Top20Buffalo.com - Your Top20Guide to Buffalo, NY.

Buffalo (pronounced IPA: /ˈbʌfloʊ/ by a small minority of local residents, /ˈbʌfəloʊ/ by most others) is an American city in western New York. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 292,648.^[1] Buffalo is the state's second-largest city after New York City and is the county seat of Erie County.^GR6 It is the economic and cultural center of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area which has an overall population of 1.2 million people.^[2] Buffalo is the dominant city of both the Buffalo Niagara Region and the Western New York region. The Buffalo area is also adjacent to the Golden Horseshoe. This is an urban region in southern Ontario, Canada.

Buffalo lies at the eastern end of Lake Erie and at the southern head of the Niagara River. The Niagara River connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario via Niagara Falls.

History

Buffalo Panorama 1911

Passenger boats at Buffalo 1909

Pan-American Exposition - Ethnology Building at Night

Main article: History of Buffalo, New York

The City of Buffalo received its name from the creek that flows through it, and likely dates from the mid-18th century, when the area was first settled by Europeans. The area was originally settled by a Neutral Nation tribe, the Ongiara. Later, the Senecas of the Iroquois Confederacy won control over this land from the Neutrals. In 1804, Joseph Ellicott, a principal agent of the Holland Land Company, designed a radial street and grid system that branches out from downtown like bicycle spokes, and is one of only three radial street patterns in the US.^[3] During the War of 1812, on December 30, 1813, the village of Buffalo was burned by British forces. On November 4, 1825 the Erie Canal was completed with Buffalo being at the western end of the system. The population at the time was about 2,400. The Erie Canal brought a surge in population and commerce which lead Buffalo to incorporate as a city in 1832 with a population of about 10,000.

The City of Buffalo has been a long time home to the African-American community. An example is the 1828 village directory which listed 59 "Names of Coloured" heads of families.^[4] In 1845, construction was begun on the Macedonia Baptist Church (commonly called the Michigan Street Baptist Church). This African-American church was an important meeting place for the abolitionist movement. On February 12,1974 the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Abolitionist leaders like William Wells Brown also made their home in Buffalo.^[5] Buffalo was also a terminus point of the Underground Railroad. Many fugitives crossed the Niagara River from Buffalo to Fort Erie, Ontario and freedom.

During the 1840's, Buffalo continued its growth as a port city. Both passenger and commercial traffic expanded with some 93,000 passengers heading west from the port of Buffalo.^[6] Grain and commercial goods shipments led to repeated expansion of the harbor. The one of the first steam powered grain elevators was constructed which led to faster unloading of lake freighters.^[6]

Abraham Lincoln visited Buffalo on February 16, 1861, on his way to accept the presidency of the United States. He stayed at the American Hotel on Main Street between Eagle Street and Court Street.^[7] The Civil War years saw a great increase in the population of Buffalo it increased from 81,029 to 94,210 in 1865. The Niagara Steam Forge Works manufactured turret parts for the ironclad ship USS Monitor.^[7]

At the start of the 20th century, immigrants from Europe came in to work in the local mills which used hydroelectric power generated from the river. The city got the nickname City of Light at this time due to the widespread electric lighting used. In 1881, Buffalo had deployed the first electric street lights in the United States.

President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo on Sept. 6, 1901. He died in the city eight days later and Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26th President of the United States.

The link to Fort Erie, known as the Peace Bridge, was opened in 1927.

The city's economy declined in the later half of the 20th century, due to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1957, cutting the city off from the normal trade routes. The city, which boasted over half a million people at its peak in the 1950s, has seen its population decline by almost 50%, as industries shut down and people left the Rust Belt for the employment opportunities of the South and West. However, the suburbs adjacent to Buffalo have grown from 300,000 in the 1950s to over 600,000 in 2007.

The end of 2006 saw an upturn in the city's prospects. Economic development in the city was marked at $4 billion in 2007 compared to a $50 million average for the previous ten years. .^[8] New proposals and renovations were numerous, especially in the downtown area. Buffalo ranked 83rd on the Forbes best cities for jobs list, an increase from the previous year, and beating out cities like New York City, Cleveland, and Detroit. Buffalo is also scheduled to get a new tallest building in 2010; the Buffalo City Tower will rise 600 feet (180 m).

Geography and climate

Buffalo in Bloom

Blizzard of 1977

Buffalo is located on the eastern end of Lake Erie, opposite Fort Erie, Ontario in Canada, and at the beginning of the Niagara River, which flows northward over Niagara Falls and into Lake Ontario. It is located at 42°54'17" North, 78°50'58" West (42.904657, -78.849405).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 136.0 km² (52.5 sq mi). 105.2 km² (40.6 sq mi) of it is land and 30.8 km² (11.9 sq mi) of it is water. The total area is 22.66% water.

Buffalo has the sunniest and driest summers of any major city in the Northeast, but still has enough rain to keep vegetation green and lush.^[9] Summers are marked by plentiful sunshine and moderate humidity and temperature. Obscured by the notoriety of Buffalo's snowstorms is the fact that Buffalo benefits from other lake effects such as the cooling southwest breezes off Lake Erie in summer that gently temper the warmest days. Rainfall is moderate but typically occurs at night. The stabilizing effect of Lake Erie continues to inhibit thunderstorms and enhance sunshine in the immediate Buffalo area through most of July. August usually has more showers and is humid as the warmer lake loses its temperature-stabilizing influence.

Buffalo has a reputation for snowy winters. The region experiences a fairly humid, continental-type climate, but with a definite maritime flavor due to strong modification from the Great Lakes. The transitional seasons are very brief in Buffalo and Western New York.

Winters in Western New York are generally cold and snowy, but are changeable and include frequent thaws and rain as well. Winters can also be quite long in Western New York, usually spanning from mid-November to early April. Snow covers the ground more often than not from late December into early March, but periods of bare ground are not uncommon. Over half of the annual snowfall comes from the lake effect process and is very localized. Lake effect snow occurs when cold air crosses the relatively warm lake waters and becomes saturated, creating clouds and precipitation downwind. Due to the prevailing winds, areas south of Buffalo receive much more lake effect snow than locations to the north. The lake snow machine starts as early as mid-October, peaks in December, then virtually shuts down after Lake Erie freezes in mid to late January. The most well-known snow storm in Buffalo's history, the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977, resulted from a combination of lake effect snow and high winds. Snow does not typically impair the city's operation, but can cause significant damage as with the October 2006 storm.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	8,668	—
1840	18,213	110.1%
1850	42,261	132.0%
1860	81,129	92.0%
1870	117,714	45.1%
1880	155,134	31.8%
1890	255,664	64.8%
1900	352,387	37.8%
1910	423,715	20.2%
1920	506,775	19.6%
1930	573,076	13.1%
1940	575,901	0.5%
1950	580,132	0.7%
1960	532,759	-8.2%
1970	462,768	-13.1%
1980	357,870	-22.7%
1990	328,123	-8.3%
2000	292,648	-10.8%
Est. 2005	279,745	-4.4%
Historical Population Figures^[10]

City proper

Like most formerly industrial cities of the Great Lakes region--the so-called "rust belt"--Buffalo has suffered through several decades of population decline brought about by the loss of its industrial base. The city's population peaked in 1950, when it was the 15th largest city in the United States. Its population has declined in every year since, particularly during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the city lost nearly one-third of its population in only five years.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, the city had a total population of 292,648 (2006 estimate: 276,059).

At that time of the 2000 census there were 292,648 people, 122,720 households, and 67,005 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,782.4/km² (7,205.8/sq mi). There are 145,574 housing units at an average density of 1,384.1/km² (3,584.4/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city is 54.43% White, 37.23% African American, 0.77% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.68% from other races, and 2.45% from two or more races. 7.54% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 122,720 households out of which 28.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.6% are married couples living together, 22.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 45.4% are non-families. 37.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.29 and the average family size is 3.07.

In the city the population included 26.3% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $24,536, and the median income for a family is $30,614. Males have a median income of $30,938 versus $23,982 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,991. 26.6% of the population and 23.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 38.4% of those under the age of 18 and 14.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Buffalo has very sizable populations of Irish, Italian, Polish, German and African descent. Major ethnic neighborhoods still exist but they changed significantly in the second half of the twentieth century. Traditionally, Polish-Americans were the predominant occupants of the East Side, while Italian-Americans composed a close-knit neighborhood in the west side. The East Side is now a predominantly African American neighborhood, while the West Side has become a melting pot of many ethnicities, with Latino culture being the strongest influence. Throughout the history of Buffalo, the neighborhoods collectively called the First Ward, as well as much of South Buffalo, have been comprised almost entirely of people of Irish descent.

Metropolitan area

As of 2006, Erie and Niagara Counties had a combined estimated population of 1,154,378.^[11] The racial makeup of the area is 82.2% White, 13% African American, 0.6% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 3.3% Hispanic, and 1.4% of all other races. In the metropolitan area, 39.68% of people are under the age of 18 or over the age of 64, and the median age is 38. Of the total population, 82.88% have a high school diploma and 23.2% have obtained a Bachelor's degree. The median income for a household is $38,400 and the per capita income for the area is just under $29,000. Approximately 12% of the population is below the poverty line.

Education

Lafayette High School

City Honors School

Like the rest of New York, Buffalo is subject to the state’s benchmark evaluation system. The Buffalo Public Schools curriculum is aligned to state standards set by the Education Department. At the high school level, students are required to pass Regents Examinations for each course upon its completion. Currently, there are 78 public schools in the city including a growing number of charter schools. As of 2006, the total enrollment was 41,089 stu