North Buffalo

Map of Buffalo/North Buffalo

Perhaps North Buffalo doesn't have the immediate cachet of other parts of the city. The clothing boutiques on Hertel stock fashions that may not be as up-to-the-minute as the ones in the Elmwood Village. The bars are more likely to be populated by neighborhood regulars than the cooler-than-thou hipsters you'll find in Allentown. But that's okay. More so than perhaps any other area of Buffalo, regular folks can spend a whole day shopping here and they won't experience condescension — they'll meet friendly, outgoing shopkeepers genuinely glad to see them. Budget-conscious travelers can eat well in North Buffalo's restaurants without being bowled over when they see the bill.

But North Buffalo is much more than shopping, dining, and nightlife. North Buffalo is architecture — Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House in Parkside, and the mansions in Park Meadow and Central Park, will have you ooh-ing and aah-ing. North Buffalo is art — Hertel Avenue has more than its share of galleries tucked among the shops and restaurants, and the UB Anderson Gallery is truly one of the city's unknown treasures. And North Buffalo is culture — with not one but two colleges and universities adding their flavors to the mix, Erie County's most-visited tourist attraction (the Buffalo Zoo), and a growing theater scene.

Speaking of culture, North Buffalo is, in particular, Italian-American culture. Hertel Avenue is Buffalo's Little Italy, a paradise for fans of pasta with red sauce, pizza, and fine wines. And if you're looking for a delightfully gaudy little tchotchke to send home to Nona, this is your place.

Understand

North Buffalo comprises a number of distinct neighborhoods. As described above, the stretch of 42.947722-78.8558791 Hertel Avenue between Delaware and roughly Parker Avenues boasts some of the city's best restaurants as well as a growing range of shops and art galleries. As you head west from there, you pass a series of suburban-style strip malls lining Delaware and Elmwood Avenues, and then you come into 42.94886-78.88532 West Hertel, a quiet, off-the-beaten-path area where working-class apartments and industrial warehouses coexist. Elsewhere, 42.954192-78.828373 University Heights is centered along Main Street at Buffalo's far northeast corner, dominated at its outer end by the University at Buffalo's South Campus and with a small but lively collection of restaurants, bars and shops along Main Street catering to a diverse student population. Southwest of University Heights adjacent to Main Street are a trio of quiet, pleasant residential neighborhoods: from north to south, 42.943858-78.8417174 Central Park, where some of Buffalo's most palatial mansions can be found, the 42.938894-78.8411595 Vernon Triangle, a tiny enclave bounded by Amherst Street, Main Street, and the Belt Line railroad tracks, and 42.9377-78.8479266 Parkside, a leafy neighborhood of curvilinear streets designed by eminent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmsted also designed 42.939648-78.8693547 Park Meadow, an upscale residential area west of Parkside, sandwiched between Amherst Street and Delaware Park.

History

North Buffalo's location further from downtown than any other part of the city, as well as its poorly drained topography, conspired to make it the last part of Buffalo to urbanize. Being located at the foot of the Onondaga Escarpment in what was once the bed of a glacial lake, the marshy land of North Buffalo — or the Buffalo Plains, as the area was called in the early days — made it far less suitable for agriculture than the ground above that low ridge of flint. Cornelius Creek, which roughly followed the course of today's Hertel Avenue from its headwaters near what is today the corner of Parkside Avenue, traversed North Buffalo until sometime in the 1880s, when it was buried as part of the city's storm drain system. An outpost of civilization in this wilderness was the Great Iroquois Trail (today's Main Street), which was an important thoroughfare between Buffalo and points east such as Williamsville and Clarence Hollow that ran along the crest of the escarpment. Like the aforementioned hamlets, the farmsteads along that road played an important role in the War of 1812 as refuges for residents of Buffalo and Black Rock which were burned by the British in December 1813, and, in the case of Dr. Daniel Chapin's farm in what is now Parkside, as the site of the Flint Hill Encampment, where the Army of the Frontier under General Alexander Smythe spent that same winter. However, even as the city to its south grew astronomically, North Buffalo remained a rural backwater even well after 1868, the year Frederick Law Olmsted laid out the centerpiece of Buffalo's park system, Delaware Park, on land just south of here.

It was the construction of the New York Central Railroad's Belt Line in 1882 — a 15-mile (24 km) loop intended to enable residents of Buffalo's outskirts to commute to jobs downtown — that spurred the beginning of urbanization in North Buffalo. As early as 1876, Frederick Law Olmsted had planned to follow up the success of Delaware Park with a development he called Parkside, a verdant residential neighborhood adjacent to the park that would serve as a buffer between the pastoral park system and the bustle and congestion of the city. Now, with the construction of the railroad having driven up property values, construction of Parkside could begin in earnest. By the turn of the century, the ample houses of Parkside were occupied by a growing number of Buffalo's richest citizens — including Larkin Soap Company executive Darwin D. Martin, who moved into a substantial home on Jewett Parkway designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Immediately north of Parkside, across the tracks of the Belt Line, local business magnate Lewis Bennett had success with Central Park, a similarly upscale neighborhood situated on his former estate that he developed beginning in 1890; further west, the first houses and streets began appearing in what is now West Hertel, just northeast of the corner of Hertel Avenue and Military Road.

It was not until after 1900, however, that the development of North Buffalo came to full fruition. Despite the success of Parkside and Central Park, when the Pan-American Exposition was held in 1901, the remainder of North Buffalo was still sparsely populated farmland. However, the presence of visitors who came by the tens of thousands to the Exposition — many of whom arrived there via the Belt Line — spurred real estate speculators to buy up farmland in preparation for the inevitable rush of new residents. The Pan-American Exposition, a World's Fair that was intended to show off Buffalo's industrial might, was held on a parcel of vacant land north of Delaware Park that Olmsted had earlier planned as a future western extension of Parkside. Afterward, beginning about 1920, the luxurious neighborhood known today as Park Meadow was laid out on the former Exposition grounds.

Elsewhere in North Buffalo, the University of Buffalo purchased the 153-acre (61ha) site of the former Erie County Alms House in the far northeast corner of the city in 1912, moving its rapidly growing campus there from downtown and setting off a similar land rush in what is now University Heights. Hertel Avenue, for its part, was becoming the neighborhood of choice for Buffalo's Jewish community — mainly Orthodox Jews from Russia and elsewhere in Eastern Europe — who were gradually being displaced from their traditional homes on the Near East Side and in Hamlin Park by a growing African-American population.

World War II saw the last remaining bits of empty land in the city — including the area between Elmwood and Delaware Avenues north of the Belt Line, much of West Hertel, and along the south side of Kenmore Avenue west of Elmwood — eaten up with the construction of wartime factories and hastily-built housing for returning GIs. However, after the war, Buffalo, like many cities in the so-called Rust Belt, saw its formerly steady growth stagnate and decline. These were certainly trying times for North Buffalo; for instance, for the first time in its history the formerly posh neighborhood of Parkside found itself grappling with social issues such as slumlords and vacant buildings, which led to the foundation of the Parkside Community Association in 1963. But, by and large, North Buffalo was able to hang on better than other areas of the city. Aside from the construction of the Scajaquada Expressway in 1962 through verdant Delaware Park, the urban renewal that wrought havoc on other areas of the city left North Buffalo mostly unscathed — enabling the addition of the Parkside East Historic District and the Parkside West Historic District (i.e. Park Meadow) to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Meanwhile, the stabilizing presence of UB and its large and diverse student population did much to insulate University Heights from the ghettoization that ravaged adjacent East Side neighborhoods such as Kensington-Bailey and Kensington Heights in the 1960s and '70s.

Perhaps the greatest change to take place in North Buffalo at this time, however, was in its ethnic makeup. In the early and mid-1960s, as the Lower West Side fell to the wrecking ball as part of a misguided campaign of "slum clearance", many of the Italian-Americans who'd been evicted from those blocks began to drift into the vicinity of Hertel Avenue, displacing the Jewish community in that area which dispersed over the ensuing decades, largely into suburban Amherst. Even the Italian Village Festival, heretofore held on Connecticut Street in the West Side, picked up stakes and moved north in 1988, where it went on to become one of the biggest Italian-American street festivals in the nation. But by 2011, when the city government finally got around to officializing this change by festooning the streetlamps along Hertel with handsome red-white-and-green signs reading "Welcome to Little Italy", it was almost too late: the next phase of its demographic evolution was already in progress. The whole city was on an upswing at this time, and in its toniest neighborhood, the Elmwood Village, gentrification had proceeded to such a degree that small businesses could no longer afford the astronomical rents their landlords were charging. Many Elmwood shopkeepers and restaurateurs chose to move elsewhere in the city, and the already thriving but significantly less expensive Hertel strip was a prime destination for those displaced businesses. The result has been not only that Hertel has overtaken Elmwood as Buffalo's liveliest shopping, eating, and nightlife street, but also that Little Italy is getting progressively less and less Italian: the older pizzerias, bakeries, and wine bars are nowadays joined by a diversity of new shops and businesses catering to every taste.

Visitor information

The Parkside Community Association maintains a website that contains neighborhood news and event listings, and — most notably by far — is an extremely comprehensive resource for information about Parkside's rich history, with an extensive written history of the neighborhood spanning the 18th Century to the present day, descriptions of many old houses and historic sites on its leafy streets, historic maps, and a myriad of other resources.

The University Heights Collaborative's website contains information on restaurants, nightlife, community happenings, and other items of interest to those visiting University Heights.

Get in and around

By car

The Scajaquada Expressway (NY 198) is a short highway that passes through North Buffalo, extending between the Kensington Expressway on the East Side and Interstate 190 in Black Rock. The Scajaquada passes through the south end of Parkside and traverses Delaware Park, after which point it enters the West Side. Interchanges at Main Street and Parkside Avenue provide access to Parkside, Central Park, the Vernon Triangle, and (further afield) University Heights, while Hertel Avenue and Park Meadow are best accessible via the northbound Delaware Avenue and Elmwood Avenue exits.

Hertel Avenue can be almost inarguably considered the "main drag" of North Buffalo, passing from west to east through the heart of Buffalo's "Little Italy" and ending at Main Street just past the south end of University Heights. In addition, Kenmore Avenue straddles Buffalo's northern border with the suburban communities of Tonawanda and Kenmore, and Amherst Street passes through the residential areas of Parkside, Central Park, and Park Meadow, at the southern edge of North Buffalo. Major north-south routes in North Buffalo include, from west to east: Military Road (NY 265), Elmwood Avenue, Delaware Avenue (NY 384), Colvin Avenue, Parkside Avenue, Starin Avenue, and Main Street (NY 5).

In the Hertel Avenue business district, parking can be hard to come by on Hertel itself as well as on side streets within a block or so of the main drag. Parking meters are in place on Hertel along essentially the entire length of the business district (from Wallace to Virgil Avenues); paid parking is in effect Monday through Saturday until 5PM, at a rate of 50¢ per hour up to a maximum of two hours. The two free parking lots provided by the Hertel-North Buffalo Business Association are often your best bet for parking on the Hertel strip. These lots are located, respectively, next to Terrapin Station near the corner of Virgil Avenue, and next to Hertel Avenue Poutine and Cream near the corner of Sterling Avenue.

Though finding a spot in the University Heights business district can be difficult, parking along Main Street between LaSalle and University Avenues is free (though limited to two hours). On-street parking on Main Street north of University Avenue is prohibited, but most businesses at the outer extremity of University Heights have their own parking lots, so this shouldn't pose too much of a problem. There are also three free parking lots on the north side of Main Street: at West Winspear Avenue behind the Mobil gas station, at Heath Street behind the 42.95249-78.8251161 Gloria J. Parks Community Center (this one is closed to the public during the community center's business hours), and at Englewood Avenue adjacent to the former P. J. Bottoms. Parking in these lots is limited to two hours. Perhaps your best bet for parking in University Heights, however, are the large, free NFTA Park-and-Ride lots at the University and LaSalle rail stations — see the By Metro Rail section below.

In Parkside, Central Park, Park Meadow, West Hertel, and elsewhere in North Buffalo, on-street parking is free and plentiful.

Rental cars

42.956436-78.8690662 Enterprise, 2643 Delaware Ave (Metro Bus 5 or 25), ☏ +1 716 873-0100.

Car sharing

Members of the Zipcar car-sharing program have access to five vehicles located on UB South Campus. In the Main-Bailey Lot located adjacent to 42.957321-78.8154033 Goodyear Hall there's a Ford Focus ($7.50/hr or $69/day M-Th, $8.50/hr or $77/day F-Su) and a Honda Civic ($8.50/hr or $69/day M-Th, $9.50/hr or $77/day F-Su), and in the Townsend Lot next to 42.952861-78.8208434 Hayes Hall there's a Mazda 3 ($8.50/hr or $69/day M-Th, $9.50/hr or $77/day F-Su), a Ford Fiesta ($7.50/hr or $69/day M-Th, $8.50/hr or $77/day F-Su), and another Honda Civic (same price as the one at Goodyear Hall). All quoted prices include fuel, insurance, and 180 free miles (about 290 free kilometers) per day.

By public transportation

Public transit in Buffalo and the surrounding area is provided by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA). The NFTA Metro system encompasses a single-line light-rail rapid transit (LRRT) system and an extensive network of buses. The fare for a single trip on a bus or train is $2.00 regardless of length. No transfers are provided between buses or trains; travelers who will need to make multiple trips per day on public transit should consider purchasing an all-day pass for $5.00.

By bus

North Buffalo is traversed by a number of NFTA Metro bus routes:

To and from downtown

NFTA Metro Bus #3 — Grant. Beginning at the city line at the corner of Kenmore Avenue and Military Road, Bus #3 proceeds westward down Kenmore Avenue through Riverside, re-entering North Buffalo at the corner of Military Road and Skillen Street and continuing southward down Military Road through West Hertel, ending downtown.

NFTA Metro Bus #5 — Niagara-Kenmore. Beginning at the University Metro Rail Station, Bus #5 proceeds westward down Kenmore Avenue, then entering Black Rock and continuing through the West Side via Niagara Street, finally ending downtown.

NFTA Metro Bus #8 — Main. Beginning at the University Metro Rail Station, Bus #8 proceeds down Main Street along the east edge of the district, through University Heights, Central Park, the Vernon Triangle, and Parkside (with service to all Metro Rail stations in the district), ending downtown.

NFTA Metro Bus #11 — Colvin. Beginning in Tonawanda, Bus #11 proceeds down Colvin Avenue through North Buffalo, then turns west at Hertel Avenue. Turning south again on Delaware Avenue, the bus passes through Park Meadow with service to Delaware Park before ending its run downtown.

NFTA Metro Bus #20 — Elmwood. Beginning in Tonawanda, Bus #20 proceeds down Elmwood Avenue through North Buffalo, with access to the Regal Elmwood Center and Tops shopping plazas, and ends downtown.

NFTA Metro Bus #25 — Delaware. Beginning in Tonawanda, Bus #25 proceeds down Delaware Avenue through North Buffalo. The bus passes the Delaware Consumer Square (Target) and Delaware Place shopping plazas, then proceeds perpendicularly across the Hertel Avenue corridor, through Park Meadow, and past Delaware Park, ending downtown.

Crosstown routes

NFTA Metro Bus #23 — Fillmore-Hertel. Beginning at the Black Rock-Riverside Transit Hub, Bus #23 proceeds eastward along Hertel Avenue to Main Street, where it turns south and accesses the Amherst Street Metro Rail Station. The bus then enters the East Side via Fillmore Avenue and ends in South Buffalo.

NFTA Metro Bus #32 — Amherst. Beginning at the Black Rock-Riverside Transit Hub, Bus #32 proceeds along Amherst Street, detouring briefly into the Elmwood Village via Elmwood Avenue, with service to Buffalo State College and the Museum District. After returning to Amherst Street, Bus #32 proceeds eastward through Park Meadow, Parkside, Central Park, and the Vernon Triangle, then passes the Amherst Street Metro Rail Station and proceeds further eastward into the East Side, ending at the Thruway Mall Transit Center in Cheektowaga.

By Metro Rail

The Metro Rail is an LRRT line that extends along Main Street from the University at Buffalo's South Campus southward to downtown, along the eastern border of North Buffalo. The Metro Rail serves as the backbone of Buffalo's public transit system, accessed directly by many bus routes. Like the buses, the fare for the Metro Rail is $2.00 ($4.00 round-trip); the $5.00 all-day passes available on Metro buses are also valid for the Metro Rail.

There are four Metro Rail stations located in North Buffalo. From north to south, they are:

42.954607-78.8203151 University Station — Main Street at UB South Campus (University Heights).
42.947953-78.8301132 LaSalle Station — Main Street at LaSalle Avenue (University Heights).
42.939994-78.838763 Amherst Street Station — Main Street at Amherst Street (Central Park/Vernon Triangle).
42.92749-78.8512594 Humboldt-Hospital Station — Main Street at Humboldt Parkway (Parkside).

It bears mentioning that the University Station is a major node in Buffalo's public transportation network, served directly by no fewer than eleven bus routes, as well as the subway. In particular, anyone travelling on public transit from Buffalo to one of its northern suburbs, such as Tonawanda or Amherst, will very likely have to transfer at the University Station.

Also, the NFTA operates a large 600-space 42.956014-78.8197335 Park & Ride lot on Main Street, adjacent to the University Station, and an even larger (and generally much less crowded) 800-space 42.948762-78.8313526 Park & Ride lot behind the LaSalle Station. Parking in these lots is free, and they're great for people whose hotel may be located in the aforementioned northern suburbs but would like to visit North Buffalo (or anywhere else the Metro Rail goes). Users of the University Park-and-Ride in particular should ensure that they are parked in the correct place — the Park-and-Ride lot is surrounded by a number of other lots that are reserved for students and faculty of UB, and campus police will not hesitate to ticket cars without parking passes parked in reserved spaces.

By bike

**Meadow Drive** is a paved multi-use trail that circumnavigates Delaware Park's Meadow.

Buffalo has made great strides in accommodating bicycling as a mode of transportation, with recognition from the League of American Bicyclists as a Bronze-Level "Bicycle-Friendly Community" to show for its efforts. Sadly, the bicycle infrastructure in North Buffalo is relatively underdeveloped compared to other parts of the city, and especially compared to other upscale neighborhoods such as the Elmwood Village and Allentown. However, this is not to say that North Buffalo is not a thoroughly enjoyable place to see by bike — the safe, quiet, and leafy streets of Park Meadow, Parkside, and Central Park are a cyclist's dream come true, with magnificent scenery to admire on the way to one's destination courtesy of the grandiose and architecturally distinguished housing stock of those areas.

What specialized bike infrastructure there is in North Buffalo is largely centered around Delaware Park. Meadow Drive, the 1.8-mile (2.9 km) ring road that circumnavigates the Delaware Park Golf Course and passes within view of the Buffalo Zoo and the some of the grand old mansions of Park Meadow, is delightful for walkers, joggers and bicyclists alike. Though 1.1 miles (1.7 km) of Meadow Drive — from Agassiz Circle to Meadow Road — is also open to automobile traffic, traffic is generally quite light and speed limits for cars are very low (15 mph, or 24 km/h) and enforced strictly. Additionally, the Scajaquada Creekside Trail, also known as the Jesse Kregal Bike Path, begins in Park Meadow near the corner of Lincoln Parkway and Nottingham Terrace (a pedestrian bridge over the Scajaquada Expressway provides access from the Hoyt Lake trail) and proceeds 2.4 miles (3.8 km) along the north bank of Scajaquada Creek, passing the Japanese Garden and the Buffalo History Museum on its way into the West Side, where it ends at the Shoreline Trail in Black Rock.

Away from Delaware Park, University Heights boasts North Buffalo Rails-to-Trails, a network of paved multi-use trails, 1.4 miles (2.2 km) in total length, straddling the former Erie Railroad right-of-way. The main branch begins at the back end of the Park & Ride lot at LaSalle Metro Rail Station and extends along the west side of the old railroad embankment, with access to Shoshone Park near its south end. On the opposite side of the embankment is the 42.951924-78.8323157 Minnesota Linear Park, which (along with a short spur west to Taunton Place) converges with the main line near the west end of Merrimac Street. From there, the route continues further northwest to the city line at Kenmore Avenue, whenceforth the Tonawanda Rails-to-Trails leads into downtown Tonawanda, with a further extension planned to connect to the Erie Canalway Trail. The entirety of the network is open to both cyclists and pedestrians, but the former are better off sticking to the straighter and better-maintained main line, while the latter are safest in the Linear Park, which unlike its counterpart is outfitted with security cameras.

You'll also find infrastructure for cyclists on many of North Buffalo's streets themselves. In Park Meadow, a pair of bike lanes extends along each side of Lincoln Parkway leading north from Delaware Park, between Nottingham Terrace and Amherst Street. As well, you'll find "sharrows" (pavement markings on roads too narrow to accommodate dedicated bike lanes, indicating that drivers should be aware of bicyclists on the road) along Main Street between Bailey Avenue and Humboldt Parkway, extending westward from the North Buffalo Rail Trail along Brinton Street and St. Lawrence Avenue as far as Campbell Avenue, and extending westward from Nottingham Terrace along Amherst Street out past the edge of the neighborhood and into Black Rock.

GO Bike Buffalo, the local organization that promotes and advocates for cycling and other sustainable transportation alternatives in Buffalo, operates a 42.944109-78.8573525 Community Bicycle Workshop at 98 Colvin Ave in Park Meadow. There, a range of used bicycle parts and complete refurbished bikes are available for sale, as well as special programs periodically throughout the year; unwanted bicycles can also be donated (tax-deductible). The Community Bicycle Workshop is open Tu 6PM-9PM and Su 1PM-5PM, and also Th 6PM-9PM during summer only.

Bike sharing

North Buffalo has six Reddy Bikeshare racks:

on the north side of Hertel Avenue between North Park and Norwalk Avenues, in front of the North Park Theatre
on the east side of Parkside Avenue at the corner of Hertel Avenue, alongside M&T Bank
on the north side of Hertel Avenue at the corner of Parker Avenue, in front of the Daily Planet Coffee Company
adjacent to Delaware Park, in the back of the parking lot of St. George Orthodox Church at the corner of Amherst Street and Nottingham Terrace
on the south side of Amherst Street at the corner of Parker Avenue, in front of the entrance to the Amherst Street Metro Rail Station
on the west side of Main Street at the corner of LaSalle Avenue, in front of the LaSalle Metro Rail Station

In addition to the above, UB Bikeshare is a presence on the South Campus. Though these bikes are part of the Reddy system, you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise: for instance, UB bikes are of a different model and sport a blue-and-white color scheme that's starkly distinct from the fire engine-red color of normal Reddy bikes, and their spokespeople are on record as saying the UB network is intended for use by students and generally try to steer non-students away from campus bikes. Nonetheless, if you're in a pinch, the UB bikes are fully accessible to ordinary Reddy members and work the same was as any other bike in the network. You can even drop them off at off-campus racks (though, again, the folks at Reddy prefer that you don't). UB Bikeshare racks can be found:

on the north side of Goodyear Road, at the entrance to Goodyear Hall
at the back end of Main Circle, in front of Abbott Hall
near the corner of Hayes and Winridge Roads, at the west end of the Pharmacy Building

On foot

Being a more spread-out area with attractions often spaced a good distance from each other, North Buffalo is relatively less amenable to pedestrians than other upscale Buffalo neighborhoods such as the Elmwood Village and Allentown. Exceptions include Hertel Avenue and Main Street in University Heights, both boasting dense and lively concentrations of shops, bars, restaurants, and other attractions. Also, the safe, verdant streets of Parkside, Park Meadow and Central Park are pleasant places for a leisurely stroll.

See

Art

42.94118-78.8577341 Nichols School Gallery, 1250 Amherst St. (Metro Bus 32), ☏ +1 716 332-6300. Hours vary. Located in the foyer of the Glenn & Audrey Flickinger Performing Arts Center on the campus of one of Buffalo's foremost private prep schools, the focus here is on works in a wide range of media by local artists (especially current Nichols students and alumni, much of whose work is displayed at the adjacent SEEARTRUN Gallery) or whose themes are relevant to Buffalo, Western New York, or the surrounding region. The Nichols School Gallery also hosts a range of travelling exhibits, workshops and visiting artist lectures. Free.
42.947552-78.8555792 Revolution Gallery, 1419 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 322-7656. Th noon-6PM, F-Sa noon-8PM, Su 11AM-4PM. A longtime fixture in the Buffalo arts community whose untitled illustration graced the inaugural issue of The Public, Craig LaRotonda opened Revolution Gallery in December 2016 along with his wife, fellow artist Maria Pabico LaRotonda, after a successful Kickstarter campaign. LaRotonda's own style is a sort of noir surrealism, and that's the aesthetic he's going for with this gallery — to borrow the words of the website, the emphasis is on works by local artists (including, of course, the LaRotondas themselves) that are "provocative and imbued with dark beauty, emotion, and mystery" and are executed in a variety of media: drawings, paintings, photography, and sculpture but also handmade jewelry and postcard prints offered for sale. As well, Revolution Gallery augments their permanent collection with a regularly scheduled slate of temporary and travelling exhibitions by local, national, and international artists including their inaugural one, Inception: a multimedia exhibit of work by artist Damien Echols, famous as one of the exonerated "West Memphis Three" falsely convicted of murder in 1994. Free. (updated Dec 2016)
42.948996-78.827343 St. Andrew's Sculpture Garden, 3107 Main St. (Metro Bus 8; Metro Rail: LaSalle). Opening hours vary by exhibition. The Buffalo arts community first took notice of the once-forlorn empty lot behind St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in University Heights in 2013, when it was pressed into use as a staging area for the University Heights Art Crawl. Owned now by the University Heights Art Association — the community group that's behind that annual event as well as many of the outdoor murals you'll find on area buildings — the space has been transformed into a beautifully landscaped, intimately scaled outdoor garden centered on a stone-paved courtyard of ten platforms where sculptures and other works of three-dimensional art are displayed on a changing basis. St. Andrew's Sculpture Garden is open for temporary exhibitions as well as poetry readings, live music performances, and other events. Free. (updated Dec 2015)
42.95697-78.8296574 UB Anderson Gallery, 1 Martha Jackson Pl. (Metro Bus 5 or 8; Metro Rail: University), ☏ +1 716 829-3754. W-Sa 11AM-5PM, Su 1PM-5PM. The home of the University of Buffalo's permanent art collection, the Anderson Gallery was donated to UB in 2000 by David Anderson, the son of prominent New York City gallery owner Martha Jackson and a noted art collector in his own right; before that, Jackson had operated the gallery on his own since 1991. This state-of-the-art exhibition space contains selections from a collection of over 1,200 works of art in various media that represent a diversity of cultures and traditions, including many works by local artists. The UB Anderson Gallery also houses the complete archives of the Martha Jackson Gallery, covering the years 1952-1969, and of pop artist and UB alumnus Allen D'Arcangelo. An exciting selection of temporary and traveling exhibits are also displayed at the UB Anderson Gallery. Free.

History

42.935426-78.8762635 Buffalo History Museum (Formerly the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society Museum), 25 Nottingham Ct (Metro Bus 20 or 32), ☏ +1 716 873-9644. Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM, W until 8PM, Su noon-5PM, Resource Center by appointment during business hours, Research Library W-Sa 1PM-5PM. Located just off Elmwood Avenue in Park Meadow, adjacent to Delaware Park, the newly renamed Buffalo History Museum has by far the most extensive collection of artifacts relevant to the history of Buffalo and Western New York from pre-Columbian times to the present day. Originally built for the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, it is perhaps not surprising that the Exhibition is a particular focus of the exhibits at this wonderful museum. A Pierce-Arrow roadster built in Buffalo, the medal presented by George Washington to Chief Red Jacket, prototypes of the cardiac pacemaker invented by Clarence native Wilson Greatbatch, and artistic renderings of historical scenes and people flesh out the collection. Further historical records, manuscripts, photographs, and personal documents are housed at the Research Library. The Buffalo History Museum is also an invaluable resource for local residents interested in genealogy. $7, seniors and students 13-21 $5, children 7-12 $2, members and children under 7 free. Research Library $7, free to members.
42.938687-78.8736066 McKinley Death Rock, Fordham Drive (Metro Bus 20 or 32). On the center island in the middle of Fordham Drive, in Park Meadow on what once were the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition, is a small rock with a historic plaque marking the spot where President McKinley was standing when felled by the bullet of his assassin, Leon Czolgosz. (Well, not the exact spot, which is now inside the living room of the house at 29 Fordham, but close enough.) (updated Feb 2020)

The **Meadow** makes up one of the two main sectors of Delaware Park, the centerpiece of the park and parkway system designed for Buffalo by Frederick Law Olmsted. Pastoral expanses of lawn such as this one, peppered with stands of mature shade trees, are one of the prototypical features of Olmsted's parks, and the 150-acre (60ha) Meadow is one of the most distinguished landscapes of this type ever conceived by Olmsted. The **Delaware Park Golf Course** was installed on the Meadow in 1915.

Parks

42.934401-78.8650627 Delaware Park, Parkside Lodge, 84 Parkside Ave. (Metro Bus 8, 11, 20, 25, or 32; Metro Rail: Humboldt-Hospital), ☏ +1 716 838-1429. Dawn to dusk. With an area of 234 acres (93 ha), Delaware Park is the central node in Buffalo's park system, by far the largest park in Buffalo, and one of the largest and best-preserved examples of Frederick Law Olmsted's landscape architecture anywhere. All the classic Olmsted features are present here: a large, grassy Meadow that is now the site of the Delaware Park Golf Course, thick stands of trees, and Hoyt Lake, the 46-acre (18.5ha) pond in the southwest corner of the park that Olmsted originally named "Gala Water". An essay by Charles Beveridge on the Olmsted park system in Buffalo describes how well Delaware Park continues to fulfill its intended role as a place for Buffalonians to experience nature and greenery without leaving the city limits; Delaware Park, as per his essay, is "the only public space designed by Olmsted in Buffalo that met his definition of the term 'park' — a setting of pastoral scenery extensive enough to provide complete escape from the artificiality and noise of the city." Delaware Park is popular year-round, but is most often enjoyed during the warm months, when walking, bicycling, jogging, tennis, golf, and basketball are popular activities. Delaware Park is also the site of the Buffalo Zoo, described in more detail below.

42.938768-78.8525078 Buffalo Zoo, 300 Parkside Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 32), ☏ +1 716 837-3900. Summer: Sa-Th 10AM-5PM, F 10AM-7:30PM Winter: Daily 10AM-4PM. Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Buffalo Zoo is the third-oldest zoo in the United States (founded in 1875 on the former site of the Deer Paddock at Delaware Park) and is second in popularity only to Niagara Falls among tourist attractions in the Niagara Frontier, welcoming 400,000 visitors each year. The 23-acre (9.5ha) Zoo boasts exciting thematic displays that play host to 1,200 different animals, such as elephants, bears, otters, sea lions, hyenas, and of course, bison. Some of the animals, such as a resident peacock, are allowed to roam freely on the walkways, allowing visitors to get closer to nature than they would in most zoos. In 2002, a new Master Plan was unveiled that will see the Zoo thoroughly modernized over the next 15 years. Under this framework, the Vanishing Animals, EcoStation, Otter Creek, Sea Lion Cove and South African Rainforest exhibits have already opened, with a new Children's Zoo and other exhibits slated for the near future. $10, students and seniors $8, children 2-14 $7, children under 2 free. Parking $3.50. Train and carousel rides $2.
42.935522-78.8752949 Japanese Garden (Metro Bus 20 or 32). Inaugurated in 1974 as a gesture of friendship between Buffalo and its sister city of Kanazawa, Japan, Delaware Park's Japanese Garden is located on six acres (2.4ha) on Hoyt Lake, behind the Buffalo History Museum. This beautifully manicured oasis of greenery slopes gently down from Nottingham Terrace to the shore of the lake, also encompassing three small islands in the lake connected to the mainland by a lovely ornamental footbridge. Over the past years, the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy has been hard at work restoring and maintaining the more than 1,000 plantings of ornamental trees, shrubs and plants in the garden, including a large stand of Japanese cherry trees, and also have added or will soon add a stone garden and an authentic karesansui waterfall. Amid it all there are many benches and other sitting areas perfect for serene contemplation of one's peaceful natural surroundings.
Public art. There are a number of installations of public art peppered around the grounds of Delaware Park. These include:

42.932385-78.85515710 The Indian Hunter (Located next to first tee of Delaware Park Golf Course, adjacent to Meadow Drive; Metro Bus 8 or 32; Metro Rail: Humboldt-Hospital). A bronze figure of a boy in American Indian garb crouching over next to his dog, bow and arrow in hand, The Indian Hunter is a replica of the statue of the same name that's on display in New York City's Central Park. According to the plaque on its pink granite pedestal, Buffalo's Indian Hunter was donated to the city in 1926 by Ella Spencer Darr in memory of her husband Marcus. The original sculpture is the work of artist John Quincy Adams Ward, and was cast in 1866.
42.93452-78.87358311 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Located adjacent to Hoyt Lake and Scajaquada Creekside Trail near Buffalo History Museum; Metro Bus 20 or 32). The first installation of public art to be placed in Delaware Park and one of the first in the entire city, this 4-foot (1.2m) bronze bust of the most prolific, prodigious and influential composer of the Classical era was sculpted by Olin H. Warner for the Buffalo Liedertafel — a fact that bears testament to the profound importance of the German-American community in Buffalo's history, who made up more than half of the city's population when the statue was dedicated in 1894. The statue's pink granite base contains a number of bronze plaques inscribed with biographical facts about Mozart's life, the titles of some of his important works, and honorifics. Today, Mozart serenely overlooks Hoyt Lake from a spot near the Buffalo History Museum.

Though Delaware Park is far from the only Frederick Law Olmsted-designed park in Buffalo, by comparison with other areas of the city North Buffalo is sadly lacking in green space. Though all of Buffalo is crisscrossed by Olmsted's park and parkway system, only one of those parkways — the northern extension of Lincoln Parkway through Park Meadow, between Nottingham Terrace and Great Arrow Avenue — passes through North Buffalo. In fact, it's arguable whether this portion of Lincoln can really be considered a "parkway" in the Olmstedian sense: though his plans for the neighborhood did include Lincoln Parkway, as actually constructed the street's ambience is much less open and pastoral than true Olmsted parkways like Chapin and Bidwell, and the setback between houses and street is not nearly as great. 42.948821-78.83353812 Shoshone Park is the only other park in North Buffalo of any note; it's on 16.5 acres (6.6 ha) of land at the east end of Hertel Avenue about midway between Little Italy and University Heights, Shoshone Park boasts six baseball diamonds, a playground, and a swimming pool.

Architecture

More and more, Buffalo's exquisite and well-preserved architecture has grabbed the attention of locals and tourists alike. As of March 2020, there are 12 historic neighborhoods in Buffalo listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as 11 additional ones that have been granted landmark status by the Buffalo Preservation Board. Three of those districts are located in North Buffalo:

The Parkside East Historic District. Bounded by Main Street on its southeast, Humboldt Parkway on its south, Parkside Avenue, Amherst Street and Colvin Avenue on its west, and the Belt Line railroad on its north and northeast, this district comprises pretty much the entirety of the neighborhood Buffalonians know simply as "Parkside". Though located within the city limits, Parkside was one of the first neighborhoods of Buffalo that might be called "suburban"; its architectural significance comes not only from the leafy, curvilinear layout of its streets — as described in the History section, the work of eminent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted — but also from the large two- and three-story wood-frame houses that occupy those streets, constructed in styles typical of upper-class residential architecture from 1870 through 1930 such as the Queen Anne, Bungalow, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival styles. Prominent among the historic and/or architecturally notable buildings of Parkside include the William Sydney Wicks House at 124 Jewett Parkway, the Walter V. Davidson House at 57 Tillinghast Place, and — of course — the Darwin D. Martin House, described in detail at the end of this section. (updated Sep 2017)
The Parkside West Historic District. Though it's located in the neighborhood Buffalonians know as Park Meadow, this district is so named because it was originally intended by Frederick Law Olmsted as a western extension to Parkside. The neighborhood is much newer than Parkside — no meaningful development occurred there until after the Pan-American Exposition, with most houses in the area constructed between 1920 and the beginning of World War II — and the degree to which the motley patchwork of real estate companies that developed the neighborhood kept to Olmsted's original plan is inconsistent (especially the further you get from Delaware Park). Thus, the Parkside West Historic District is not nearly as significant for its landscape design as for the architecture of the buildings themselves — the neighborhood is a veritable showcase for some of Buffalo's best examples of aristocratic mansions in styles popular during the interwar period, such as the French Château, Tudorbethan, and Colonial Revival. These include the Howard Kellogg House at 12 Middlesex Road, the Mary Goodyear House at 115 Meadow Road, and the breathtaking Annie Lang Miller House at 175 Nottingham Terrace. (updated Sep 2017)
The 42.956407-78.8234113 University Park Historic District. Located on 45 acres (18 ha) of land in University Heights, bounded roughly by Main Street, Capen Boulevard, Kenmore Avenue, and the rear property line of the houses on the west side of University Avenue, University Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011 as part of the Suburban Development of Buffalo, New York multiple-property submission - and it is indeed distinctly suburban in character; a remarkably intact example of a planned residential subdivision of the 1910s and '20s, complete with ornate entrance gates of the same type that can be found along Main Street in the adjacent early suburbs of Eggertsville and Snyder. The attraction of University Park for architecture buffs is not the presence of any outstanding individual buildings (though the Edward Diebolt House at 62 Niagara Falls Boulevard was listed separately on the National Register in 2006), but rather the leafy, verdant streetscape, designed as a quiet respite from the bustle of city life, as well as the homogeneity of its housing stock, which consists of single-family Colonial Revival, Craftsman, American Foursquare, and Bungalow homes which, though stylistically similar, are somewhat less ornate and more modest in size than the houses of Parkside. (updated Sep 2017)

Additionally, though it is not listed on either the local, state or national historic registers, another neighborhood that's noteworthy for aficionados of history and architecture is 42.956407-78.8234114 Central Park. This neighborhood immediately north of Parkside, across the Belt Line tracks, was laid out beginning in 1890 by Lewis Bennett, who worked his way up from canal boat repairman to owner of the immense Bennett Limestone Quarry, which was located just across Main Street in the East Side neighborhood now known as Highland Park, Central Park's streets are filled with some of the finest housing stock in Buffalo. Examples include the Bayliss-Oishei House at 360 Depew Avenue, the old Central Park Station, the only former station of the Belt Line railroad still standing, at 10 Starin Avenue, and the Edward Barcalo House at 371 Depew Avenue (yes, the man who invented the Barcalounger). (updated Sep 2017)

Parkside is also the home of what is undoubtedly the premier attraction in Buffalo for architecture buffs:

42.936335-78.8481115 Darwin D. Martin House Complex, 125 Jewett Pkwy. (Metro Bus 8 or 11; Metro Rail: Amherst Street), ☏ +1 716 856-3858. Basic Tours leave M, W, F & Sa 11AM, 12PM, & 1PM, Su 12:30PM, 1PM & 1:30PM; In-Depth Tours leave M, W, F & Sa 11AM & Su 12:30PM. The most important work of the first half of Frank Lloyd Wright's career, and the first commission for that renowned architect outside of Chicago, the Darwin D. Martin Complex is one of the crown jewels of Buffalo's huge architectural cornucopia. The complex includes not only the Darwin D. Martin House itself — built in 1904-05 for the president of the Larkin Soap Company and Wright's longtime friend and benefactor — but also the George Barton House, where Martin's daughter and son-in-law lived, the Gardener's Cottage, and three buildings — a carriage house, conservatory and pergola — which were demolished in 1962 and reconstructed according to Wright's original blueprints in 2007, the first Frank Lloyd Wright buildings ever to be rebuilt after demolition. Following over half a century of neglect, vandalism, and decay, the complex was purchased by the Martin House Restoration Corporation in 1994, with the extensive restoration process finally completed in 2010. For many local residents, the rebirth of the Darwin D. Martin House symbolizes the increased attention Buffalo's citizens are paying to their city's world-class architecture. A one-hour Basic Tour is offered, as well as a more extensive two-hour In-Depth Tour. Basic tour $15, $13 seniors, $10 students, members free; In-Depth Tours $30, $28 seniors, $25 students and members.

The Darwin Martin House is not the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house in North Buffalo. Another one, the 42.942056-78.85385916 Walter V. Davidson House, can also be found in Parkside. Located at 57 Tillinghast Place in the northwest extremity of the neighborhood, the Davidson House was designed for its namesake, who was an executive at the Larkin Company between 1906 and 1913, thereafter founding the Davidson Shoe Company. Though it's noticeably smaller and more unassuming than the Darwin Martin House — the smaller budget Wright worked with in constructing the Davidson House was perhaps a forerunner of the "Usonian" houses he designed for middle-class clients toward the end of his career — its modest scale belies a stunning two-story living room dominated by a massive bay window at its east end. Sadly, the Walter Davidson House is privately owned and not open for tours.

Miscellaneous

42.952971-78.81659617 UB Museum of Neuroanatomy, 360 Biomedical Education Building, UB South Campus, 3435 Main St. (Metro Bus 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, 34, 44, 47 or 48; Metro Rail: University), ☏ +1 716 829-3081. Open for guided tours by appointment. Otherwise known simply as the "Brain Museum", the UB Medical School's Museum of Neuroanatomy is the only one in the United States dedicated exclusively to the human brain. Since 1994, this unique collection has comprised over 80 of these organs preserved in formaldehyde — both healthy specimens whose internal structures, such as the cerebellum and hippocampus, are clearly displayed and labeled, as well as pathological ones showing the effects on the anatomy of the brain of Alzheimer's disease, aneurysms, and other maladies. Exhibits are engagingly designed and accessible to everyone from the layman to the academic. Free. (updated May 2015)

Do

Festivals and events

Spring

Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival. Buffalo's Cherry Blossom Festival serves as both a tribute to the city's sister-city relationship with Kanazawa, Japan, as well as a fundraiser for the continuing upkeep of Delaware Park's Japanese Garden. This weeklong festival usually takes place about three weeks after its much more famous counterpart in Washington, D.C., with peak bloom in early to mid-May. In between admiring the lovely trees, you can also catch live music, take a boat ride on Mirror Lake, and — especially — take a taste of Japanese culture with bunraku puppet theater performances and a traditional tea ceremony on the portico of the Buffalo History Museum. Expanding their scope far beyond the Japanese Garden, the Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival's organizers also sponsor cherry tree plantings all over the city, and will even sell you one to plant in your own yard. (updated May 2015)

Golf

42.93653878.856781 Delaware Park Golf Course, 84 Parkside Ave. (Metro Bus 8, 11, 25 or 32; Metro Rail: Humboldt-Hospital), ☏ +1 716 838-1249. Opened in 1930 on the site of Delaware Park's Meadow, the Delaware Park Golf Course is arguably the most popular golf course in the city. Golfers can enjoy playing a full 18-hole game in a beautifully landscaped environment; the course is par 68 and its longest tees have a yardage of 5,359 yards. The 42.932653-78.8527672 Parkside Lodge is a lovely 1914 Craftsman-style building that houses a snack bar and the course's pro shop. Weekend green fees $15.00. (updated Sep 2017)
42.956014-78.8106033 Grover Cleveland Golf Course, 3781 Main St. (Metro Bus 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, 34, 44, 47 or 48; Metro Rail: University), ☏ +1 716 836-7398. Located at the far northeast corner of the city, across Bailey Avenue from UB's South Campus, this 18-hole, par 69 course is not only one of Western New's most challenging, but also one of its most historic: as the home of the Country Club of Buffalo from 1900 until its move to the suburb of Williamsville in 1925, the course was the site of the first airplane flight in Western New York, which took off from here in 1910, played host to the 1912 U.S. Open, and contains on its premises the 42.958166-78.81153818 Schenck House, the second-oldest extant building in the city (built in 1822, four years after the Coit House in Allentown), now used for storage and office space. The Grover Cleveland Golf Course boasts a practice green, men's and ladies' locker rooms, and a clubhouse and concession stand. During winter, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing is permitted from 7AM-dusk. $16, $18 weekends and holidays, $11 seniors and youths (weekdays only, proof of age required), cart rental $24, club rental $10.

Ice skating

42.951876-78.866144 North Buffalo Ice Rink, 156 Tacoma Ave. (Metro Bus 11, 23 or 25), ☏ +1 716 873-8481. Open skate M & Th 11AM-1PM, Tu-W 4:30PM-6PM, F & Su 7PM-9PM, Sa 5:30PM-6:30PM (Sep-Mar); M-Th 3PM-5PM, F 8PM-9PM, Sa 7:30PM-9PM, Su 4:30PM-6PM (Apr-Aug). $2, children 5-17 $1, children under 5 free, skate rental $2.

Theater

42.928557-78.8558575 ^{[dead link]} Kaleidoscope Theatre, 18 Agassiz Circle (Metro Bus 8; Metro Rail: Humboldt-Hospital), ☏ +1 716 479-1587. With a mission of enriching and enlightening audiences through the power of live theatre, the Kaleidoscope Thratre is an independent, award-winning production house dedicated to high-quality original material produced in-house, as well as occasional performances of classics such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Kaleidoscope shows three plays per year, usually with a run of two weeks each, at the Lecture Hall Theatre in Medaille College's Main Building.
42.942405-78.8763336 Subversive Theatre Collective, 255 Great Arrow Ave (Metro Bus 20 or 32), ☏ +1 716 408-0499. The Manny Fried Playhouse, named after a former Buffalo theatre actor, union organizer, and political radical and located in the former Pierce-Arrow Factory Complex in Park Meadow, is the new home of the Subversive Theatre Collective. This bold new troupe's mission is to present provocative works of drama that are "dedicated to the needs, concerns, and aspirations of those who are oppressed, exploited, and disenfranchised by the existing social order". The Subversive Theatre Collective has staged performances of works such as Maxine Klein's The Furies of Mother Jones and Bertolt Brecht's The Mother, and has traditionally been an integral part of Buffalo's annual Infringement Festival.

Movies

42.958715-78.8166677 Dipson Amherst Theatre, 3500 Main St., Amherst (At University Plaza; Metro Bus 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, 34, 44, 47 or 48; Metro Rail: University), ☏ +1 716 834-7655. Owned by Dipson Theatres, a local chain of movie houses, the Amherst Theatre is located at the University Plaza at the outer end of University Heights. It features three screens showing an interesting mix of indie and arthouse films, Hollywood blockbusters of the more high-concept variety, and the occasional foreign film.
42.947882-78.8553068 North Park Theatre, 1428 Hertel Ave (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 836-7411. Almost inarguably the most distinctive movie theatre in the Buffalo area, the North Park was built in 1920 as an old-fashioned silent movie palace and still boasts an exquisite (and newly restored) Baroque interior with Art Deco flourishes. The single screen shows indie films almost exclusively. The North Park Theatre is also famous as the site of the world premiere of Buffalo '66, the critically-acclaimed directorial debut of local native Vincent Gallo, which took place here in June 1998.
42.952669-78.8766479 Regal Elmwood Center, 2001 Elmwood Ave (Metro Bus 20 or 23), ☏ +1 716 871-0950. 16 screens showing standard big-name Hollywood fare.

Bowling

42.940759-78.87893410 Voelker's Bowling Center, 686 Amherst St. (Metro Bus 20 or 32), ☏ +1 716 876-6020. M-F 6PM-4AM, Sa noon-4AM, Su 9AM-4AM. Situated at the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Amherst Street and especially popular with students of nearby Buffalo State College, Voelker's may seem like it was plucked from another time. Behind a lively bar redolent of old-school Buffalo — the kind of place where you might see Pabst Blue Ribbon being drunk by rough-around-the-edges blue-collar types, rather than ironically by hipsters — are 36 bowling lanes, as well as three pool tables and a few dartboards. Open daily till 4AM, Voelker's is the place to go for late-night bowling in Buffalo.

Billiards

42.947537-78.87211611 Hippodrome Billiards, 975 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11, 23 or 25), ☏ +1 716 874-1802. M-Sa 1PM-3AM, Su 4PM-1AM. The oldest continually operating billiard hall in North America, Hippodrome Billiards opened in 1914 in the Theater District; through its early years of operation, some of history's great pool sharks, such as Minnesota Fats and Willie Mosconi, were regulars here. Sadly, Hippodrome is situated today in a nondescript suburban-style strip mall at the southwest corner of Delaware and Hertel Avenues. Despite the unfortunate location — and its spacious, bright and clean ambience that runs counter to the stereotype of pool halls — Hippodrome manages to conserve some of the old-school feel with chairs, cue racks, and several billiard tables retained from the original property. And, for those who'd rather skip the history lesson and just shoot a few games of pool, Hippodrome's rate of $4 per person per hour is hard to beat.

Learn

Located on 154 acres (62 ha) of land in University Heights, the South Campus is the oldest of the three campuses of the 42.95303-78.8183716 University at Buffalo, the largest school in the State University of New York (SUNY) system as well as the largest public university in the Northeast. Founded in 1846 as a private medical college with future U.S. President Millard Fillmore as its first chancellor, the University at Buffalo moved to the former site of the Erie County Alms House in 1912, where the preeminent local architectural firm of the time, E. B. Green & Son, built a lovely Georgian-Revival style campus modelled after Trinity College in Dublin. Though most of the academic departments were transferred to UB's sprawling new North Campus in Amherst in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the South Campus still contains UB's Schools of Dentistry, Nursing, and Architecture and Planning, as well as the Health Sciences Library, Biomedical Science Research Complex, and student housing. UB Medical School has moved to the new Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in the Medical Corridor.

42.928243-78.854727 Medaille College is a small private college located at the southern end of Parkside, on Agassiz Circle. Founded in 1875 as a Catholic girls' school by the Sisters of St. Joseph, Medaille has been coeducational and nonsectarian since 1968, and boasts about 3,000 students and a full range of courses emphasizing the liberal arts and sciences. Medaille also has branch campuses in Rochester and the nearby suburb of Amherst, the fruits of a rapid expansion of the school that began in the 1990s and continues through the present day.

Buy

Hertel Avenue

The Hertel strip is the place to go in Buffalo for antiques, furniture and housewares, and quirky gifts.

Clothing and accessories

42.947872-78.8550321 Agorie Headwear, 1434 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 834-4287. Tu-F noon-6PM, Sa noon-5PM. If the "New Buffalo" is all about finding inspiration for the future in the glories of the past, then Agorie Headwear fits right in. With an aesthetic described in the pages of Buffalo Rising as "fashion-forward yet retro", the inventory of bowlers, fedoras, Panama hats, newsboy caps, and other merchandise you'll find on the shelves is a throwback to the days when it was unthinkable to leave the house bare-headed. And prices are surprisingly reasonable, as well: while a particularly high-end hat might cost as much as $150, it's rare that you'd be unable to find a truly high-quality piece for less than $100. (updated Sep 2018)
42.94755-78.8541462 Bon Fire Craft, 1455 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 424-0229. Tu & Th-Sa 11AM-6PM, Su noon-5PM. Bon Fire Craft is the only jewelry shop in Buffalo where all stages of production take place in-house: all of these limited-edition pieces are hand-forged, hand-cast, hand-carved, and gems and other inlays are hand-set by owner Emily Sajban herself. There's definitely a house style, but it's impossible to describe in any succinct way — "rustic" might be the word that comes closest; popular artistic motifs include trees, leaves, bears and other forest animals, as well as skulls and Indian-head nickels. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947552-78.855793 Buffalo Apparel Company, 1415 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23). M 9AM-4PM, Tu 9AM-5PM, W 11AM-7PM, Th-Sa 11AM-8PM, Su 11AM-3PM. This somewhat ambiguously-named shop at the heart of the Hertel strip isn't merely an apparel company in Buffalo: its stock in trade is indeed specifically focused on Buffalo apparel. The impresario behind it all is Jeff Morreale, who traded in a career in graphic design to launch Buffalo Icon, his own line of custom-designed T-shirts, hoodies, and other gear emblazoned with themes of local identity and pride (which just so happen to also make great souvenirs and gifts!) (updated Feb 2020)
42.947798-78.8491954 Korona Jewelry, 1588 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 23), ☏ +1 716 834-4755. Tu-F 11AM-6PM, Sa 11AM-4PM. In business since 1900, Korona is the longest-running family-owned jeweler in Buffalo, providing a shopping experience and a selection of rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, watches, and other gold and silver jewelry that marries old-school customer service and quality workmanship with the latest in modern techniques and technology. Bridal jewelry is a particular specialty, and staff is happy to work with customers to design custom pieces to their personal specifications. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947614-78.8601955 Misfits N Kicks, 1293 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 424-0953. M-Tu & Th-Sa 1PM-8PM, W 1PM-7PM. At Misfits N Kicks, the accent is on helping you the customer express your unique personality through fashion. In a small and sleekly decorated shop next to Richel Formalwear you'll find a selection of graphic tees, hoodies, jackets, and ladieswear where the style is quirky and individualist without losing its streetwise edge. However, the crown jewel of the inventory here is a range of up-to-the-minute designer sneakers from labels like Nike and Jordan as well as limited editions from celebrity designers like 2 Chainz. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947884-78.8569516 ^{[dead link]} Modern Nostalgia, 1382 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 844-8435. Tu-F 11AM-6PM, Sa 11AM-5PM, Su noon-4PM. Customers adore ModNos for — and forgive its high prices because of — its wide and changing selection of clothing, lingerie, and accessories that come in a style befitting the store's name, equally inspired by elegant classic designs and exciting contemporary fashion. Jewelry and handbags are a particular specialty, with a massive range of earrings, bracelets, necklaces, handbags and clutches from collections by local and national designers, such as Pura Vida, Ornamental Things, and Made By Anatomy. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947872-78.8547187 Peek-a-Boo Baby Boutique, 1446 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 833-4084. Tu, Th & Sa 10AM-5PM, W 10AM-7PM, F 12:30PM-6PM. Peek-a-Boo Baby Boutique features large and adorable selection of items for children from newborns through toddlers — clothes, high chairs, bassinets, strollers, toys, and miscellaneous merchandise — offered in impeccable condition and sold in a clean, cheerily decorated, and surprisingly expansive retail space. Most of the merchandise is consignment, but new items are sold as well, many of which represent the unique work of local designers. All items are 10% off after 5PM on Wednesdays. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947521-78.8527918 Phenominal Xpressions, 1493 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 23), ☏ +1 716 572-2494. Tu-F noon-5:30PM, Sa noon-4PM. The name of this place is no empty boast, with a well-curated selection of fashion accessories in loud and proud, statement-making styles, hand-picked (and in some cases designed) by owner Nikita Williams herself. A wide range of jewelry (tends toward the dangly and chunky, with lots of sterling silver); handbags (animal prints abound); hats, scarves and accessories is contained in a spacious store with racks and shelves splayed around in a charmingly helter-skelter array, perfect for folks who like to linger and browse. (updated Jul 2019)
42.947614-78.8603529 Richel Formalwear, 1291 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 877-6065. M-F 10AM-6PM, Sa 10AM-5PM. Luxurious yet affordable menswear is the order of the day here: tuxedos, dress shirts, vests, three-piece suits, shoes, and accessories are custom-tailored to perfection by owner Carmelo Bandinelli with a skillful and genuine approach to customer service honed over more than a quarter-century of experience. But Richel Formalwear doesn't leave the opposite sex out in the cold, either: wedding dresses, bridesmaids' gowns, prom dresses, and other formal attire for ladies are available for sale or rent. (updated Sep 2018)

Art and art supplies

42.947862-78.85229510 Cone Five Pottery, 1508 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 23), ☏ +1 716 332-0486. W-Sa 11AM-5PM, Th till 8PM. Greg Link is the self-taught craftsman whose sculpture and handmade pottery can be found among the unique items for sale and on display in Cone Five Pottery's ample gallery space. The rest of the collection encompasses works by over 50 artists from all over Buffalo and Western New York, in media as diverse as painting, jewelry, metal and wood art, photography, and blown glass, as well as occasional temporary exhibitions. In addition, open studio time for gallery members takes place at Cone Five every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from noon till 9PM, and Donna Goeckel Martiny and Rachel Kofahl conduct pottery classes for basic and advanced learners. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947857-78.85344411 Dana Tillou Fine Arts, 1478 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 854-5285. W-F 10:30AM-5PM, Sa 10:30AM-4PM. After over half a century operating out of a breathtaking mansion in Allentown, Dana Tillou moved in 2016 to a smaller space on Hertel, and with that move came a change in focus: away from 19th- and early 20th-century American and British paintings and furniture to more contemporary pieces in line with the tastes of a new generation of art and design aficionados. If you've just come to browse, though, never fear: a somewhat more selectively curated variety of works by Western New York artists is still displayed at his gallery-cum-shop, with locally famous names like Martha Visser't Hooft, Carlo Nisita, and Evelyn Rumsey Cary represented. (updated Sep 2018)
Local Color Gallery, 1417 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 885-5188. Tu-Sa noon-6PM or by appointment. A small storefront boutique gallery operated by the legendary Michael Morgulis out of a section of his Hertel Avenue shop, New Buffalo Graphics, the Local Color Gallery's exhibit space features brightly colored, pop art-style prints with almost a comic-book look to them, where local themes predominate and Morgulis' background in graphic design is on full display. Works can be purchased in-store or online. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947883-78.85678912 The Main Frame, 1386 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 447-1107. Tu-F 10AM-5:30PM, Sa 10AM-3PM. Opened in 1988 as a small art gallery and frame store at the heart of the Hertel Avenue corridor, The Main Frame is a sister shop to the venerable Vern Stein Art & Frame in Williamsville, and serves also as the production facility for the custom-made frames sold at both stores. The Main Frame boasts a large selection of prints on display and for sale, with antique prints featuring local scenes and themes a particular specialty. The Main Frame's staff has over 30 years of combined experience in custom framing, and really does a marvelous job at it. (updated Sep 2018)
42.94741-78.84205613 State of the Art, 1781 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 23), ☏ +1 716 832-3900. Tu-F 11AM-6PM, Sa 1PM-5PM. The credo here is, "We may not be big, but we're small" — and so it is at State of the Art, where the staff consists of Mar Penner Griswold, a certified picture framer with over 40 years of experience in the field, and her ever-present feline companion, Lucy. Since 1982, State of the Art has been a Hertel Avenue mainstay, with the store's website vaunting a full range of services including framing, frame repair, photographic repair and restoration, matting, glass replacement, and — yes — cat advice. Customers rave about Griswold's helpful advice on style and color, patient and sincere service to her clients, and fair prices. (updated Sep 2018)

Antiques

42.947604-78.86317314 The Antique Lamp Company and Gift Emporium, 1213 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11, 23 or 25), ☏ +1 716 871-0508, info@antiquelampco.com. W-Sa 11AM-4PM. Wherein longtime antique aficionado John Tobin offers up a full selection of antique and vintage lamps and light fixtures in 19th- and early 20th-century styles such as Victorian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Mission, and Art Moderne, along with a variety of fine china, timepieces, jewelry and fashion accessories, and other gifts. Western New York's only full-time, professional lamp restorer, Tobin's work in restoring these pieces to their former brilliance truly betrays the boundless love he has for what he does. Best of all, soft music and subtle fragrances make for a pleasant shopping experience. (updated Apr 2019)
42.947491-78.85109215 Buffalo Antiques and Quality Furniture, 1539 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 23), ☏ +1 716 832-4231. W-Sa noon-5PM. Dealing in a wide selection of wholesale antique furniture, timepieces, china, sterling silver, light fixtures, and decorative accessories, Buffalo Antiques is a massive emporium that's been in business on Hertel for over fifteen years. In addition to the antique items, which represent Victorian and 19th-century European styles through the Mid-Century Modern period, a variety of new furniture is also sold here: Buffalo Antiques is a licensed dealer of the Maitland-Smith and LaBarge brands. As well, these fine folks are always on the lookout for quality items to purchase, from single items to partial and total estate sale liquidations. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947857-78.85319216 JM Gold Buyers, 1484 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 913-8549. M-F 9AM-5PM. This store's name is an unfortunate misnomer: much more than just another sleazy old-gold buyer, the much more interesting half of the operation has been described by one satisfied customer as "like the best parts of an estate sale were put together in a small shop". Specialties among the maddening diversity of antiques here include weaponry including guns, knives and Japanese swords, "modern vintage" paintings, sculptures and other art, and Oriental rugs. Fans of the usual array of furniture, timepieces, light fixtures, jewelry and collectibles won't be disappointed either. (updated Sep 2018)
42.94755-78.8542717 Man Cave Outfitters of Buffalo, 1453 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 830-3984. M-Sa 9AM-8PM. If you prefer to "outfit your mancave" with collectibles from the golden age of Buffalo brewing, check out the vintage neon signs, wall clocks, steins, ice chests, and bottle openers at this unique breweriana shop. Iroquois and Simon Pure logos abound, but if you're not familiar with those local brands of yore, never fear: they've got old-timey national-brand merchandise too. But that's only half the story: in partnership with the House of Jacob with whom they share the building, Man Cave Outfitters also sells restored vintage guitars and other musical instruments, and there's even a custom jeweler who practices his craft in a small nook in the back. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947491-78.8504918 My Two Cents Coins & Collectibles, 1555 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 398-5685. Tu-F 11AM-4PM, Sa 10AM-3PM or by appointment. If you're a coin collector who does your shopping in Buffalo, by now you've likely heard the persistent rumors that the owner of Lincoln Coin and Stamp is getting ready to retire and close up shop. If you're concerned, don't be, because up on Hertel there's a shop that's waiting in the wings to take over. My Two Cents specializes in hard-to-find specimens of historic American currency — not only coins but also paper money, bank and treasury certificates, and the like — as well as a range of vintage and antique jewelry, toys, glassware and other collectibles, especially from the 1950s and 60s. (updated Jul 2019)
42.947598-78.86210319 Redz Fine Art Vintage Toys and Collectibles, 1249 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 444-0208. W-F 11AM-4PM, Sa 11AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM. If you're a millennial or Gen Xer nostalgic for the halcyon days of your youth, this vintage toy and collectible store is a trip down Memory Lane. That goes double if you were into action figures back in the day: '70s and '80s throwback toys from franchises like ThunderCats, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and the World Wrestling Federation crowd the shelves in this diminutive little shop. And if you've got some old toys you'd like to find new homes for, the owner buys for a fair price. (updated Nov 2018)
42.947598-78.86230720 White Dog Vintage, 1241 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 551-6151. Th-Sa noon-6PM. In business on Hertel since 2018, White Dog makes up for its somewhat limited hours with an inventory of vintage merchandise that's crowned by what may very well be Western New York's best selection of midcentury flatware, glassware, tea and coffee service, and the like; if you're planning a Buffalo wedding and want to go the vintage route, these folks are your alpha and omega. Alongside that come all the usuals too — clothing, decorative baubles, et cetera — united by a stylishly retro aesthetic for an overall effect described by one satisfied customer as "Anthropologie meets your granny's attic". (updated Jul 2019)

Books

42.947552-78.85548721 The Second Reader, 1421 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 862-0001. Tu-Th 11AM-6PM, F-Sa 11AM-7PM. The selection at this small used book shop directly across from the North Park Theater may not be the widest, but the Second Reader makes up for that with the quality of its merchandise and the friendliness and enthusiasm of its staff — not to mention the surprising and unusual finds that can often be encountered on the shelves there. The Second Reader's excellent prices are exemplified by the "$1 Book Table" which makes regular appearances in season on the sidewalk in front of the store. In addition to books, a range of prints, gifts and other ephemera are available here. (updated Sep 2018)

Chocolate, candies, and sweets

42.94797-78.86758522 Blue Marble Sweet Shop, 1096 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11, 23 or 25), ☏ +1 716 249-1080. W-Sa 10:30AM-6:30PM, Su noon-6PM. Bella Mia may have closed in 2019, but Hertel wasn't without a resident confectioner for long: enter Blue Marble, where the inventory is not a Boomer-friendly lineup of retro-nostalgic candy brands but a millennial-oriented international smorgasbord of sweets with a focus on a different country every month (for instance, the inaugural one was Japan, with lychee milkshakes and wasabi Kit Kats in stock). If using your sweet tooth to promote intercultural awareness and harmony sounds like an idea you can get behind, stop on in — and if coffee is your indulgence of choice, do the same. (updated Feb 2020)

Specialty foods

In addition to the imported cheeses, pastas, olive oils, and so forth that are to be expected in Little Italy, Hertel has a small colony of Middle Eastern groceries that's located near the corner of Delaware Avenue.

42.947943-78.86368623 Al Noor Grocery, 1200 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11, 23 or 25), ☏ +1 716 876-4752. M-Th & Sa-Su 11AM-8PM, F 3PM-9PM. Tasty Middle Eastern groceries of all types are the order of the day at Al Noor, with the crowded aisles of this little place fully stocked with everything from spices to Turkish coffee to canned vegetables to sheesha to a small selection of frozen foods. This stuff is the real deal, authentic and delicious — especially the halal meats that are the specialty here. Interestingly enough, British visitors will note that this is the only place in Buffalo that stocks Vimto soft drinks. (updated Oct 2018)
42.947883-78.8571824 The House of Olives, 1374 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 876-6457. Tu-F 11AM-6PM, Sa 11AM-7PM, Su noon-4PM. Easily the most interesting of the products sold here by owner Sandy Hofschneider are her flavored olive oils: infusions of fresh basil, jalapeño, Meyer lemon, garlic mushroom, and more into the imported extra-virgin oils you can also buy plain. Infused vinegars are also a specialty, with blackberry, raspberry, hickory, and chocolate among the available flavors. Best of all, Hofschneider herself is always on hand to suggest pairings, share recipes, or — bringing to bear her experience working as a registered nurse in North Carolina — extol the myriad health benefits of extra-virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947959-78.86576825 Jerusalem Halal Market, 1146 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11, 23 or 25), ☏ +1 716 259-8381. Daily 10AM-10PM. What sets Jerusalem Halal Market apart from the competition among the Middle Eastern grocers on the west end of the Hertel strip is the pleasant shopping experience: the store is clean and brightly lit, the merchandise is well-organized, the aisles are easy to navigate, and customer service is friendly and attentive. As well, there's an in-house butcher that sells fresh meat (100% halal, like everything else sold here) several days a week; if it's closed when you stop in, there's always an ample selection of frozen meats. Rounding out the inventory is a modest selection of fresh produce as well as hookah pipes, headscarves, and other Islamic clothing. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947582-78.86404926 Johnny's Meats, 1191 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11, 23 or 25), ☏ +1 716 876-2500. M 9AM-5:30PM, Tu-F 8AM-5:30PM, Sa 7AM-5PM. Since 1960, Johnny's Meats has offered for sale a full range of meats, cold cuts, and cheeses, many of which are produced locally. Johnny's homemade Italian sausage, crafted with a secret blend of herbs and cheeses, is a specialty, but it's also just the beginning of the story — this real, old-fashioned butcher shop sells it all. Beef, lamb, bacon, veal, locally produced Sahlen's hot dogs, seafood, pork, poultry, and delicious homemade meatballs all keep Johnny's loyal customers coming back for more. In another nod to Hertel Avenue's status as the epicenter of Buffalo's Italian community, a small line of pasta products is also available. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947491-78.85056827 The Pasta Peddler and Blackbird Sweets, 1547 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 393-9547 (Pasta Peddler), +1 716 253-1115 (Blackbird Sweets). Tu-Sa 9AM-7PM, Su 9AM-1PM. Husband-and-wife team Eric and Andrea Amodeo operate two artisanal food shops in one lovely Hertel storefront: the former's stock in trade at the Pasta Peddler encompasses not only a line of handmade gourmet pastas (linguine is the most popular variety, available in a variety of flavors) as well as gourmet goodies like imported olives and oils, flavored balsamic vinegars, honey, and artisanal fruit butters. As for Andrea's half of the operation, Blackbird Sweets offers a wide range of gourmet baked goods that deliver, in her own words, "confection perfection and wow with every bite". The specialty of the house are cupcakes that come in a diverse selection of flavors, crafted so artfully that one reviewer described being hesitant to bite into them. Consensus says that the cake has real heft to it and the frosting is not overpowering in its sweetness. (updated Sep 2018)

Music

42.947596-78.86288828 Jam Records, 1225 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 213-7604. M & W-Th noon-7PM, F-Sa noon-8PM, Su noon-5PM. The merchandise on the racks here is the basically the same as at Revolver Records down the street: a vast, diverse, and well-organized collection of mostly used vinyl, accurately graded and generally in good condition. But in terms of ambience and clientele, Jam Records skews older and tones down the hipster factor a bit: picture veteran scenesters who saw the Ramones play at Buffalo State College in '77 versus twentysomething rich kids wearing $99 designer-label Ramones t-shirts. In keeping with that old-school identity, Jam is also a place to pick up reasonably-priced vintage audio equipment such as turntables, amps, and speakers. (updated Oct 2018)
42.94755-78.85439329 Revolver Records, 1451 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 213-7604. Tu-Th noon-7PM, F noon-8PM, Sa 11AM-8PM, Su noon-5PM. As has become the rule among the new crop of record shops that have lately sprung up around Buffalo, vinyl is the name of the game at Revolver Records: on offer is a gargantuan yet carefully-curated kaleidoscope of over 15,000 titles spanning all genres and time periods from the 1950s to the present and representing some of the most interesting, obscure, sought-after, and above all, best music on the planet; everything from popular favorites to hard-to-find imports to offerings from Buffalo's local music scene, all accurately graded. There's a limited selection of music on CD and other formats too. (updated Sep 2018)

The heart of the Hertel Avenue business district.

Furniture and home decor

42.947544-78.85527830 Conley Interiors, 1425 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 838-1000. M-F 10AM-5PM or by appointment. Here you have three floors of stylish sofas, tables, chairs, bedroom sets, lighting elements, original works of art, and other decorative baubles; an inventory that encompasses a timeless diversity of styles and includes everything from major brands to custom-made pieces from small workshops all over the world. Conley Interiors also proudly custom-designs interior spaces to their customers' specifications — in fact, it was named in 2002 by Architectural Digest magazine as one of Western New York's top interior-design firms. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947883-78.85663331 Hertel Home Consignment, 1390 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 248-2588. Tu-W 10AM-5PM, Th-F 11AM-7PM, Sa 10AM-4PM. "Consignment with flare" is the operating credo at Hertel Home Consignment, with an exceptionally well-curated selection that is high-quality yet affordable, constantly changing, and often tailored to reflect seasonal trends. Living room furniture, dressers and armoires, lamps, objets d'art come gently used but still vibrant, often sourced from people selling their homes, downsizing, or the like. And if you're looking to find a new home for your favorite piece, bring it on in: consigners get 50% of the profit after the sale! (updated Sep 2018)
42.947598-78.86201932 MiMo Decor, 1251 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 873-0727. W-Sa 11AM-7PM, Su noon-5PM. As its abbreviated name implies, the stock in trade is furniture, home decorative elements, and original artwork representing the best in Midcentury Modern design. The inventory at MiMo Decor is, for the most part, a well-curated collection of authentic vintage items, but you'll also find a few Midcentury-inspired new pieces as well. Modernist and industrial-chic chairs are a particular specialty, but you can find pretty much anything for the home, whether it be dressers and armoires, living room sets, lamps, interior baubles, even unique handcrafted jewelry. Prices at MiMo run the gamut, too — no matter your budget, chances are you can find something affordable here. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947883-78.85633233 room, 1400 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 939-2692. Tu-F 10AM-6PM, Th till 8PM, Sa 10AM-5PM, Su noon-4PM. Described by one reviewer as "a fantasy world of what my living room could be like", in a pleasant ambience of scented soy candles and elegant chandeliers are placed a bevy of classic modern furniture, dinnerware, rugs, textiles, and other decorative elements and accessories. The brands room carries are not only stylish and cutting-edge, but are often locally manufactured and are united by a commitment to sustainable and eco-friendly production. These items are high-end and priced accordingly, so come prepared to splurge; if not, sales and promotions do occur on a regular basis. (updated Sep 2018)

Gifts

42.947521-78.85259934 BuffaloMart, 1499 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 23). W-Sa 10AM-6PM. Whether through mail order or at a series of retail shops, John Hoffman has been proudly promoting his hometown since the early '90s via an exclusive line of t-shirts, embroidered baseball caps, hoodies, coffee mugs, and other Buffalo-themed souvenir swag that he screenprints himself in the workshop behind Buffalo Bar & Grille in the Old First Ward, which he also owns. Choose from some 30 custom designs that pay homage to all of the many facets of Buffalo that locals take pride in — from sports to history to ethnic heritage to architecture. (updated Sep 2018)
42.947552-78.8556735 New Buffalo Graphics, 1417 Hertel Ave. (Metro Bus 11 or 23), ☏ +1 716 885-5188. Tu-Sa noon-6PM and by appointment. If you want to commemorate your visit to Western New York with high-quality t-shirts, prints, cards, mugs, and miscellaneous gifts emblazoned with icons of buffaloes, photos of beloved Buffalo landmarks, and catchy slogans all the locals can recite by heart (in fact, one of Buffalo's most enduring nicknames, the "City of No Illusions", originated as a slogan on a New Buffalo Graphics t-shirt), this is the place for you. All the designs are the work of owner Michael Morgulis, whose knowledge of the ins and outs of Buffalo is matched by the enthusiasm of his love for his hometown. (updated Sep 2018)