Buffalo Rising Online

Aug 7th, 8:15am By RaChaCha

“When I had the idea for this tour, my goal was to focus on what is breaking through, not what is breaking down,” said Cynthia Van Ness, President of the Preservation Coalition of Erie County, about Buffalo Tours’ new tour of the Jefferson Avenue area. Cynthia recruited Buffalo Tours docent Andrew Mitchell, who grew up in the neighborhood, to collaborate on developing and leading the tour—added to the Buffalo Tours lineup this year. You can join the tour this Saturday, and check it out for yourself (details below).

On a run through earlier this summer with Buffalo Tours docents, Cynthia and Andrew took everyone down E. Utica Street to Jefferson, then up Jefferson to the Hamlin Park neighborhood, eventually ending up at Canisius College. True to the tour’s mission, the group got an up close look at several significant area cultural and economic assets—some just emerging or hitting their stride, and some decades-old neighborhood anchors—including Queen City Farm, the new Merriweather Library (designed by African-American architect and AIA Fellow Robert Coles, and housing the very impressive William A. Miles Center for African and African-American Studies), the Apollo Theater, Doris Records, Gigi’s restaurant, the new Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, the walking path atop a bricked over Scajaquada Creek, and lots of historic architecture and churches. Cynthia told me that Rod McCallum of Queen City Farm will make an appearance on this Saturday’s tour with an update on what’s happening there.

But our run through didn’t gloss over some of the challenges faced by the Jefferson Avenue area—and by many urban neighborhoods throughout upstate—including vacant homes and lots, dilapidated properties, and historic buildings in peril.

A couple of gems-in-peril particularly captured our attention, in the vicinity of Harwood Place, that I recognized from articles on David Torke’s Fix Buffalo Today blog (see photos, below: 16 Harwood Place, and 1572 Jefferson Avenue). David updated me this week, and told me that these City-owned houses are still available, and he is willing to assist legitimate purchasers in acquiring them. Both these structures are achingly beautiful, and tell a unique story. The Lyth cottage is on the former grounds of the J. Lyth & Sons terra cotta works, and appears to include materials that were made on site. The vacant red house is the twin to its neighbor, and shows the heartbreaking contrast of one house allowed to decay by an absentee owner—inviting demolition—while the house next door is solid and lovingly maintained.

A bit to the south, at the E. Ferry intersection, we got a look at two venerable neighborhood institutions, Doris Records and Gigi’s restaurant. I loved that Doris Records was playing music outside the store—an oldie that I could imagine they had been playing for decades. And we heard so much about Gigi’s that after the tour we decided to head back there for lunch. Cynthia told me this week that she and Andrew plan to invite all the tour takers to stop at Gigi’s for lunch after Saturday’s tour. That alone is a great reason not to miss out!

David Torke also reminded me that the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier is a partner in the Midtown Renaissance Project, an area that partially overlaps with the territory covered by the tour. The Landmark Society and the other partners in Midtown were involved in the development of a cultural assets map (pictured below), and recently unveiled a page on the Landmark web site dedicated to the Midtown Renaissance Project.

The Landmark Society and the Preservation Coalition are joint partners in the Buffalo Tours initiative.

Details: Jefferson Avenue Old & New From a German-American neigborhood in the 19th century to an African-American neighborhood in the 20th, Jefferson Avenue is dotted by small, underappreciated shops and services, some of which have been owned and operated by the same Buffalo entrepreneurs and families for decades. Discover what Jefferson Avenue has lost and gained and how new investment and infill architecture are strengthening the neighborhood.

Tour meets at 9:30 at the Utica Station of Metro Rail and ends at the Delevan College Station.

Get Connected:
Buffalo Tours (click “Walking Tours”)
Midtown Renaissance Plan & Landmark Society (illustration of asset map)
David Torke’s Fix Buffalo Today blog
Queen City Farm
Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts

Photo credits (top to bottom, and left to right): Cynthia Van Ness, Queen City Farm, David Torke’s Fix Buffalo Today blog, Queen City Farm, Cynthia Van Ness, David Torke’s Fix Buffalo Today blog (remainder)