Since the beginning, Buffalo Rising has been a platform to discuss the ups and downs of transportation initiatives. Whether it was Route 5 and The Skyway or “The Scar,” Buffalo has been impacted by major transportation decisions that have changed the face of this city, mostly for the worse. But where did it all start? What were decision-makers thinking back then?
To better understand how it all started, we have to understand the mindset at the time. The automobile was considered the future form of progress, rightly so. People wanted to go faster, and further, and they demanded comfort and convenience in the process.
It’s time to step back in time, to 1951. The following video posted by New York State Archives demonstrates the mindset of the collective set of those who were doing everything that they could to connect people, cities… and all of the US. These newfound connections would have huge impacts on the cities that were, until that point, heavily dependent upon sea and rail. The car was coming fast, not just linking cities, but soon enough speeding straight through them thanks to urban planners such as Robert Moses.
Part of the “Your Thruway New York!” series. Presents the advantages of building the Thruway from New York City to Albany and Schenectady to Utica, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. Shots of downtown Buffalo, trains, Michigan Avenue Bridge, Buffalo River, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, construction, Walden Avenue, and Niagara Falls.