This walk will provide an introduction to the resurgence that has been taking place on historic Grant Street in the past 10 years. Here are some highlights:

• Start at the WEDI offices at 436 Grant St, to learn about their work on the West Side and in the greater Buffalo area
• Stop at the Gypsy Parlour for an update on their fun activities
• Stop at Blue House Collective a shop of women’s handmade objects and art. Why did they choose Grant St.?
• Stop at Global Villages, Louise Sano’s eclectic shop and learn about her history with WEDI and her success as a businesswoman who arrived here from Rwanda
• Visit JJ’s BBQ – How did he get his thriving restaurant started?
• Stop at The Meating Place, a long time business on Grant
• Other stops at new businesses as appropriate
• Finish at the West Side Bazaar for a discussion of the Bazaar’s past and bright future

We’re offering a Covid-safe free lunch inside the West Side Bazaar for the first time since March 2020 to two lucky registrants, drawn at random. Registration must be received by Wednesday, May 5 at 11:59 PM to be entered.

Led by: Carolynn Welch and Bonnie Smith of WEDI

Meeting place: WEDI offices at 436 Grant St, Buffalo, NY, 14213

Scope: We will walk from WEDI offices to the West Side Bazaar at West Ferry Street

Experience the Peace Walk Discovery Trail, a mosaic art project on Unity Island along Buffalo’s Shoreline Trail. Only a few minutes west of and parallel to Niagara Street runs the newly improved shoreline trail north, along the Niagara River. This mosaic art project won the City of Buffalo’s competition in 2016 and was realized in 2017. Learn about some of the local history of that stretch between Broderick Park and Unity Island Park, how it was a last stop of the Underground Railroad (UGRR), how Native Americans interacted with the island. Hear about artist Cornelia Dohse-Peck’s vision for Peace Walk Discovery Trail, the symbols used and how this public art project came to be.

Led by: Walk will be led by artist Cornelia Dohse-Peck (Visual Artist) and by Will Peck, collaborator and husband, who worked together on this public art commission.

Meeting place:  at the north end of Broderick Park near the fish consumption signage; near the Riverwalk connection. How to get there: go west on West Ferry and continue over the bridge onto Unity Island, turn right and find parking.

Scope: Approximately 1 3/4 hours (a leisurely walk with about six stops) along the beautiful Niagara River

Notes: This Jane’s Walk is inclusive and wheelchair accessible – no stairs. Please wear sunscreen, and dress for outdoors.

For more information, please visit: www.ArtStudioDohsePeck.com

Scajaquada Creek is a significant waterway in Buffalo History, but today it is one of the most degraded in the region. It has been abused by generations of urban development – stripped of its wetlands, polluted by heavy contaminants, sewage, plastic and other household chemicals, channelized and rerouted, covered by a highway, and buried underground. Join Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper for a walk along the Scajaquada Creek path to discuss this history,  current health, and explore what the future could hold for the creek and surrounding communities. We will begin at the Peter Street Park and walk along the Jesse Kregal Trail to the mouth of Scajaquada Creek at Niagara Street.

Led by: Lauren Darcy, Ecological Planner

Meeting Place: Peter Street Park (1 Peter St, Buffalo, NY 14207 – approx. 42.937990, -78.886764)

End Place: 1660 Niagara St

Distance:  Roughly 2 Miles (including return to Peter Street Park)

Join us for a tour of Hamlin Park.   A beautiful neighborhood, filled with tree-lined streets and large number of architecturally interesting and significant homes.  Learn more about its history as a Carriage Driving Park which was transformed into a residential neighborhood in the late 19^th century.  In 1999 Hamlin Park was designated an “Historic District,” the largest African-American community in the nation to be so cited.   The tour will begin at 60 Hedley Place, home to the Hamlin Park Taxpayers Community Association, a vibrant community group that advocates for neighborhood preservation.

Led by: Dr. Mary Rockwell, Director, New Buffalo Institute, Canisius College
Meeting Place: 60 Hedley Place in Hamlin Park

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Based on the groundbreaking history Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold, this 3-mile walking tour will examine the ways lesbians shaped Buffalo’s public spaces from the 1930s through the early 1960s. We will also explore how urban renewal policies affected lesbian space in the 1960s, laying the groundwork for a more confrontational gay rights movement in the 1970s.

Meeting Place: In front of Central Library (1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo)

Scope: Approx. 2 hours and 3 miles.

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Urbanist and preservationist Chris Hawley will be your guide to Broadway Fillmore only one day after he becomes a full-time resident. This bicycle tour will start and end at Eugene V. Debs Hall, 483 Peckham Street (corner of Clark Street). Always keen on the history, present conditions, and future possibilities of Buffalo neighborhoods, Hawley will highlight the landscape of this venerable neighborhood—its buildings, businesses, and landmarks. This includes his own corner tavern, closed in 1991 and soon to be reborn as a nonprofit social hall. Tour participants will receive a free replica pin from the Eugene V. Debs 1920 presidential campaign.

Led by: Chris Hawley
Meeting Place: 483 Peckham Street

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In the movie Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones’ character says “America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again.” Over the past year, we have taken a deeper look at ourselves, asking who have we been and who do we want to be? As we work on rewriting America’s blackboard, we can look to Buffalo’s West Side to understand where we have been and find some direction for where we want to go. The scars and advancements of our social, economic, and cultural change are all over this neighborhood. Within these streets lie the birth pains of a city and a nation, its growth and advancement, its failings, and its ever-changing identity. This walk will look at the cultural, socio-economic, and identity crossroads this neighborhood has repeatedly confronted. It can be seen in our parks, architecture, historic markers, and businesses that make up this neighborhood. We will end by looking at the promise of our present, building hope for our future, leading to our new Buffalo and our new America.

The walk will begin at the empty plinth of the former Columbus Memorial in Columbus Park/Prospect Park. The walk will cover a mile and a half and last about an hour and a half. The group will walk along Niagara Street and into the neighborhoods along Jersey Street, Fargo Avenue, and West Avenue. Highlights will include Prospect Park, Front Park, The Fargo Estate Community Gardens, various businesses along Niagara Street, and D’Youville College. The walk will end at the newly opened Health Professions Hub.

Led by: Russell Davidson – the Title III Project Director at D’Youville. He has experience working in government, finance, cultural and academic institutions. Russell has a long history of developing and managing collaborative, innovative projects, bringing together diverse industries and disciplines with a goal of impacting social change.
Meeting Place: The walk will begin at the empty plinth of the former Columbus Memorial in Columbus Park/Prospect Park.

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