Notable Neighborhoods
Allentown
Allentown was designated Buffalo's first official historic district, and it is one of the largest, with over 1,300 structures. Irving Place and upper Park Street are the genteel heart of Allentown, home to knock out examples of late 19th century houses and small apartment buildings. Irving Place is in a particularly good state of preservation, probably recognizable to the ghost of F. Scott Fitzgerald, who lived nearby as a boy.
Arlington Park and Days Park
Arlington Park and Days Park are among Buffalo's hidden jewels, quiet oases surrounding central greens. This western section of the Allentown Historic District has more nooks and crannies than an English muffin, partly because the old Black Rock and Buffalo grids bump up against each other here, but also because one-way traffic makes side streets inaccessible from Allen Street to those in cars. This makes for a stroller's paradise. Wend your way along charming streets, all resplendent with lovingly restored and maintained houses (plus a few charmers awaiting a romantic savior.)
Central Park
At the turn of the last century, upwardly mobile Buffalonians looked north of Delaware Park to build their houses. They alighted in Central Park, designed by cement magnate and visionary Lewis Bennett. Bennett developed this parcel into one of the city's finest neighborhoods. So impressive and archetypical are the houses that one national guide to architecture cites many of them. Just after these houses were built, the Depression and high labor and material costs ended an era of domestic opulence.
Elmwood Village
 Home to young professionals, artists, students and families, the Elmwood Village is a funky but chic tapestry of great American architecture; Queen Anne, Second Empire, Italianate, Victorian Gothic and French Second Empire residential building styles line the streets of this thriving district. A stone's throw from the downtown hotels, Elmwood is a convenient place to stroll and shop, You'll find eccentric antique shops, eclectic art galleries and studios, sassy boutiques and more than 40 restaurants, bistros, bars and dining spots, including Brodo (right). Sure to be a day well spent. Info: www.foreverelmwood.org or 716-881-0707
Recently voted one of the country’s top ten neighborhoods by the American Planning Association, Buffalo’s Elmwood Village shares this heady designation with the likes of Brooklyn’s Park Slope, San Francisco’s North Beach and the Pike Place Market in Seattle. The APA selected the Elmwood Village because of its “vitality, broad spectrum of cultural and social assets, and its commitment to maintaining high community standards while solving real problems.” To read the complete text of the APA designation, click here.
A few highlights:
Talking Leaves (951 Elmwood Avenue): Buffalo's independent booksellers for more than 30 years, Talking Leaves features a great selection of bestsellers, classics, children's literature, magazines and newspapers. A browser's delight.
Everything Elmwood (740 Elmwood Aveune): At this ample and eclectic shop you'll find gifts for everyone on your list from notable note cards to jewelry, scarves, hats, housewares, picture frames, toiletries and toys.
 Greek Coffee Shops: The length and breadth of Elmwood is lined with some of the finest examples of the Greek coffee shop you'll find anywhere. Try the chicken slouvaki with feta and onions at the Towne (left), Ambrosia, Mykonos, Akropolis, or Pano's. Lunchtime doesn't get any better.
El Buen Amigo (114 Elmwood Avenue): This idiosyncratic shop features affordable imports from Latin and South American villages.
Presence (765 Elmwood Avenue): Elegant and unusual clothing for women, Presence also features a nice array of jewelry and gift items.
Quill's Apothecary (799 Elmwood Avenue): Quill's carries a wide variety of upscale make-up and skin care products.
Parkside
Frank Lloyd Wright and Frederick Law Olmsted left their history-making footprints in Parkside, and, with hundreds of charming wooden houses with bracketed eaves and proverbial curving tree-lined streets, help stamped Parkside as a classic turn-of-the-century neighborhood. Parkside is home to Wright's Darwin Martin House Complex as well as a host of Arts-and-Crafts inspired houses, many lovingly maintained.
(Courtesy of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo)
|
