In 2015, Friends of the Buffalo Story (FBS) will be setting out to create a series of public art murals that will hopefully captivate the attention and fuel the imagination of anyone who passes by. The photographic murals will be installed onto Buildings along the East Ferry corridor. Each of the images will tell a story, but it is up to the passerby to dream up what that story might be.
The photographs are historic to Buffalo, but there is not much information to go by. At the same time, FBS felt that it was important to showcase the images, as each helps us to identify with our city – the joys and the struggles of those who came before us, and who had a hand in creating this wonderful place that we call Buffalo.
From FBS:
Lost photographs from a long-lost photography studio form the basis of what will soon become a large, outdoor exhibition on the long and large set of walls that line E. Ferry Street across from the Buffalo Academy of Performing Arts.
Found in the archives of the Buffalo History Museum, many of these photos were taken during what appears to be the 1920s, by one William Westhphal in his studio at 160 Broadway. There are other images in the mix, taken by additional photographers of the time, that help to tell the story of a place and people that were instrumental in building Buffalo. The images offer our generation a unique way of looking at and learning about the African-Americans who lived in that neighborhood at that time.
Because there is no information available about who any of the people in these photographs are, it falls to us, the viewers in this generation, to ask the kinds of questions that might lead us to the truth.
Over the course of the next few days, Buffalo Rising will offer these photographs to our readers. Think about the questions that we are asking and then, if you are so inclined, respond with what you think the answers might be.
This project is brought to you by the Friends of the Buffalo Story.