Last September, Mike Mulley of Queen City Gallery began putting out notices requesting photos of the Broadway Market for an upcoming exhibit. Shortly thereafter, the Market’s office notified him that a collection of photos had been donated by a Buffalo-born photographer, named Don Stockman. The photos depicted the Market in 1973, and although Stockman passed away before the exhibit’s opening, they were displayed for the first time this past Saturday—Dec. 22nd—as part of Mulley’s show: “The Broadway Market 1973: Photographs by Don Stockman.”
The exhibit has two sides, and across from Stockman’s prints, Mulley has also arranged a series of other images taken by himself and other local photographers. Stockman’s photos showcase the frequenting patrons and vendors of the Market in 1973, one photo even depicting the old entranceway. The opposite collection showcases the market, as well as the neighborhood, with photos dating from as early as 1954 to most recently 2011. Besides Mulley’s own photos, others were donated by the Polish Legacy Project of Buffalo, and the shots vary from butter lambs, to a child riding a pony at the market, to one of a young man driving a hotrod alongside the Central Terminal.
Mulley’s intentions with the exhibit are to both attract interest in the Market and also, to gather photographs of the Market’s history: “It’s an ongoing project. [I want] to build an archive…a photographic record of the Market that will be with us after we’re long gone,” Mulley said.
To help gather more photographs, Mulley is asking local residents to bring snapshots to the exhibit. He has offered one free 8×10 print to those who donate scanned copies of their photos, so long as the photos depict the Market or the surrounding East Side neighborhood. As he explained, “[It’s] an enticement to get people to pull pictures out of their attics, out of their scrapbooks, and share.”
During my visit on Saturday, the exhibit’s photos seemed to stir a common sentiment among its viewers: “I grew up with this market.” One man maintained, “the neighborhood used to be all Polish,” as another woman, surveying the photos with her mother, pointed at the image of the entranceway and said, “there used to be a man that sat out there, in a wheel chair, asking for money. We used to come here all the time. It really brings back memories.”
As for Stockman, his career took him many places in addition to Buffalo. He was born in Lovejoy and launched his photography career while serving in the Army’s intelligence branch in the 1960s. After returning from service in Maryland and in Germany, he obtained a B.A. in Photography from SUNY Buffalo, and took several related positions, eventually working primarily in Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia. There he worked for the Congressional Photographic Service and opened Freelance Photographers and Associates. A man of many talents, he was also an avid folk musician, having performed while living in Washington.
The photo exhibit of his work and others will be on display for all to enjoy and reminisce, until March 15th at the Broadway Market.