As the Buffalo park system was expanded by the creation of new parks, additional park approaches were added as well, extending the concept of the original Olmsted plan to the newly served portions of the city.
The South Side Parkways
In the south section of Buffalo, what have come to be called the South Side parkways were laid out. McKinley Parkway (originally called “South Side Parkway”) links South Park and an existing green space incorporated into the scheme, Heacock Park (now called Heacock Place), to its northeast. McKinley Circle (first known as South Parkway Circle) is located at the point where McKinley Parkway leaves Buffalo and enters the city of Lackawanna at Dorrance avenue to align with the entrance to South Park. (It is interesting that the Park Board was able to construct a thoroughfare outside the city boundaries). McClellan Circle (originally, Woodside Circle) is at the junction of Choate avenue, McKinley Parkway and Red Jacket Parkway. Red Jacket Parkway completes the southern portion of the park approaches and extends them to Cazenovia Park. The portion of McKinley Parkway within the Buffalo city limits, that is, from Heacock Park to Downing street, was opened in 1897, along with Red Jacket Parkway. The southernmost portion of McKinley Parkway took several more years to complete, due both to the greater complexities of acquiring the right of way within what is now the city of Lackawanna and to the concurrent need to construct a viaduct which would allow the parkway to cross a railroad right of way. It should be noted that while the southern park approaches have always been designated as “parkways”, they should more accurately be considered as “avenues” in the Olmsted nomenclature, with 100 foot rights of way and a central traffic lane. Both of the southern “circles” are of 500′ diameter with central planting spaces.
The Scajaquada Boulevard
In 1894, Scajaquada Boulevard, later called Scajaquada Parkway, was an avenue intended to run from Delaware Park westward for about 3000 feet along the southern bank of Scajaquada creek as far as Grant street. The Park Board also sought to create a mirror image of that approach on the northern bank of the creek, and to then extend both drives on to Niagara street, but those plans did not come to fruition. The parkway – and that part of the creek, subsequently were lost to the construction of the Scajaquada Expressway in the late 1950s. It was also intended to extend another park approach to connect to Riverside Park, but that link was likewise not completed. It was suggested in 1896 that it proceed over Roesch avenue, via Military road, Race avenue, and Skillen street to Delaware Park via Elmwood avenue. Similar routes were proposed from time to time, but none ever came to fruition.
Sheridan Terrace
Olmsted’s original plans for The Front envisioned that portion of Sixth Street (later, Front avenue, and since 1929, Busti avenue) between York (later, Porter) avenue and The Bank as a park approach. That street was not so developed, however. He also suggested that, at some future time, a roadway might be constructed along the bluff at the edge of Fort Porter, should the Federal government ever allow that. In 1884 and 1885, the opportunity presented itself, and a winding 40 foot drive with a 20 foot pathway adjacent to ti was constructed, with portions of the fort’s old earthworks and its stone blockhouse needing to being cleared for the route. The drive was named Sheridan Terrace, after Gen. Philip Sheridan, the Army’s late commanding general whose influence kept Fort Porter active and allowed the use of government land for the drive.
More Recently
On the west side for the city, the Board was granted control over existing city streets to link Front Park with the city’s downtown. Sixth Street, renamed first as “Front Avenue” and then as “Busti Avenue”, runs across the edge of Front Park and terminated at the circle designated “The Bank” (now lost) at the juncture of Niagara and Sixth Streets, Massachusetts avenue and Sheridan Terrace.
In later years, attempts were made by the Buffalo City Council to supplement the portion of McKinley Parkway running through Lackawanna with a routing completely within the city of Buffalo boundaries and to complete a connection between all of the Olmsted parks. Regular city streets, such as a portion of South Park avenue and Aldrich place, were formally designated as “park approaches”, and the same appellation was applied again to Fillmore Avenue north to Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, but no special landscaping was applied to any of them, the designation being more honorific than practical.
A more successful attempt to delineate the Olmsted parkways involved street furniture. The “Central Park Luminere” lighting which were first placed in Lincoln, Chapin and Bidwell parkways was extended to additional parkways. They were added to Red Jacket Parkway, McClellan and McKinley Circles, and also to the drives in Cazenovia Park. Center multi-lamp lumineres were installed in the center islands of both of the South Buffalo circles, and the landscaping and walkways of those spaces were finally completed in 2003, over 100 years since their construction was begun. The circular drive in South Park, Hotaling Drive in Riverside Park, the Front, Days Park, and Richmond Avenue have now also received this type of lighting fixture. Symphony and Ferry Circles also have had central multi-lamp luminaires fairly closely resembling their original central light standards installed. Unique and standardized entrance signage was also incorporated. The intent, however, has since been somewhat diluted by the addition of the luminaires to some important non-Olmsted residential streets, and by the placement of entrance signs at the other city parks which match the Olmsted park signs except for omitting the “Olmsted” park designation.
260401