Ralph and Grace

This weekend Ralph and I decided to spend a few days in Buffalo. We thought it might be nice to do some exploring and learn a little more about this city across the border from us. We ended up having a really fun and enjoyable weekend.

We started our weekend on Friday afternoon. After some initial exploring we went to Gordon Biersch and enjoyed a nice dinner. A did a little bit of shopping/browsing in the Galleria Mall and then went to our hotel. We stayed near the airport.

We got up early on Saturday morning and after breakfast drove to Elmwood Village. We had signed up for a walking culinary tour. It was really interesting and very informative. There were 7 of us on the tour. One of the people on the tour was from Toronto. She writes for a travel Magazine and was doing a write-up of this tour. (www.dreamtravelmagazine.com) As well, there was a couple from France who had just moved to Buffalo and another couple that lived in the area and wanted to learn a little bit more about the history of their village. We made an interesting group.

What to Expect from the Elmwood Village Tour

Eclectic Mix of Eateries – You will taste exceptional food samples from seven local establishments on the Elmwood Village Tour. Our stops include an artisan chocolatier, a local cooperative market and one of the oldest establishments in Buffalo, known for their crispy and delicious chicken wings! Exceptional food tastings, enough for a hearty lunch are included in the ticket price.

Explorations – Between food tastings we will explore the neighborhood’s exquisite architecture, expertly designed parks and entertaining history. Experience the energy of the Elmwood Village while our expert tour guides eagerly share their passion, knowledge and stories about the history and culture of this neighborhood as we embrace everything Elmwood!

Until 1868, Buffalo's northern boundary was located at North Street, and what is now the Elmwood Village was a rural area known as "Shingletown", traversed by a quiet country lane called Rogers Street. A tavern stood at the corner of Rogers and Utica Streets, serving as a way station for travelers between Buffalo and Black Rock; across the way stood a tiny chapel staffed by a preacher who traveled each Sunday from Westminster Presbyterian Church in Allentown. Other than that, however, Shingletown was little more than an expanse of apple orchards, pastureland, and forest. Elmwood Avenue itself existed only between Butler Street (now Lexington Avenue) and West Delavan Avenue.

Like the Delaware District immediately to its east, what is today the Elmwood Village sprang to life largely thanks to the extensive system of parks and parkways that Frederick Law Olmsted developed beginning in the 1870s in what was then the outskirts of Buffalo. The large Delaware Park, the centerpiece of that system, was placed there; to serve as grand entrances to the park, Olmsted designed a series of parkways: wide avenues that extended between the park and the city, lined on each side with great rows of shade trees to give visitors a prelude to the tranquil green oasis that awaited them (he also redesigned Rogers Street in the same manner, which would come to be renamed Richmond Avenue). Though these parkways ran through empty land at the time, Olmsted correctly assumed that as the city grew, they would attract the attention of the growing aristocratic class, who were already beginning to build ample estates on Delaware Avenue in order to escape the crowds and congestion of downtown. By 1890, Elmwood Avenue had been extended southward, a streetcar line had been established, side streets had been laid out with still more homes, and the neighborhood as it is today had begun to take shape.

Buffalo's shining hour came in 1901, when the Pan-American Exposition took place in and around Delaware Park. An estimated eight million people visited the Exposition between May and November of that year, in order to enjoy the pleasures of the midway, thrilling attractions such as "A Trip to the Moon", and the new phenomenon of electric light. The Exposition also served to attract development to the north end of the Elmwood Village, which was still somewhat isolated from the center of town. Immediately afterward, the Buffalo Historical Society set up its museum on the Exposition grounds, in the former New York State Building next to Hoyt Lake, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, which was intended to be open in time for the Exposition but was not completed until 1905, was nearby. For obvious reasons, this area is now known as the Museum District. Moreover, the more far-flung Olmsted parkways, such as Lincoln Parkway, began to see the same sort of ostentatious mansions as Delaware Avenue.

In 1931, the north end of the Elmwood Village became home to the new campus of the New York State Teachers' College, which moved from its cramped digs on the West Side to what was once the farm tended to by patients of the Buffalo State Hospital, a mental health facility that had been housed for years in a magnificent complex on Elmwood Avenue designed by H. H. Richardson and Frederick Law Olmsted. Together with the museums and the Olmsted parkways, the college was integral in the fact that the Elmwood Village not only held its own in the face of the decline of Buffalo after World War II, but actually thrived; as the school grew and expanded its scope, taking on the name Buffalo State College, Elmwood Avenue became a lively strip of bars, restaurants and shops serving the college students—and, more and more, the upwardly-mobile young adults that were attracted to the neighborhood by its liveliness and came to make their homes there.

Though both groups are still a ubiquitous presence in the area, today it's arguably the upscale urbanites, more than the college kids, who contribute the most to the neighborhood's identity. Recent years have seen an emphasis on the neighborhood as a multifaceted community rather than a collection of bars, shops and nightspots, down to a more-or-less official deprecation of the term "Elmwood strip" in favor of the "Elmwood Village". Front and center in this rebranding effort has been the Elmwood Village Association, which was founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit partnership of businesses and residents and which today has a hand in nearly every aspect of neighborhood life—from historic preservation, to promotion of local businesses, to political advocacy at City Hall, to operating the weekly Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers' Market in the warm months. The efforts of neighborhood boosters were rewarded in 2007, when the American Planning Association named the Elmwood Village one of "America's 10 Great Neighborhoods" for that year, and most recently in December 2012, with the inclusion of the Elmwood West Historic District on the National Register of Historic.

Our first stop on the tour was at Globe Market. This market specialized in catering and gift baskets as well as having a small area where you can eat a light meal. This is where the tour began. We enjoyed a Manhattan Clam chowder which was a great way to start our walk as it was pretty cool outside. To compliment the clam chowder we enjoyed a turkey sandwich. It was really delicious.

An interesting mode of transportation parked on the sidewalk.

So many choices.

Our next stop took us to the Lexington Co-operative Market. This place is similar to Whole Foods. We were given some time to explore the store and then we met and enjoyed a really good Wheat Berry Salad and some warm Apple Cider. For dessert we enjoyed a One Year Cookie (this is how long it took to perfect the recipe). It was a chocolate chip cookie was really tasty. I'm glad we were doing a lot of walking as we have already eaten a fair bit. We tasted some really good gingerbread popcorn while we were here.

It was time for us to venture off the main street and learn more about the neighborhood. We admired many beautiful homes. This Presbyterian church - was once a very busy and full building. Sadly now they only have about 100 members. In an effort to save the church and also keep the building for worship, they have separated it into a church and apartments for people to rent. The rent helps cover the upkeep of the building. They have kept much of the architecture inside the same so that each apartment has beautiful windows and archways. It was sad to hear that they had to do this, but at the same time maybe it's an opportunity to witness to those who live in the building.

The houses are very large with their footprint averaging 3000-5000 square feet. Some were as large as 8000 square feet. The price tag on these homes is also surprising. For the smaller homes - 3000-5000, they range in price from $300,000 to $450,000. We were shocked as these were estate like homes. Frank Lloyd Write was one of the architects that had designed some of these homes. They were really amazing.

Our next stop was at Coles which was one of the oldest pubs in Elmwood Village. This pub was established when prohibition ended. They have 31 different beers on tap and have really amazing Buffalo wings. We enjoyed sampling both of them.

After enjoying this tasty treat we moved on to Ashkers which was a natural juice bar. They specialized in cold pressed juices. We enjoyed three different samples (beet, apple, pear and cayenne, the 2nd was kale apple & pineapple and third one was cucumber, carrot and ginger). They were all very fresh tasting and we all enjoyed them.

Our next stop was an opportunity to sample some olive oils and balsamic vinegar's. Who knew that there were so many different flavors. We definitely planned to come back here after the tour.