Black Rock is one of Buffalo's most historic neighborhood names dating back to the city's very beginnings. The name comes from an outcropping of black stone that was ironically removed when the Erie Canal was constructed, making its way to Buffalo. Many know Black Rock as Buffalo's Erie Canal terminus rival and probably have little or no visual image of what the neighborhood looks like, or where it actually is. It is safe to say that most WNYers think of Black Rock as a sort-of dangerous place that you should not go to and would never want to live in. Of course, perceptions are often false. Black Rock may be Buffalo's most misunderstood neighborhood. To me, growing up in the city, Black Rock was a strange place on the other side of the tracks. The only reason I ever went there was to pass through.
The area, as seen outlined on this map, is somewhat isolated from other parts of the city. It borders the Niagara River on the west and Buffalo State College on the east. It is crisscrossed by several railroads on raised embankments that tend to create many smaller sub neighborhoods. The frequent railroad bridges form gateways to these distinct sections of Black Rock.
August 28, 2009 11:15 AM
Comments: 37
August 28, 2009 9:10 AM
Totally agree that this neighborhood suffers more from a bad reputation than just about anything else.
August 28, 2009 9:40 AM
Completely agree, so much potential in the area.
Who sings this version of the song? Haven't enjoyed it that much since elementary school.
August 28, 2009 11:05 AM
That's Suzanne Vega! http://www.danzanes.com/songs/erie_canal.shtml
August 28, 2009 9:42 AM
great post, thanks for the info.
August 28, 2009 9:55 AM
Black Rock has an almost pastorale feeling and a few remaining streets, laid out before the advent of the automobile, are barely wide enough for cars to pass by. Some houses look more like cottages. This is a very intimate neighborhood and I hope the tentacles of the Mayor's building destruction program don't reach Black Rock.
August 28, 2009 10:02 AM
Good take on my neighborhood. I have lived here over 50 years, raised (and still raising) my kids here and have never had any real trouble. Like all old neighborhoods we have some problems but we also have a core group of good solid people that look out for each other and a sense of community that seems absent in many places today.
The Thruway has long been an obstacle to attracting developement and realizing our potential as a waterfront community. Relocation along the rail right of way has been considered and hopefully will someday be recognized as a way to open up a huge and valuable tract of real estate that is presently squandered for the covenience of commuters.
August 28, 2009 10:28 AM
I hear that Black Rock has a hip honky tonk on Amherst st.
Lots O music!
August 28, 2009 10:33 AM
That would be The Sportsman, best live music in Buffalo and FREE.
August 28, 2009 6:11 PM
The Sportsmen's Tavern features as many as 9 musical performances each week. The majority of them are FREE. Ticketed shows are called the "Private Party Series". A PPS show is scheduled for this Sunday @ 4pm. Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys along with special guests Eilen Jewell Band $25
August 28, 2009 10:45 AM
Just a nitpick: the original Village of Black Rock is the area of the "states and numbers" street grid on the West Side. Looking carefully on a map of the city, you can tell where the boundary between Buffalo and Black Rock was, by the abrupt change from the Ellicott radial street pattern to the West Side's grid.
The area that's called "Black Rock" today is north of the original incorporated village. How the area that is called Black Rock moved from what is now the West Side, I don't know.
August 28, 2009 11:09 AM
There was an "Upper Black Rock" which was centered around Niagara & Porter (which is what you're talking about, Dan) and "Lower Black Rock" up at Amherst, which is the neighborhood we currently think of as Black Rock.
August 28, 2009 11:21 AM
Great point, it is interesting how things change and people rename their neighborhoods. I wonder is the shift from Black-Rock was done through development. While some of the original street (if you even want to call them that) were laid out before incorporation, most of the buildings developed from buffalo north until it met the lower Black-Rock, prompting the residents to feel as though they are West Siders and not from Black Rock.
There was heated contest when incorporation happened. Many residents of Black Rock refused to pay their property taxes to Buffalo.
August 28, 2009 11:22 AM
JSmith is correct though Upper Black Rock was centered more at Niagara and Ferry. Lower Black Rock developed around the guard lock that was built for the Erie Canal in 1825. The difference in water level between the canal and the river provided water power and many mills were built in the area of Niagara and Amherst. Upper Black Rock was absorbed into the West Side but the lower rock has held on to its identity as a village within the city.
August 28, 2009 12:14 PM
Just a few years after it was written: http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/mp3s/0000/0777/cusb-cyl0777d.mp3
Regarding the Thruway, a few easy steps would mitigate much of the noise. Reduce the speed limit to 35 or 40 (and enforce it) .... pave over the grooved concrete with asphalt (it's the grooved concrete that causes the 'ROAR' - stand 1/2 block from Humboldt & hear how much quieter it is there) ... erect some low profile sound barriers (not the ugly walls they have elsewhere) . The main barrier in doing anything with local expressways is NYS, which owns them all.
August 28, 2009 9:48 PM
Noise is the least of our worries with the Thruway! Putting a band aid on it will not fix the real issues. Steel thanks for the two minutes and forty six seconds of fame.
August 28, 2009 10:33 PM
This is actually not correct; noise IS a major problem, and detracts from any area's value. There are times when you can hear the Thruway noise as far away as Elmwood, and this started when they switched to grooved pavement. In the mornings, I can hear the damned thing through closed 2-pane windows, and I'm over 1/2 a mile distant.
Refusing to put on a bandaid is like refusing to clean the gutters because you'll need a new roof ... someday. I like the idea of reducing the speeds - the Thruway would become less of an "attractive nuisance" and get people to spread out on other routes. If the traffic fell enough, it would make removal seem more sensible. This goes for the 33/198, too. (The Pros call this "downgrading to a parkway", I think) . Moving the Thruway (which is never,ever going to happen) would only move the noise and barriers a little bit east.
August 29, 2009 12:56 AM
That is a great version of the Erie Canal Song. Thanks for the link.
August 28, 2009 2:24 PM
I have fond memories of growing up in this area in the 50's. Lived on Farmer St. & went to St. John the Baptist school. Played school basketball games at the Jubilee.
I remember when they tore down the Towpath and built the Thruway which basically ruined the waterfront for all of us. So sad - maybe just maybe that will be rectified some day.
August 30, 2009 10:54 PM
I can also remember the towpath and how to get down to it from Riveside Park. All before the Thruway. The whole character changed shortly thereafter. I also can remember all the occupied storefronts along Tnawands atreet with businesses like a comic book exchange and an authentic soda jerk place. By the early 60's, all that was gone.
August 31, 2009 8:54 AM
I am too young to remember the towpath but clearly remember going to "Murts" soda bar on Tonanwanda St. Interesting that all the old timers I have ever talked to agree that the Thruway ruined the neighborhood.
August 28, 2009 11:12 PM
I live in no man's land, based on that map link above. Thanks for that link, by the way. I was always unclear exactly what the borders of Black Rock are. But our street isn't in any district, according to that map. Am I in Black Rock or North Park?
We live on Elmview Place, just north of McKinley High. The street would go into Wegmans if it continued. We are west of Elmwood, part of the three street cul-de-sac you see just south of Amherst Street. I long thought anything west of Elmwood was Black Rock. But the blue line border follows old RR tracks, I think, and is west of us. Are we Black Rock?
August 29, 2009 10:39 AM
You're in Black Rock, Jr.
August 29, 2009 4:32 AM
As a kid, I always thought of Black Rock as the poor step child of Riverside. Not that Riverside held any particular great reputation, but you could sense a significant change in the atmosphere and homes when you crossed over fom on to the other. Visually, the homes were smaller and older. The church,that enormous, massive Romanesque St. Francis Xavier, heavily dominated the landcape further accentuating the impression.
Kids were tougher there than in Riverside and they seemed more poor. One of the things I rember clearly was an anuual summer carnival in August which had a rummage sale in the parking lot. Most of the items were white elephants and a lot of junk. Yet, people went through the clothing with all the earnest ferver as others might at an AM&As super sale. From my childlike eyes witnessing this, I found it appalling.
However, I still see the place through the lenses of my preteen eyes. It was many years later that I learned that the confines of what I thought Black Rock existed in extended all the way to Elmwood.
August 29, 2009 10:08 AM
I grew up in Riverside and the sense, that you mentioned, of the neighborhood being better than Black Rock was palpable, but Riverside was created almost as a suburb so it was seen as a better life. Time proved that Riverside is no match for Black Rock, though. Few buildings in Riverside are noteworthy and are mainly located in the vicinity of Ontario and Tonawanda Streets. Black Rock, on the other hand, has architectural jewels everywhere.
August 30, 2009 10:58 PM
Riverside was indeed what could have been called a planned community in its day. I have read several places that claim a lot of the lumber and supplies came from the destruction of the Pan American Exposition.
August 31, 2009 9:00 AM
Paul, your right Riverside used to be the richer newer neighbor made up of many families that left old Black Rock. Today Black Rock has much more potential due to its history and interesting old building stock.
August 29, 2009 9:39 AM
Great pics. As far as water access obstructed with the 190 it is what it is. If the rt 5 mess showed me anything it was that the majority of wny voters would rather keep and rebuild these expensive, obstructive roadways and their questionable economic benifit rather than improve the quality of life for this and other neighborhoods. Maybe things will change when gas goes up again. The good news is that there is a very nice park on the other side of the Blackrock Canal that offers fishing, green space and great views of the river, Blackrock and Canada. Its not as nice with the 190 buzzing nearby but it is a great natural refuge that costs us very little.
I always thought of Blackrock going all the way up to Elmwood including W Hertel, Jimmys, Vino + Papa Jakes and those streets just east of Wegmans.
BTW, Im not sure if it is my improving perception of this area or just hard work by property owners but I am impressed by the stretch of Amherst st. between Wegmans and Tops. I walk this route when going to Squaw isle pk and the well kept streetscape rival anything you would see on Hertel or Elmwood. If you are reading this and own one of those places keep up the good work.
August 30, 2009 11:36 AM
I live in this neighborhood and it has a lot to offer. There is interesting architecture and good people. I wish the city would spend more time and effort in this neighborhood. I live near the corner of Hamilton and Niagara streets. There is a lot, on Niagara, that is filled with construction equipment and garbage. I talked to the owner of the lot and he has no plans for the site. It receives no attention and is neverd shoveled, even though its on such an important city street. The fence that surrounds the property is a joke. Why cant the city do anything about this? It's a great neighborhood, but we need more help
August 30, 2009 8:30 PM
Dearborn, The owner of the lot on Niagara and Hamilton also use to own the lot on Hertal and Lawn he sat on that lot for years and treated it just the same....would not cut the grass or shovel the snow....it sat vacant for years and has recently been sold and a building is now being constructed (gas station)? at that location.....im going to assume that he will continue to sit on the Niagara lot with the idea of cashing out someday.....sad!
August 31, 2009 4:03 PM
Thanks for the info. I wish.... To bad it couldn't be in someone elses hands, or better yet, the city cared
August 30, 2009 9:31 PM
I've proudly called Blackrock home for a long time, but sadly it is becoming more and more dangerous every month. Gangs, drugs, graffiti, break-ins, burglaries, stabbings, shootings, and the like are becoming more prevalent in the blocks closest to Riverside and the west side. The police are forcing criminals out of the crime ridden neighborhoods and into our neighborhoods as a show of force. Why can't the police protect our homes while they clean up other areas of the city? It is a shell game that leaves families like mine and my neighbors as victims. It is my understanding that the Police will only step up patrols after it gets so bad that people either leave or die. Why is that? Why wait until an entire neighborhood goes to hell to step up enforcement? When I brought this up to the Mayor's office they said that they have high target areas that receive the most attention and they have to stretch their limited police force across the entire city. So basically we are S.O.L.
My wife and I were house hunting this weekend and will have an offer together by the end of the day tomorrow. My neighbors put an offer on a new house in Amherst yesterday and will be moving at the end of September. That is two out of ten families on our street who will be moving, he is renting his house out and I might do the same if I can't sell it. We talked to a lawyer last month who encouraged us to form a LLC to protect ourselves if the tenants destroy the place or if we need to turn it over to the city in a few years. This is good advice that we are going to take.
I hate to contribute to the problem but the Mayor and the Police just don't care about the people in Blackrock. We are not a high priority like the neighborhoods around Elmwood or Delaware and aren't as crime infested as the streets that run into Bailey or Niagara. I need to look out for my family first and foremost. Unfortunately we need to move out of our home in order to do that. I love the youtube movie and have seen the progress made with the buildings pictured there, but that is only telling a part of the story. We have homes that are falling dpwn on their foundations, we have industrial sites that are so contaminated that almost no one is interested in investing in them, we have streets that need serious help with leaking water and sewage pipes, crumbling curbs, and broken sidewalks. Yet no one in City Hall seems to care.
My soon to be new neighborhood is just as walkable as our current one. We are a few blocks from wegmans, the Boulevard Mall, and my kids schools. My wife is closer to work and will be able to carpool with coworkers who live around the corner. There is a soccer league that practices and plays within a few minutes walk of the house.
So if anyone is interested in moving to Blackrock, I have a great house that will be going up for sale next month just a stones throw from all the lovely buildings featured here. I am heartbroken to have to leave my home but I think that it may be best left to a single person or childless couple.
August 30, 2009 11:19 PM
I hear you sim but planning for handing the building over to the city is something you are doing to the city not something that is being done to you. No one needs to run a building into the ground and then dump it on the tax payers who have decided to stay and fight to make the city a better place. This is something you do as a choice. I would hope you do not choose to do this to the city.
August 31, 2009 6:55 AM
I don't plan on running the building into the ground or abandoning it for the city to take ownership of. I am planning ahead in the event that my neighborhood becomes as unattractive to buyers as those along Bailey and Jefferson. Truth be told I want to stay in my house but the gangs are being pushed into our neighborhood by police who seem more interested in showing improvement in one neighborhood than what their actions do to the city as a whole. Selective policing and herding of criminals from neighborhood to neighborhood is a problem that no one wants to talk about because it isn't politically correct to do so. The problem here is with the city, not with me. We stayed far longer than we probably should have and put my family at risk by doing so. I either need to give in to the crime and become the typical victim or get the hell out of dodge. I chose to give my family a better chance and a safer home, and that is not an easy choice.
August 31, 2009 8:48 AM
I am sorry we are losing another long time resident. I realize how frustrating it can be when the police/city seem unwilling to help. Down here on lower Amherst St. we have been pretty proactive in keeping the troublemakers out. We confront the landlords and tenants before things get out of hand and we stick together when needed. My neighbor runs a little deli and he does not tolerate punks hanging out there and he does not sell all the ghetto crap that attracts them. We have an active block club and many volunteer to clean up the parks, streets and public places.
We are fortunate that many of our homes are single family and owner occupied. We also benefit from being a "pocket neighborhood" that is small enough to keep an eye on.
I am not claiming there are no problems but overall our area is still a decent place to live.
August 31, 2009 9:59 PM
I'm glad no one told us that Black Rock is a dangerous, crime ridden neighborhood before we bought our house 10 years ago. We live in different parts of the country at different times of the year but we always look forward to and love our stay when it's Buffalo time of the year. Compared to other cities we live in Black Rock is a slightly tarnished gem. We have good neighbors, great entertainment, fabulous stores and restaurants in walking distance children playing in the streets, friendly neighbors, who know your name and watch out for you when your gone, incredible diversity, a waterfront within walking distance, interesting buildings and gardens. My backyard is so quiet on a summers evening I think I'm in the country. If I gave this description and said it was Canada or Europe you would be envious but Black Rock Buffalo??? Sometimes it pays not to know better.
September 1, 2009 5:39 PM
Great to hear a positive comment about our much maligned neighborhood. It is interesting how different the perception of Black Rock is even by those that live here. I think part of it depends on which section of the neighborhood a person lives in but more importantly how tolerant they are and how well they get along with others.
September 1, 2009 9:20 PM
You have perfectly described my neighborhood as it was until about a year ago. We loved the neighborhood and new almost all of our neighbors on our street and the streets around us. We enjoyed the noise of industry and the quiet when it left. We used to love talking walks for ice cream, to the river, and to the stores at night. We were really proud of our house and neighborhood and many of the neighbors pitched in to keep the neighborhood looking good.
All of this started to change slowly a few years ago. It happened gradually as one family left and then another. It started with a little graffiti and an occasional theft from a car or house. Then more people left and people started to move in from other parts of the city. These people were usually fleeing their own crime ridden neighborhoods but often brought the crime with them. If their kids were in gangs in Riverside, then they were still in gangs in Black Rock. We hit a tipping point about 8 months ago when violent crimes came closer to our neighborhood and some of the old time residents finally gave up the ship and left.
I am going to miss my home for all the reasons you stated. I wish that my house was a little further down Amherst Street and I hope that the crime doesn't move any further in that direction. I hope that the block clubs and neighborhood associations remain intact and can fight off this scourge. Ours was strong at one time but faded as our strongest members moved to North Carolina, Arizona, and Orchard Park. We looked to the city for help, but they are in a difficult position because they have to answer to the neighborhood associations in the heavily crime ridden areas too. I feel for them but that doesn't help to make things better for us residents. The police could have helped us with stronger enforcement to keep crime from spreading, but that didn't happen and won't happen. Just like the University District, our homes are in jeopardy due to a conflict in priorities for our elected leaders and police. I'd prefer to have crime remain in the dead neighborhoods on the Eastside, like Hamsterdam in The Wire. Keep it from spreading and address those who get out of line. Instead we have spread the crime out across the city and hurt more residents without making a true dent in crime. It is a populist agenda that hurts the city more than anything else.
Anyway, I'm done with my ranting. I'll keep reading Buffalo Rising and will be back in the neighborhood frequently to ensure that my house is safe and tenants are well behaved. Take care!