is the county seat of Erie County.GR6 It is also the economic and cultural center of the Buffalo-Niagara Region, a diverse metropolitan area with a population of 1.2 million people. Buffalo is also part of the Golden Horseshoe, an international metropolitan area of over 9.7 million people.

Buffalo lies at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the southern head of the Niagara River, which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

The City of Buffalo received its name from the creek that flows through it, and likely dates from the mid 18th Century, when the area was first settled by Europeans. The area was previously settled by an Iroquois tribe, the Ongiara. The city was designed in 1804 with a radial street and grid system, one of only three in

Buffalo

Buffalo, New York - United States of America

the US. In 1825, the town became the western end of the Erie Canal and had a population of around 2,400. It was incorporated as a city in 1832.

Buffalo was a terminus of the Underground Railroad and helped many fugitives cross the Niagara River to Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada and freedom.

At the start of the 20th century, immigrants from Europe came in to work in the local mills which used local hydro-electric power. The city got the nickname City of Light at this time due to the widespread electric lighting used.

The link to Fort Erie, known as the Peace Bridge was opened in 1927.

The city's economy declined in the later half of the 20th century, due to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1957, cutting the city off from the normal trade routes. The city, which boasted over half a million people at its peak, has seen its population decline by almost 50%, as industries shut down and people left the Rust Belt for the employment opportunities of the South and West. Various development efforts at the start of the 21st century aim to reverse that trend.

Distancing itself

Buffalo

Buffalo, New York - United States of America

from its industrial past, Buffalo is redefining itself as a cultural, banking, educational, and medical center. The city was named by Reader's Digest as the third cleanest city (envonmentally) in America in 2005. In 2001 USA Today named Buffalo the winner of its "City with a Heart" contest, proclaiming it the nation's "friendliest city." Also, in 1996 and 2002, Buffalo won the All-America City Award.

By no means has City of Light been Buffalo's only nickname. The most common of its monikers -- The Queen City -- first appeared in print in the 1840s, referring to the city being the second largest city in New York State behind New York City. Buffalo has also been called The Nickel City due to the appearance of a bison on the back of Indian Head nickel in the early part of the 20th century. The City of Good Neighbors refers to the helpful, friendly spirit of its inhabitants.

Many architectural treasures exist in Buffalo, including:

The country's largest intact parks system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, including Delaware Park. Buffalo was the first city for which Olmsted designed (in 1869) an interconnected park and parkway system rather

Buffalo

Buffalo, New York - United States of America

than stand-alone parks.

The Guaranty Building, by Louis Sullivan, was one of the first steel-supported, curtain-walled buildings in the world, and its thirteen stories made it, at the time it was built, the tallest building in Buffalo and one of the world's first true skyscrapers.

The Hotel Buffalo was the first hotel in the world to feature a private bath in each room.

The H.H. Richardson Complex, originally the State Asylum for the Insane, is Richardsonian Romanesque in style and was the largest commission designed by prominent architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The grounds of this hospital were also designed by Olmsted. Though currently in a state of disrepair, New York State has allocated funds to restore this treasure.

The creme-de-la-creme of Buffalo architecture, however, are several buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, including the Darwin Martin House, George Barton House, William Heath House, The Graycliff Estate, as well as the now demolished Larkin Administration Building. Currently under construction is the never built boathouse designed by Wright, on Buffalo's Black Rock Canal. Buffalo has more Frank Lloyd Wright buildings than any other city except Chicago.

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