Just for fun, an interesting piece of Buffalo waterfront history… As we unearth and reform the Erie Canal terminus in the Buffalo Inner Harbor, take a moment to revisit another era in 1922 when the prohibition brewery magnate mayor, Frank Schwab, was in office. It’s a startling look at an era moments before Buffalo was about to dramatically change. Here’s one man’s warning back then.
Buffalo Mayor Frank Schwab said in his first week in office in 1922: “Regarding our harbor and future as a great lake port it is my duty to call your attention at this time the great menace to our city of the St. Lawrence Canal plan. The international joint commission has under consideration at this time the construction of a ship canal connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean by way of the St. Lawrence River. The construction of this waterway will entail the expenditure of hundreds of millions of American dollars in a foreign country. Buffalo must do its share to insure a chance for the New York State barge canal which our state recently built at a cost of $200,000,000. I believe that every improvement we make in our harbor, such as a municipal pier and an efficient turning basin will aid to defeat the St. Lawrence project.”
Bill Zimmermann
Bill runs Seven Seas Sailing school, and is a staunch waterfront activist. He is also heavily involved with preserving, maintaining, and promoting the South Buffalo Lighthouse. When Bill first started writing for Buffalo Rising, he wrote an article a day for 365 days - each article coincided with a significant historic event that happened in Buffalo on that same day.