So Good, We Have to Share It
Winging it in Buffalo By Ann Mayer
While planning a recent cross-border trip to New York State, we kept hearing an odd but persistent rumour: There’s a lot more to Buffalo than suburban malls and “Tarjay” (a.k.a. the popular discount retailer Target). So we shuffled off to see for ourselves. We found magnificent architecture, rich history, lovely parks, a vibrant arts scene and, well, yes, some pretty great shopping, too. We also discovered that Buffalo has quietly and unobtrusively become a very cool town.
The Queen Elizabeth Way should get you from Toronto to Buffalo in under two hours, but if you have time, take the slower scenic route along the Niagara Parkway, starting at picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake. Hugging the Niagara River, the road passes the Whirlpool Basin, Niagara River Gorge and the thundering Horseshoe Falls. It’s no wonder Winston Churchill called it “the prettiest Sunday afternoon drive in the world.”
Crossing the border at the Peace Bridge takes you right into downtown Buffalo, which is anchored by the soaring Art Deco City Hall. (“It’s so beautiful that you don’t even mind paying a parking ticket to see it,” says local Doug Sitler.)
Stroll through the theatre district to marvel at the majestic Shea’s Performing Arts Center, a national historic site built in 1926, where you can see a Broadway production for a fraction of the price you would in New York City or Toronto.
A great place to shop and explore is the Elmwood Village neighbourhood. Among the beautiful heritage homes, you’ll find dozens of eclectic boutiques and galleries. Elmwood is home to the world-class Albright-Knox Art Gallery, where you can view modern and contemporary masterpieces. Grab a quick gourmet sandwich or salad at Globe Market, or enjoy a leisurely meal at one of several hip restaurants along Elmwood Avenue.
Treasure hunters will want to check out the Allentown district, a colourful historic neighbourhood with eclectic coffee shops, art galleries and antiques stores. The Allentown Art Festival held each June is a big draw. You can catch a live music performance, literary reading or film screening at one of the city’s coolest new venues, Babeville. It’s a unique multi-arts space in a formerly abandoned church that was resurrected by musician and Buffalo gal Ani DiFranco. Home to DiFranco’s indie recording company, Righteous Babe Records, and Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, it has a concert hall, art gallery, screening room and a grotto-like bar.
Buffalo is blessed with an abundance of stunning architecture, including several buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. A must-see is the Darwin D. Martin House Complex, where you can see Wright’s prairie-style buildings being lovingly restored to their original 1907 glory. The nearby parks system was planned by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Manhattan’s Central Park. The Buffalo Zoo is also nearby, and it’s definitely worth a visit. Another restored wonder is the beautiful Victorian-era Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, domed greenhouses situated in the Olmsted-designed South Park.
The towns surrounding Buffalo are equally rich in cultural history. The village of East Aurora is a 25-minute drive from downtown. Enjoy a meal at the village’s historic Roycroft Inn on the Roycroft Campus, an important community in the early-20th-century American Arts and Crafts movement. In the Copper Shop Gallery, you’ll find beautiful handcrafted pottery, art and furnishings for sale. Kids of all ages will enjoy the Toy Town Museum, located on the property of Fisher-Price’s world headquarters. And before leaving East Aurora, be sure to stop by Vidler’s 5 & 10, a sprawling old-fashioned general store that sells everything from the mundane to the arcane.
No trip to Buffalo is complete without a visit to the world-famous Anchor Bar, home of the original Buffalo-style chicken wings. We were told Canadians are partial to the “suicidal” wings, but we stopped at “medium.” We also tried (and recommend) the local specialty Beef on Weck. It’s all about the bun—encrusted with caraway and pretzel salt—a creation said to be unique to Buffalo.
There’s quite a lot that’s unique to Buffalo; savour a taste of it and you’ll be back for more.
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Comment Options
jstraubinger
I'm afraid th article link is incorrect. it takes us to Fargo, ND not Buffalo.
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GDC
Another Great Story for the world to see!!!
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sally
The link works fine, you just have to scroll down a we bit.
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GDC
If you click onto the CAA link website, noticed the main photo to the entire travel section is of a little boy in the Market Arcade Building at 617 Main Street.
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hamp
This article confirms the value of the city's urban fabric and architecture. Preservation IS progress.
While some people in this city may not appreciate the value of preserving older builidings, many, including these Canadians know a good thing when they see it.
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GDC
Speaking of preservation. Wouldn't it be great if the Hyatt Renovation would re-open it's Main Entrance to Genesee Street?
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marcia2
Good article, it's also good to see downtown Buffalo on it's way to becoming a destination. With all the development and plans for development it would be great if an Outlet Mall downtown could be considered. That would be the icing on the Cake...
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GDC
or a Mall in general would be great!
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sally
Canalside itself will be great 600-750,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, almost the size of Boulevard Mall. And it's really comin!!!!
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GDC
Yes it is Sally, but what is the plan for the rest of Downtown? I would love to see a mix of national and local shops fill up the spaces along Main, Delaware and the side streets again. I just hope the CanalSide development really fast starts retail interests for the rest of downtown.
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marcia2
The reason I think an Outlet Mall would more feasible is they are always profitable, no matter whether the economy is experiencing feast or famine. Look at the parking lot at the Niagara Falls Outlet (always full).
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marcia2
Thank you Sally I didn't know that much square footage was being planned for Canalside. I am sure with that kind of space you're going to have the right mix of retail to spill over to the rest of downtown.
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mybuffalo
interesting read nice to see they went all over just not elmwood and allen. this piece was also mentioned in the buffalo news today
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stephenjames716
great article!...but when you are out in East Aurora, stop by the bar bill for the best wings in the area! :)
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mpitman
East Aurora also has one of the best up-and-coming Mexican restaurants in WNY - Arriba Tortilla on Main Street just west of viaduct at the edge of the downtown district. Check it out!
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Andrew
or go to tantalus across the street. its great for a very low price. great article
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gaustad
awe, the clouds part after 8 months of perpetual rain and darknerss and all the optimistis come out for 3 whole months....
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RaChaCha
BRO, this is an awesome photo - I've never seen the (former) Genesee Hotel photographed that way, and it's simply the very best view of this very fine building that I've seen to date (it minimizes the visual impact of the 'Space 1999' architecture that was grafted on by Paul Snyder).
About getting the word out about what makes Your Fair City such a great place to visit (and live) - it's a crucial part of combating the perceptions that surprisingly still persist...this weekend in My Fair City we've been hosting Tamara Jenkins (director/writer of The Savages) at the George Eastman House, and last night we were asking her about Buffalo, where much of The Savages takes place. She described Buffalo as having "a poetic bleakness" and said she chose the city as a setting because - in her mind - it was as close to being the "anti sun-belt" to contrast with the movie's opening in a "happy, sunny" manicured Arizona retirement community. I wanted to gag when I heard all that - although I have to admit that before I got to know (and love) Your Fair City I might have gone along with the stereotype.
Slightly off topic: Tamara also mentioned that she had to limit her "Savages" shooting in Buffalo to a couple of days due to cost - she said that, due to (in her words) limited motion picture production "infrastructure" (equipment, services, expertise) in Buffalo she had to bring along and house essentially her entire production staff. She had to fight her financial backers for money to do even limited shooting in Buffalo - they told her to just shoot the Buffalo stuff in Canada. I know many folks in the Niagara Frontier region are working on this situation - which is a good thing, as more genuine location filming will lead to people everywhere seeing more of Buffalo on screen. That will help indirectly get the good word out, and combat unfair (or outdated) stereotypes like the ones I heard yesterday.
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Prodigal-Son
RaChaCha - I don't know if you should gag at the description of Buffalo as the anit-Sun Belt. I think that's pretty fair, and not a bad thing. Having lived in the Sun Belt (Vegas) for several years, and then moving back to Buffalo, it was a description I used all the time.
Buffalo is everything the Sun Belt isn't, both good and bad: cold in the winter, beautiful in the summer, shrinking in population, blessed in the arts, green and full of trees and water, cheap housing, big yards, "authentic" culture, high taxes and good ethnic food. The only thing the same is both are getting older, fast.
I have a number of friends and family that grew up in the cold North East and Midwest, moved to the Sun Belt, got good jobs, bought a tiny overpriced house, baked in the heat, hated it, and moved back. To Buffalo, Milwaukee, Chicago and Rochester. Being the anti-Sun belt suits many people just fine. 7000 people a month move to Vegas. And 4000 people a month leave. There is a reason for that.
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RaChaCha
Prodigal: great perspective. Although many, like Tamara Jenkins, would not initially see being the opposite of the sun belt as a positive, more creative minds than mine might find a way - along the lines you suggest - to turn "Buffalo: the anti sun belt" into a marketing plus.
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RaChaCha
Prodigal: great perspective. Although many, like Tamara Jenkins, would not initially see being the opposite of the sun belt as a positive, more creative minds than mine might find a way - along the lines you suggest - to turn "Buffalo: the anti sun belt" into a marketing plus.
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ECB
RaChaCha
Glad you like the photo. I shot it from one of the top floors of the electric tower, a building that's beautiful in itself from head to toe (the lobby is such a joy), but the views from it are just as incredible.
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sbrof
Nice shot and a nice article! Sometimes is does take an outsiders point of view to really point out to locals what we have and should be proud of. We are far from a perfect city but we are also far from the wretched place that you must leave to live a good life. It is a shame that articles and that perception doesn't filter down into our youth. Maybe it is but I feel that the general idea remains that in order to have a good life you need to leave Buffalo. That comes from parents and relatives saying such things to kids their whole childhood.
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MJWorthington
That photo makes me angry. Imagine an open view of Genessee right to Niagara Square and then off to the Inner Harbor. What should be a great connector and facilitator is only a bunch of walls and obsticles.
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JohnMarko
Umm - Prodigal - one "slight" correction:
Over 7,000 people move into Vegas per year - but over FIVE THOUSAND STAY. So only 2 thousand of those - or others that have lived hear already - decide to leave.
There is still net gain of all those coming and going of FIVE TOUSAND net INCREASE of population...
We're still the fastest growing city in the country...
Don't know if that's a good thing, but we seem to be handling it well...
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SLEEPL8
Buffalo. The Coolest Town in America.
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bc71
No trip to Buffalo is complete without a visit to the world-famous Anchor Bar, home of the original Buffalo-style chicken wings.
This drives me crazy!
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benfranklin
bc71, ageed. But the author did a pretty original job on everything else. Sleepl8, I'm impressed. If you were charging the city for your work, I'd consider that slogan money well spent.
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