Niagara Frontier Part Three:
Beyond Buffalo
What
You Should See...
Side Trip! Take Delaware Avenue
(Rte. 384) out of Buffalo. You will pass by some very nice mansions from
the late 1800's. This is where the upper class lived during Buffalo's
glory days. You will pass by Delaware Park, designed by Frederick Law
Olmsted, of Central Park fame. In fact, he designed three parks around
Buffalo. This was the site of the Pan-American Exhibition in 1901, when
Buffalo showcased herself as the first Electric City. (And why would she
have that distinction?).
Unfortunately, President William McKinley was assassinated during
a visit, and he died a few days later. Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in,
here in Buffalo, at that time. Many Buffalonians will tell you that the
city never really recovered from that shock. But let's not get overdramatic.
The park still boasts a high-quality zoo, and just outside the park is the
Albright-Knox Museum of Art, one of
the best in the country.
As you travel north, you will pass through
the working-class towns of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda, separated, logically
by Tonawanda Creek, part of the Erie Canal system. Just a few blocks north
of the bridge, look for Thompson Street. Turn right, and make a stop
at the Herschell Carrousel Museum (see photo above).
At this location the world's first modern amusement rides were produced.
In fact, this was the epicenter of the industry. The factories are gone
now, but they have a very nice display of the craftsmanship that went
into building merry-go-rounds. You can ride a restored carrousel, at
the breathtaking speed of 6.5 mph! And since this is Western New York,
the music of choice is a polka.
1. This part of the journey
is south and east of Buffalo, so if you don't have time to make the detour
to North Tonawanda, take Route 5 over the Skyway south. Look carefully and
you will see the granaries along the
Buffalo River. If you have time, you can view them up close from Michigan
or Ohio Streets (as pictured to the left). This area has many impressive
examples, some are vacant, others are still in use, such as the General Mills
plant, which makes Honeynut Cheerios. At one time the Buffalo River was
very polluted. In fact, it has the dubious distinction as being one of two
rivers that actually caught on fire (the other is the Cuyahoga in Cleveland).
But the river has made a recovery of sorts. It is not uncommon to see fishing
from the banks, although I don't recommend eating anything from the river
just yet.
QUESTION: What
does Buffalo's geographic location have to do with the granaries being
located here. Hints: Where does the grain come from? How did it get here?
How can it be shipped out of here?
2. You will pass through Lackawanna, just south of Buffalo. It once
was the home of Bethlehem Steel, but the factories are all closed now.
Geography explains why the steel plants were located here, with the coal
fields of Appalachia to the south and the iron ore of the upper Great Lakes
just a boat trip away. But other factors took away this advantage, so steelmaking
is now just part of Lackawanna's past.
On a more positive note, if you
drive further out to Orchard Park, you
will find the real cultural heart of Western New York - Ralph Wilson Stadium, home to the Buffalo
Bills. This is the only NFL (football) stadium in the State of New
York. (Remember that both the Giants and the Jets play in the New Jersey Meadowlands). The Bills have come to symbolize Buffalo to the rest
of America, a team that almost made it to the "big time", but they never
quite reached the top. In the nineties, they lost four consecutive Super
Bowls. Even so, the people of Niagara Country are passionate about their
team.
QUESTION: Why is the stadium located here? There are advantages of placing a large sports
venue in the suburbs, but why south of Buffalo? Why not east of Buffalo (i.e.
around Batavia, for example)? The team estimates around 25% of the fans come
from the Rochester metro area.
3. If you get on the Thruway (or better yet, NY Route 5), heading south,
you will parallel Lake Erie. Since you are on the lee side of the lake,
you are in a microclimate, with slightly milder temperatures and heavy
lake effect snows. These conditions (similar to those along Lake Ontario's
south shore - see the Seaway section)
make this ideal grape country. Vineyards stretch all along this section of
the coast. One common variety grown here is the Niagara grape, which makes
a great fruity wine. This is one of four New York wine regions. The other
three are found in the Finger Lakes, the Hudson Valley, and on Long Island.
When you get to Westport, head
south on Rte. 394. Soon you will see the shoreline of Chautauqua Lake,
home to one of the great cultural icons of the world, the Chautauqua Institute. Since the 19th century people of all classes have come here
to learn about theater, dance, literature, and much more. During
its summer season, it is practically a self-sustaining community, fenced
off from the rest of New York. But even if you come off-season, it is a fascinating
place to explore.
QUESTION: What attracts people
to places like Chautauqua? What other places have you been that inspire
your "cultural" side?
On the south end of the lake lies the city of Jamestown, most famous as the home town of
Lucille Ball. During the I Love Lucy run in the 50's, they
often mentioned this small town. And Jamestown has not missed to opportunity
to promote itself, so there is a museum dedicated to Desi and Lucy in
the downtown district. If you want to buy anything (and I do mean anything)
about the first couple of television, there is a shop next to museum that
will stun you.
5. Travel east from Jamestown on
the Southern Tier Expressway (I-86, NY Rte. 17). The term Southern Tier
denotes a geographic region, generally referring
to those counties that border Pennsylvania. In a way, they are part of
another borderland. Anyway, you are entering a special section of New York
State, the only part that was not glaciated in the Ice Age. It is also the
only section that is part of the Ohio-Mississippi watershed. Most of this
outpost is inside Allegany State
Park. And surrounding the park is the Allegheny
River and Allegheny Seneca Indian Reservation.
Have you noticed the disagreement in spelling? New York uses the former,
and Pennsylvania the latter. There is a County of Allegany (part of the
Genesee Valley) and a Village of Allegany (which is in Cattaraugus
County, the home of St. Bonaventure University).
The river and the reservation use the Pennsylvanian spelling.
The park is one of New York's gems, but it looks out-of-place to the
practiced eye. Since it was not glaciated, the hills are more angular
than anywhere else in the Empire State. There are no troughs, no drumlins,
no Finger Lakes here. The landscape of Allegany gives us a clue to what
the rest of Western New York might have looked like before the Ice Ages.
The Seneca people live on a reservation
(which they consider as their sovereign territory) that straddles the
river. This the home to one of New York's most assertive native peoples.
They have strongly resisted the attempt by Albany to tax gasoline and cigarettes
on their land. The city of Salamanca,
mostly non-Indian, is inside the reservation. They recently negotiated a
treaty by which the residents of Salamanca pay them rent for the privilege
of living there. This situation is unique in the United States. But they
also have a sad history. When the Kinzua Dam was built in Pennsylvania,
the resulting reservoir flooded over a significant part of their territory.
This still traumatizes the Seneca, and there is still much bitterness over
this violation of their land.
QUESTION: Visit the Seneca-Iroquois National
Museum on the western edge of Salamanca. As you look at
the exhibit, try to see this proud nation with the eyes of a geographer.
What does the term "nation" actually mean? It is not synonymous with "country." Do the exhibits here help you to illustrate the differences?
6. Get back on the Southern Tier Expressway (I-86). Travel east to Olean, which derives its name from the Latin
word for oil (oleum). This was a transfer point for Pennsylvania
petroleum to the railroads leading east to the coast. Like other Southern
Tier communities, the economy of Olean is intertwined with the Keystone State
just a few miles to the south.
For an interesting side tour, take Route 16 south to visit the tourist
attraction, Rock City Park. It is a
maze of huge rock pieces that migrated down the hill over time. They are composed
of a rock called conglomerate, formed from pebbles and sand when this
part of America was at the bottom of a shallow sea. The rocks are some of
the youngest in the state.
6. Retrace your steps on Route 16, through Olean, going north toward Buffalo
again. For much of the drive, you will find yourself at the bottom of a
trough, a sure sign that you are back in glaciated
country. When you reach the intersection of Rte. 20A, you enter the village
of East Aurora. This has several interesting
sites to visit. First, there is President Millard Fillmore's modest home.
Fisher-Price has a complex here, complete with a Toy Museum and factory
store. Vidmer's General Store is another major attraction. But East Aurora
is most commonly associated with the Roycroft
community of artisans that lived here in the late-1800's and the early 20th
century. The leader of this group was Elbert Hubbard, who started the community
as a publisher of inspirational pamphlets and magazines. His most famous
piece was Message to Garcia. The group grew to include furniture
makers, leatherworkers, bookbinding. A hotel was built to accomodate the
visitors to this vibrant community. Hubbard and his wife were among the
casualties in the sinking of Lusitania during World War I. Without his
leadership, the community slowly disintegrated.
But, the complex is still there in the middle of the village. There
is a museum, speciality shops, and the elegant Roycroft Inn.
QUESTION: Special
communities like Roycroft were fairly common in the 19th century. The Shakers
made their home in eastern New York and New England. The Oneida Community,
famed for their silverware, lived near Rome, NY. What factors made people
choose to form their own semi-isolated societies? Why did these communities
eventually fall apart in "modern times?"
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