The Grant-Amherst Business Association’s Black Rock Historic Photo Project will be one of the nine award recipients recognized by Preservation Buffalo Niagara at their annual awards ceremony on Thursday, May 19. The project was nominated for recognition by North District Councilmember Joseph Golombek, Jr. for an award in the category of Education and Outreach.
The project was first established when the creators realized that there was a lack of photographic historical documentation of the history of Buffalo’s earliest settled part of the city. Given the central role that Black Rock played in the war of 1812 as the site of three major battles, it seemed necessary to provide it with a comprehensive visual documentation that was not available at the city’s libraries. Local business owners began collecting photos and the group submitted a “call for old photos” to the local newspaper in 2004. An exhibition of the photos was held, which in turn inspired viewers to submit their personal photo collections from Black Rock. The collection continued to grow, with pictures of various residents, businesses, factories, architecture, the Erie Canal, churches and schools.
In 2009, the group produced a set of five postcards using what they had collected. They also partnered up with the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society to host a slide-show of the photos collected. They have continued to host several of these presentations at the Historical Society with unprecedented turnouts by the public. The creators are also working on a video documentary that currently has 11 individuals relaying their personal Black Rock histories and memories on camera.
The project has gathered plenty of positive attention from the media as well. Buffalo Spree published an article on the photos and the project team has been asked to appear on three different television programs and also lead a discussion with a photographic group. With each round of publicity, influxes of new photos and stories have surfaced from local residents. As the word spreads, the project keeps growing. Currently, the project has 1,800 images that have been submitted by nearly 100 individuals.
The Black Rock Historic Photo Project has also made contributions to the civic pride of the area and various revitalization efforts. The photos were utilized in County projects, city projects and the New York State Scajaquada Creek Summit in 2010. The Historical Society awarded the creators with the Niederlander award for outstanding programming by a local heritage organization. This project has also allowed the committee to advise other groups in various Buffalo neighborhoods to launch similar documentation projects.
“The project has demonstrated remarkable achievements in historic preservation through photographic documentation of Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood that will become a legacy for future generations,” said Golombek. “Through presentations the project has educated and created public awareness and has served as a model for preservation endeavors for other neighborhoods in Buffalo.”
The awards ceremony will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel from 12-1:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19. For more information about the awards or to reserve a ticket, visit the Preservation Buffalo Niagara website.