John - I am 52 and have every confidence that I will see Buffalo reborn. In my time I have shopped with my parents at Sattlers 998 Broadway, and saw it disappear. Witnessed the creation (and demolition) of suburban malls, been mugged in downtown, and walked downtown 30 years later without a problem. I have watched a mass exodus of blue collar jobs, and now I am watching coompanies slowly move in. The only thing that has not changed is the character of the people. They just don't want to give up. So keep your eyes open and I think you will see the rebirth of Buffalo in your time

Dear Marilyn, Yes, its grass roots but what is lacking is cross pollination (so to speak) and consensus building!

South Buffalo has their own Chamber of Commerce. Ive mentioned several times that I think the other sections of the city (east, west and north) would benefit from the same support.

The independence streak is still strong. Buffalo Place, New Millenium Group, CTRC, CRTC, GBNRTC, BNE/BNP and the list goes on. They invite members of each group to endorse the others projects and use the power and influence (no matter how little) to endorse projects and get funding for investment projects. This isnt happening near enough. Having groups join together in supporting each others projects integrates the community and organizations together...and challenges the priority setting of politicians and unions.

Lastly Marilyn, community groups need to start demanding that certain things be off budget items. In other words, guarranty minimum funding for certain things so that our parks, sewers, water lines, roads, sidewalks, bridges....etc arent sacrificed everytime a union sends a demand to an arbitrator for a raise, benefit or kickback....or everytime a politician wants to hire their friend/relative/lobbyist.

Only by linking all the grass roots efforts together and endorsing each others projects can we tug at the ear of a budget meeting as powerfully as the citys unions.

I hope that I never see the Buffalo of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s again.

I love Buffalo and the people. Even if Buffalo continued to grow it always had a mix of blue and white collar economy and it was always acceptable to socialize with people of different religions, different economic means, different educational levels, different lifestyles, etc. Some cities like Rochester, Hartford, Charlotte, etc which were dominated by a few large companies or a few large industries ... conservatized the entire culture. No industry or employer ever dominated Buffalo thus no corporate culture ever dominated the heartbeat of our city.

Buffalo has always been a strong but kind and very independent city. One only has to look at the generations lacking in leadership in every level of government to see how that strong indepent streak has hurt us....instead of applying that strong independent streak to entrepreneurism ... as it is now.

The dirt, the crime, the exodus from city to suburb, the closure of one industry after another, the broken marriages and family, etc. The list goes on. The difference is that now the rest of the country is starting to feel the pain of jobs leaving their community. Here are the national statistics. From 1990 - 2000 we lost 2.5 million jobs from the US. From 2000 to 2005 the US lost 2.7 million jobs so the pace is quickening and education isnt the answer because the jobs that are the easiest to outsource are jobs with some form of education and even there the pace of job creation is remaining steady but its not growing so we can tell all those factory workers to go back to school.

Will Buffalo be reborn? Yes, and I hope it never looses its independent streak...or its kindness or its down to earth enjoyment. What I changing in Buffalo is the people truly feel empowered at the grass roots level to work for their community where before people just moved.

They aslo look to accesibility - which the auto traffic will provide.

It's all over for your image of urban America.

We have seen it and it is gone.

Auto traffic provides visability. It is true that successful businees districts need strong residential areas nearby. This block however is also poised (if not already) a regional draw. It does not depend only on local residents. IN fact i would bet that a majority of its patrons come from all over WNY. I think that lack of visability and easy drop off and pick up has made this block "out of sight out of mind" That is the problem with the transit mall. It eliminates spontaneous actions. That is why many restaurants have had problems establishing themseves on the 600 block

I love these pics from the 1970's 1980's, how far we have come. Are there more? I would love to see a slideshow

Think added revenue for the city. Bring back the cars, you bring back the parking and more parking tickets. Seriously though. When you add the cars, it really does add the spontaneous action. I don't know of anyone who has said, "Quick! Stop the rail! That looks like a good place to shop/eat....

Once again, the cars won't do anything that the current trend in downtown housing won't solve. Retailers don't look to a reopened street to site their new shops, they look at the demographics!!

Bring back jobs, you bring back money, you bring back young people that want to live in the city, you then bring back the city. It is too bad we are part of the overtaxed state of NY, and it is also too bad that I am 33 years old I will not see the rebirth of Buffalo in my lifetime

The piano keys....yuck! Almost as bad as the fake flower boxes painted on plywood in the windows of abandoned buildings in the South Bronx! But, both areas have made a remarkable comeback.

How did that marble (?) get so dirty? Amazing.

This just shows that the knee jerk reaction is often to remove the 'blight' but sealing the buildings while waiting for redevelopment is a better solution (i.e. Central Terminal?). The government money spent to 'save' the Theater District has been money well spent. Get cars back there to give retail a lift.

I think you can make the argument both ways, accessibility to main street would benefit some business for sure, but you also need to maintain the flow of people which downtown housing would achieve. As for the 33 year old John, I am 27 and bit more optimistic I will witness the turn around of Buffalo. Call me foolish but optimism tends to breed optimism. I for one am giving great thought to relocating downtown. The more residential units going in makes it more attractive everyday, probably the main reason I like this website so much. It makes me feel like there is Life and its getting stronger. I am one person but there must be others that feel same?

Its going to take thinking beyond grass roots at the community level to turn Buffalo and many of the suburbs around.

Its going to take (not so much regionalism) but its going to take communities joining together to stand up to politicians and unions. Its going to take the taxpayer demanding their taxes be invested into their community or lowered rather than having headcount increased, salaries, benefits and perks increased or work rules ossified.

Its going to take people saying if we must spend money, then spend it on maintenance for roads, sewars, water, utilities, ports, harbors, railroads, light rail, parks, beaches, business parks and incubators, etc. We need to think of spending taxes as investments in the future of a human society....no more salary and benefit increases for teachers for the same poor educational results! It kids skip school, then let the police ring the doorbell of their home and visit with the parents or right the kid a ticket for truancy as easily as their writing tickets for parking!

"Retailers don't look to a reopened street to site their new shops, they look at the demographics!!"

This comment makes 1/2 a good point, however they go hand and hand. If the definition of demographics is :The characteristics of human populations and population segments, especially when used to identify consumer markets: That would suggest that how the local population travels and where they travel too, is truly part of the demographic. Example: if the most of the local population travels by car, a Business may in fact prefer car accessibility for its clients.

I mean how many restaurants and Bars along that block of Main street may have survived if they were accessible by non-metro rail users? I think a few. For instance how many restaurants through out Western New York are in smaller towns and obscure locations that do good business .... A lot they, rely on the Local business but they also rely on out of town business heavily as well. When I say out of town I don't mean hours away but defiantly a 20 min CAR ride.

L: your "going to take" list sounds every bit of grassroots to me.

gplatt asked about the dirt on the buildings, so I will assume he/she is a younger person.... Everything was that black, at one time; the steel plants and other factories all burned coal. I remember when St.Paul's Cathedral was cleaned, and being amazed to see that it was BROWN, not BLACK ! The owners of the Ellicott Square painted over the dirt, instead of cleaning.

Then there was Republic Steel, which covered parts of South Buffalo with "red dust" ... that was some sight.

My grandfather's dance orchestra played in the taller building, next to Shea's - I still have his advertising banner, which was stretched across Main Street

After many decades of decline I finally do believe that Buffalo is truly posed for a renaissance. The real and very tangibile projects are happening while others planned are funded and posed to happen soon. 2007 will truly be Buffalo's turning point year. Success breeds more success. By the end of this decade (only 4-years from now) many projects will have been completed and the country will be talking about the New Buffalo!

John 33 year old - you are seeing it already. The 600 block and Chippewa Street have blossomed over the past ten years like the first crocus' of Spring. Each rehab, each empty lot filled in is like a new flower added to the bouquet that is our region. Look at all of the new projects in the pipeline - lofts, Healthnow, Court Street office building, new Federal couthouse, New Era, the Canal district, Bass Pro, the Casino, the new Delaware Avenue building and on and on. These are the bulbs of our rebirth that will flower in the next year or two.

Ah yes, everything was that black but by the 60s and 70s they had scrubbers for the coal and other pollutants. I wish I could say that they chose to close and move than to stay and comply with the pollution control laws and compete but the truth is that the United States (Democrats and Republicans) has abandonded its constituents, they have: -abondoned our nations manufactureres -they have abandoned our schools to unions which wants raises without discipline, safety or increases in performance -they have abandoned our borders -they have abandoned retirement pensions and healthcare -they have abandoned the poor and the middle class -they have abandoned the cities Buffalo was a city that made things! World class things! Our steel, our planes defended this nation and fought for freedom and our power once lighted much of new england and the middle atlantic states.

The italian, polish and irish immigrants that came to this country had jobs across a broad spectrum of industries .... now I feel sorry for todays immigrants because there arent enough decent well paying jobs for those who have been here for generations. What kind of job will todays drop outs get, or todays high school graduates?

Now one of the last legacies of Buffalo's industrial might, Buffalo Forge, is going to be demolished. The saddest thing is that this city and its people didnt use its wealth, power and influence to change with the times.

Even now....what will happen to American Axle when transmissions are electronic, what will happen to Dunlop when the airless tire hits the market, what will happen to Chevy when hybrids or electric pluggins become the dominant engine. We gotta start inviting companies back to Buffalo in all industries!

Of course, only being 33 you didn't see how far we had sunk. To give you another aspect, Lake Ontario was declared "dead" before you were born. Now, thanks to changes in environmental laws, it is one of the greatest fisheries in the country for salmon and trout. Sometimes things change so slowly you don't realize it until you take a real good look around you.

Um, L? Re: "...Yes, its grass roots but what is lacking is cross pollination (so to speak) and consensus building!..."

While you continue to lecture, how often do you attend community group meetings? Maybe if you did you would know that these coalitions have been formed and groups are working together to get things done and to request funding from various sources in government.

Many have already formed alliances with local businesses. More and more are working with colleges and universities. There are many successes when it comes to community groups working with and forging alliances like these and within City Hall. That's how things are getting done.

Until you are aware of all the efforts, get off the horse and follow the stream. You'll be amazed at the treasures you'll find.