Inside and Around Oakland Place
You’ve perused the book, now take the tour!
Martin Wachadlo, the author of Oakland Place: Gracious Living in the City, will lead a tour of Oakland Place this Saturday, June 30. Though only one block long, Oakland Place boasts one of the city’s finest residential streetscapes. Martin will share his knowledge of the architecture, history, industrial leaders, and families that built the more than 40 refined and high-quality residences representing a wide range of age, style, and size. We will even get to go inside 3 houses!
The tour meets at 9:30 a.m. at the corner of Oakland and Summer. The cost is $20, and a reservation is recommended. Call 852-3300 to reserve your place today.
Buffalo Tours is a joint project of the Preservation Coalition and the Landmark Society. For more information, please call 852-3300 or visit www.BuffaloTours.org.
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al-alo
ahhh, oakland place. i couldnt imagine the biship living anywhere else! after all, didnt jesus want us all to go forth and live with the ceo, quarterback and blue blood (after all, they need help getting camels through the eye of needles)?
maybe it was toward the back.
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AuburnAve
Man, al-alo... you beat me to it.... I love to criticize the bishop for living at 77 Oakland Pl also, while churches all over Buffalo are closing.
Imagine how many churches could be saved if they sold his mansion? Imagine the good faith it would show.
Would he ever dream of living near parishoners in need like on the East Side? NEVER!!!
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fredrico
al-alo
I agree with you completely! Sadly the sacrifices that the bishop is asking everyone to make is not being made acroos the board. He wants to continue to live in a Mansion on Oakland Place while churches for the poor are shut down. He must not realize what those churches mean to those people. I know that the population has decreased in the "closings" areas but somehow the church has the money for a possible lawsuit against the common council now and they have the money to continue living an extravagant lifestyle. I think it's disgusting! I miss the preist I knew as a child, Father Chilino. He lived very modestly and went personnaly door to door every week to bring the poor families in the projects (including our own) food. Now that's a priest. I won't step one foot on Oakland Place until Bishop Kiemec leaves his grand palace.
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SBUBufBoy
Oh man, I hate being on the opposite side of a conversation. While I agree that the bishop’s mansion may be extravagant, is serves other uses than just as his home. It is used as a residence for dignitaries, receptions, fundraising dinners, donor meetings. To outsource that cost would be expensive and an additional cost that the diocese is trying to avoid. Further, the diocese is in the red over $2million. If they sold the mansion it would help cover their operating loss not go towards saving any churches. Finally, today’s Buffalo News mentions that the churches on the east side each have their own priest yet only serve 1,200 parishioners whereas one suburban church has one priest and also serves 1,200 parishioners. The problem isn’t just money, it is manpower shortage. There aren’t enough priests. The diocese ordained ONE priest this year. Maybe a better way to keep the churches open is to allow women priests or married priests. Why don’t you propose that to the Vatican? Oh, and the lawsuit is being contemplated by the Catholic League not the diocese (2 completely separate organizations). Anyway, I agree it would show good faith. There are many other places the bishop could live and it would endear him to his “flock” if he were to move into one of them but to put the mansion into the same breath as closing of the churches, as if they have anything to do with one another, is short-sighted. Oh, BTW, in keeping with the spirit of the post, Oakland Place is a wonderful street and I look forward to reading Mr. Wachadlo’s book. :-)
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al-alo
but sbuf,
dont you think its a poor example to live in such an extravagant mansion while closing parishes. whether or not it would be a panacea for the diocese is not in question. it would not be.
frankly, there must be an half emplty rectory somewhere that could serve the same functions of the oakland place home. heck, even moving to another mansion that cost less would be very symbolic of the need to live within means. id bet 200k would by a palace in many other areas of town.
not to mention, living in a place like that seems a little counter to the teachings of the new testiment. but what do i know.
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Sal
SBUBufBoy - Thank you for at least stating "Anyway, I agree it would show good faith." The Bishop's residence was not built as such although it has tax exempt status and IS NOT OPEN to the public. Even the Presidential White House in Washington DC is open to the public for free.
For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting Martin, the author and tour guide, he has an amazing wealth of knowledge and is a great guy.
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Lucia
SBUBufBoy- Regarding your statement "the diocese being in the red for over 2 million" - You need to make a visit to the Vatican where there are huge statues in solid 22 kt gold, billions of dollars in art, treasures, and gold and---- then talk to me about the diocese finances. You see - setting the example of living in severe luxury at the top while the bottom has to sacrifice- is set at the top with the POPE and then just trickles down.
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MisterChips
Hey, SBUBufBoy, if the bishop wans't abandoning so many architecturally spectacular churches, he'd have LOTS of grand venues for for dignitaries, receptions, fundraising dinners, and donor meetings.
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MisterChips
But, hey, what do I know? I'm just an agnostic critic. I'm sure Jesus would protect his own glorious mansion while depriving his followers of the the most beautiful places in their lives and/or neighborhoods.
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pgf1948
Completely, utterly stupid comments and discussion. This book is about a great street. Nothing like it will ever be built again.
Regardless of the shortcomings of the Roman Catholic Church--endlessly shameful, manifold, and inexcusable-- the fact that the bishop of the Buffalo diocese has his residence on Oakland Place is irrelevant to the importance of the street's history and architecture.
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Lucia
pgf1948-
I see that you do not make the connection here (with the comments that have been left)- so let me connect the dots for you:
Churches are being closed in poor neighborhoods while one has to pay $20.00 for a tour the street that the Bishop lives on. That really "bites" some people if you know what I mean. If thinking about that doesn't bother you - fine ----but why do you have to call the comments of the people that it does bother stupid? The very offer for this tour at this time is callous if you ask me - but hey I am not asking you to think like me (and please don't mock me for not thinking like you).
but why do you hav
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pgf1948
Lucia,
You don't have to connect any dots for me, sweetheart. Carry on your tirade about this (and most) bishops' luxurious living in a separate post. That subject has nothing to do with a book about a particularly distinguished street's history
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chris69
Here is the problem with Oakland and this section of Buffalo!
Take a look at Humboldt Park, Masten Park, Front Park, South Park and Cazenovia Park...any one or all of these parks could be surrounded by homes in the $250,000 to $500,000 price range.
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sayvanderlay
Chris69 - I don't follow what you're saying. How do prices in those other areas reflect that there's a "problem" with Oakland?
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