Buffalo at sunset

Decided to head out a little earlier and capture Buffalo in the setting late summer sun.  The parking garage behind the M & T Building is a great location to get shots of Ellicott Square and downtown Buffalo.

Buffalo Night and Canalside

My visit to the Erie Canal Harbor at night.  The classic bowstring bridge recreation above the Commercial Slip harkens back to the original bridges that spanned the Erie Canal during its prime.  Canalside is a great waterfront development, connecting downtown Buffalo with its neglected maritime past.  Boats used to be the workhorses of transportation and freight, and they should be again.

Buffalo from above

Buffalo from the top of the city hall observation deck.  A great way to see the city from above, and its free.   The difference between the West Side and the East Side is quite stark when looking at the city from above.  Quite nice to have an observation deck that has not been overly commercialized.  The polarizing filter did come in handy from eliminating the reflections on the plexiglass shields.  The Empire State Building is still the best observation deck for allowing people to get crystal clear photos of actual skyline.

Buffalo Place + Canalside at Night

Buffalo Place at night, a very lonely place with some great office architecture.  Buffalo is old enough that there are plenty of quality office buildings constructed before the generic post-war design aesthetic crept into commercial design.  Especially nice to have an office building designed by the architect of the World Trade Center.

Canalside at night is a beautiful location, especially at night.  It would be nice if a city like Chicago could have something like this.  Brooklyn Navy Yard could take some cues from this.

Buffalo, above and below

A drive along the Buffalo Skyway followed by a subway ride and a visit to Buffalo Central Terminal.  The abandoned central railway station’s fate is very much represented by the new skyway, a symbol of the car’s dominance over railroad transit in the latter half of the 20th Century.  Buffalo at least has a relatively modern and efficient subway system, one of the fastest in the country and much faster than most other light rail systems.

Buffalo Lakefront and West Side

The lakefront of Buffalo is dominated by the New York Thruway, a quite insurmountable barrier with few points of crossing.  Hopefully, the view from the Maple Leaf train that uses the lakefront and riverside track is pleasant.  Also visited during this week was Delaware Avenue and Kleinhans Hall, a symbol of enlightenment and culture.  Buffalo is definitely a city of contrasts.