City of Buffalo

Buffalo is the second largest city in New York State and its largest inland port and covers an area of 52.51 square miles (2000). Nicknamed by Millard Fillmore as "The Queen City of the Lakes," the city derives vitality from its waterways. Buffalo is located at the eastern end of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River; the lake has made the city one of the nation's leading inland ports. The city has a population of 292,648 (2000 Census). Buffalo has a reputation for severe winters, which is slightly exaggerated. The effect of below-freezing winds gusting across the warmer lake water produces lake effect snow in amounts higher than most northern states. Annual average temperature is around 47.7° F and ranges from 24.2° F during January to 47.7° F in July.


In 1790 the Holland Land Company purchased four tracts of land in western New York and sent surveyor Joseph Ellicott there in 1803 to draw up a plan for a city on Lake Erie and the Niagara River, which he called New Amsterdam. Residents of the area did not approve of this choice of name, preferring the name Buffalo. Buffalo was incorporate as a city in 1832 with a population of about 10,000 people.


Buffalo is a city noted for its architecture, and the works of such notable figures as Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan are well represented. A great place to get the overview of Buffalo is from the Buffalo City Hall's Observation Tower, which affords an aerial view of the city and surrounding waterways. Architectural walking tours are offered by the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historical Site from April to October by reservation.The Buffalo Main Lighthouse, located on Black Rock Canal at the mouth of the Buffalo River, was built in 1818 and deactivated in 1914. The structure is open to the public and is located near Veterans Park Museum. The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, open year-round, display a large collection of exotic plants in 12 greenhouses. The Buffalo Zoo is the third oldest in the nation, and it started humbly as a deer park. The zoo is a participant in captive breeding programs with certain endangered species, such as clouded leopards and Puerto Rican crested toads. St. Patrick's day in March and Annual Buffalo Hellenic Festival are two famous festivals that take place in Buffalo.