We're Re-Opening the Statler... Why Not Re-Imagine Niagara Square?

Looks like a great plan Charles. Does anyone remember when former mayor Stan Makowski wanted to put a maze in the square and told everyone how great it looked from up in his city hall office?

Agree completely. Nice article. This is an opportune moment to build momentum for such a transformation.

It's not just that the square could become a much more useful public space. It's also that everything bordering the square is adversely impacted by the current traffic patterns and would greatly benefit from well planned pedestrian accommodation.

Even reaching City Hall's front steps is something of a challenge. And if you are walking north/south instead of east/west? Forget it. Don't try to cross at Delaware, either side of the square. You have to time it just right and run. Then you're on the island and have to get off. At least City Hall has that pedestrian crossing. Niagara Square should be easily accessible to pedestrians from every street that enters it. Pedestrians should rule downtown, not drivers.

(To those who are surprised to hear this last statement from me, understand: I support accommodation of vehicles, a la adequate parking arrangements. But I love walking. First and foremost, especially downtown, walking should be safe, pleasant and easy.)

Is it true that the City Court building was originally supposed to have huge modernist sculptures on outside of building? That would be so cool to restore.

Great idea, doesn't seem cost prohibitive, most of it is really window dressing, the core is already there, we just underutilized it.

Even as a driver, I hate this circle, it's far too big. Narrowing would make it safer and easier to navigate.

I know I basically repeated the article but I agree so much nothing else to say.

I also think the Square would be a great place to get the 'light up' treatment. The Statler especially could be amazingly lit, not to mention City Hall. I'd love to see a time when people load up the kids and take them downtown to see the lights and can walk to and from the harbor seeing all the cool architecture lit up.

Great ideas. And beautiful drawings.

I didn't remember which mayor it was, but I remember when the work to install a "modern" maze of brick walls and built-in seating started.

Only a small portion was completed. But it was so ugly and out of place that the public outcry made the City tear the whole thing down and put things back the way they are now.

beautiful. now how do we get city hall to actually consider this?

Perfect idea, how does this get started now??????? Ive always wondered why is such a boring circle and why the lanes are so wide.....

Best idea by far on BRO all year.
You can get your neighborhood associations to write letters to the Mayor and to the Common Council in support of the plan. Downtown district Council Members, especially, will embrace this idea. Look at how beautiful the circles on Richmond are, and how they have changed the grammar of traffic on that avenue.

Would be a hugh improvement but where would the police park their cars illegally if filled with greenspace?

Have to say, not a huge fan of your new build projects, Charles, but do love this concept....which I hope you champion (a la Peg of Peg's Park). It can be done, and makes a load of sense. Very exciting concepts.

Fantastic article. I was at Niagara Square just a week or so ago (taking my son to the observation deck at the top of City Hall), and was thinking about what a missed opportunity or ignored treasure it is.

Niagara Square really could (and should) be an incredible public space along the lines of Trafalgar Square. I guess there are two things that really impede that: 1) Many more people would have to work and live in downtown Buffalo, and 2) the roads surrounding Niagara Square are too aggressive and high speed to make it a comfortable pedestrian crossing. If the street were narrowed to a single lane of traffic around the circle I think it would go a long way to making it a more inviting place to be.

Gates Circle has the same problem. The fountain is lovely, but who wants to brave that traffic to cross the street to sit by it? And even if you did, the traffic noise must detract from the experience.

What I love is how Buffalo has Niagara Square that's actually a circle, and Syracuse has Columbus Circle that's actually a square.

I think this would be a great thing to pursue, and timing seems good with the Statler project, the Federal courthouse, the nearby Corn Exchange, and also the recently renewed interest in placemaking thanks to the work of the Project for Public Spaces.

Also, couldn't agree more with Bini's description of Frogger: Niagara Square Edition. We've got to change that.

Very exciting! Niagara Square is currently the most terrifying place to walk in the city to me. I had to go to city hall recently on foot and it literally took me ten minutes to get across the circle. We can't be very pedestrian friendly with that being the case.

Love It. Excellent idea Charlie.

Fort Makowski!

http://www.buffalospreemagazine.com/images/archives/2008_12/1208mayors04.jpg

What better use could there be for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding???

This is certainly a project to bring to Ellicott District Council member Darius G. Pridgen. As others have stated, the budget is not outrageous to complete these improvements (especially phased in over two or three years) and the payoff would be huge.

Not to mention how much it would help the many people in Mr. Pridgen's district who don't have access to automobiles and rely on walking and public transportation

As the article says "-Reduce vehicular traffic lanes by at least 25% City Population now 270,000 not almost 600,000 when current Square was implemented"

Well who actually pays for this? We have other things we need to spend our money wisely on. Nice ideas- but it takes a bigger population base to pay for and MAINTAIN extra paving types, landscaping, etc. Just look around Buffalo and you'll see lots of new or recent landscaping that has had ZERO adequete service this year.

I live in the Arlington Park area - our neighborhood spends its own cash to make it better, plant flowers, building a trellis, etc. The city barely cuts the lawn! We dont have people living around the square to pick up the city's slack on this one. Unless faced with an upcoming rebuild project, save these ideas for the future when the population is back up.

So, besides the great article, where do we go from here? How does something like this happen in our economically challenged world?

The traffic circle is monsterous and there is really no need. 22 of 24 hours the circle almost empty. All of the lanes are really wasted space.

It would be really nice if a necklace park could be built between Niagara and Lafayette sq. It would make the heart of downtown much softer and encourage people to get out of the office and down on the street.

WOW!! This is so encouraging! I love the new trees and plants around the circle it is so much better than the black pavement that is there today.

I love the idea, but would caution against an arbor-esque version of Fort Makowski. One of the biggest complaints against the fort (aside from its hideous appearance) was that it blocked views from the street and became a magnet for crime. If I recall correctly, there were even reports of people being raped in broad daylight because nobody saw or heard what was going on behind the brick walls. TOO many trees could create a similar effect.

To me, one of the nicest aspects of Niagara square is that it is such a wide open urban public space. On the rare occasions that we get to use it as such (presidential visits, the sesquicentennial, the 9/11 vigil, Bills/Sabres rallies) that openness is an asset. If we forest the inner part of the circle too densely or with trees that are too large, we begin to block views and negate the usability of the space for those sorts of purposes.

Personally, I would prefer to see the inner part of the square like the "early 1900s" postcard, with lawns and plaza space and add some benches and flower beds. Move the trees to the outside of the traffic lanes and the new islands at the corners (but without blocking City Hall... those architectural details were MEANT to be appreciated from street level).

Traffic can definitely be calmed and reduced to a single or double lane. Perhaps even remove the stop lights and replace them with pedestrian crosswalks to the new islands at the corners instead of the sides. It really makes more sense to access the circle from Niagara and Genesee instead of Court and Delaware. Along with proper signage that pedestrians have the right of way. Downtown Atlanta is having some success with removing red-lights and replacing them with signs planted directly in the middle of the street, warning motorists to stop for pedestrians within the crosswalks.

Unfortunately, bricked pavers as crosswalks wouldn't survive very long... in snow or ice, it seems like there is usually one plow dedicated to keeping Niagara Square dry as a bone 24/7 while smaller sidestreets go unplowed for days. But there are new colorful paving methods (as was going to be installed on Grant St) that are more snowplow friendly.

Wow, these look exactly like the plans I did for the Statler and Niagara Square in 2006. Traffic calming can and should be implemented on the square, as well as really looking at how much pavement we actually drive on vs how much has been there historically. We can actually do with much less pavement! Trees can be accomplished here as well, but due to the prevalence of underground vaults in this area of the city, some interesting detailing needs to be done, and we've been thinking about that detail for several years. I'd love to chat more with you about this type of project if you'd like! www.jklastudio.com

But those 3 unmarked lanes work so well ;)

And please do not rebuild the city court parking ramp in it's current configuration. Bring back W.Genessee toward the lake.

A couple more things: the 20th-Century layout of Niagara Square was a Daniel Burnham design (the statuary was designed by Carrere and Hastings) -- I wonder how much of that design has been compromised over the last century, and whether a revisioning should first see if there are elements of the original plan which should be restored.

Second: the Square should be more friendly for those who might enjoy sitting out in the warm weather with a laptop, iPAD, Kindle, etc. A couple weeks ago I was looking to plug my laptop into an outlet on the Square when one of the workers threatened me with arrest! He said a guy playing an electric guitar was arrested -- charged with "stealing the City's electricity" or some such. Gee -- what better way to welcome folks to the heart of the City than by offering them a free ride in the company of some uniformed chauffeurs--?

OK I want to beat my drum again since we are talking about fountains, statues, etc...in a romantic reference to Italy.

I want to remind everyone of the 1901 PAN AM EXPOSITION which had an abundance of pillars, statues, fountains, bandshells, gazebos etc.

Rebuild these and spread them throughout the city...and you can elevate Buffalo to a Paris or Rome or Barcelona of the Great Lakes.

I agree completely with the article. I also would like to know when the city is going to do some work on the some our busiest business and nightlife areas. Elmwood Ave from Forest to West Ferry is terrible. Bumpy road, dead trees, broken sidewalks. Allen St has not seen a makeover since the late 60's. Chippewa St is a disgrace. If you want to attract more people and new business inprove the surroundings.

This would be awsome, but who and when could this actually happen? I find it hard myself to cross along either north or south of this Square (Delaware Ave.) cars just want to speed and don'g give a toot about pedestrians. Again, when is this city going to put pedestrians AHEAD of cars like other cities are now doing?

Totally minor detail, but "We know that Niagara Sq was originally envisioned as THE Civic arrival lobby for the City" isn't entirely accurate. That distinction goes to Shelton Square (intersection of Main, Church, Division, and formerly Erie and Niagara). That's where Joseph Ellicott built his estate, where all the trolley lines converged, where St Pauls was built and was the first grand space encountered when arriving by canal or train. Even the old City Hall (now County Hall) was oriented toward Shelton Square and the Main Street spine. What was then considered the hub of downtown has today become a nameless intersection - a lot of people look blankly at you if you call it by its name, Shelton Square.

For the first half of the city's history, until the early 1900s or so, Niagara Square was more of an open empty space with no particular purpose other than to anchor the radial street plan. Niagara Square was a mix of commercial and residential with basically a park/lawn in the middle. It wasn't until the 1920s with construction of the court buildings, McKinley Monument and City Hall that Buffalo's focal point shifted from Shelton to Niagara Square.

Even Lafayette Square was a relatively unimportant space until the new City Hall closed off the back half of Court St and realigned the city. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was originally designed to go in Soldiers Circle (the intersection of Lincoln, Bidwell and Chapin). Before that, Lafayette Sq was called Courthouse Sq, and pretty much only existed to hold people wanting to see public hangings.

It's actually just happy coincidence that Buffalo reinvented Niagara Square and Court street halfway through its history. So really, I don't see much reason against not reinventing that space once again.

Ada Louise Huxtable, former architecture critic of the NY Times, once said that the view of Niagara Sq. from Lafayette Sq. looking down Court St. was "the most urbane view in America."

It still is, luckily. And that's my only criticism of this plan -- it doesn't go far enough. There should be a unifying landscaping design from the Main Library to City Hall, incorporating both squares and Court St. If accomplished, it would be by far the grandest two squares in north America, as I don't know of any place that comes close. They wouldn't be parks or urban spaces, but are something in between, something quite unique.

It would, in fact, be pretty damn nice if this landscaping continued all the way down Delaware Ave. right to the Park, thereby making Mr. Olmstead smile from above.

It is really awesome that even car drivers recognize the inadequacy of the square as it exists today. I feared someone would complain that reducing traffic lanes would make traffic worse or less safe.

As others pointed out, however, not only would traffic be safer (for both cars AND pedestrians), but it would not affect traffic one iota. Studies show that places with far worse traffic improve dramatically with better lane divisions and clearly marked signals. And it doesn't make other surrounding streets worse -- strangely, traffic improves. Sorta like magic.

With the light traffic that exists in downtown generally, there should be no issues to reducing traffic lanes.

(BTW, I've always dreamed that it would be nice to sit in the Statler's Terrace Room and look out over the square through a framework of mature sycamores. That would truly be a sight to sigh over, with City Hall as a dramatic focal point, and all the people walking around, and the green leaves and branches.)

Wonderful article.

I was in town this weekend for a wedding that drew in guests from all over the country. For many, it was their first time in Buffalo. Everyone agreed that the city, while better than they thought, was depressed, sad, and many said they feel scared walking the streets. These are people that live in far more dangerous cities than Buffalo - they shouldn't feel scared walking around the Hampton Inn. It's simply too desolate of a city to not have an abundance of trees to add warmth and soften the edges. A change like this is exactly what the city needs. Make a place beautiful, and people will come. Bloor Street in Toronto just went through a similar process, adding greenery to simply make it more attractive to those shopping in the high end district.

If I can put in a special request - why not invest heavily in evergreens? Evergreens are beautiful all year round and Buffalo needs something to make it beautiful during the long winter.

I move out of town in '94. I've been religiously following city progress and news since. I've come to one conclusion. Buffalo is the "artist's rendition" capital of the world.

I totally agree with most of this. Re-imagining Niagara Square is absolutely a great idea. In fact, last year I wrote that I felt that it was time to re-do Niagara Square, and also to make a pedestrian corridor down Court Street to Lafayette Square (as other comment writers have also mentioned).
Where I vehemently disagree is with the re-opening of the Statler Albatross Towers. That ugly old dilapidated building needs to come down ASAP, at any cost(I really hate that stupid building). I'm a preservationist, but I'm also a realist. Any funds that may be potentially mis-appropriated by Mayor Brown and Mark Croce should instead be put towards a new vision of Niagara Square. The land under the Statler Towers is perhaps the most valuable in Buffalo (in my opinion anyways). There will be so many potential uses for that land once it is cleared of the Statler Dinosaur. We need to quit throwing good money after bad buildings. Also, I would suggest an investigation by the Buffalo News on the 5 million dollar deal that went down between Mark Croce and Mayor Brown. I think that would prove to be very interesting indeed(can you say Impeachment?).

Niagara Square could certainly be improved, the square is one of the most attractive public spaces in the country. We tend to take if for granted but whenever I bring visitors to downtown they are always impressed, especially the view from Court Street.

Niagara Square was the site of the hanging of the Thayer brothers in 1825. The three brothers were convicted of the murder of John Love after Love attempted to collect a debt. The gallows were sited at the present day entrance to City Hall and the event brought an estimated 20 to 30 thousand people into the city.

Legend is that the great chief Red Jacket was observed walking away from the event and when asked why he wasn't going to watch he replied "Fools enough there already, battle is the place to see men die".

The is such great news for this great city. I lobe everything about Buffalo, we can do no wrong. Feel the vibration, feel it, feel it.

That is truly funny. Meet me for one, support the local economy, dog.

While I'm not a fan of using public money for the Statler, I know Mr. Croce is a professional
and he knows how to restore a building. Mayor Brown is doing some great work in a very difficult job.
I would also like to commend all the preservationists in Buffalo. They are doing an amazing job with
little thanks other than the satisfaction of preserving some truly valuable architecture. My hat's off to all. of you. Fight on!