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Interesting Facts
- Buffalo was founded in 1803. By the early 1900s, the burgeoning city was the world's largest distributor of grain and livestock. It also boasted a major rail center and was considered the gateway to the Midwest.
- Buffalo, New York's second-largest city, is known as the "Queen City" and has been designated an "All-American City and Community" (1996). This lifetime award, sanctioned by the National Civic League, "promotes the active involvement of citizens in the governance of their communities."
- During the War of 1812, less than a decade after Buffalo was founded, it was burned to the ground by British troops. According to historians, only one house was left standing. After the town was rebuilt, homeowners were required to have leather water buckets to help douse potential fires.
- Located on the shores of Lake Erie, Buffalo is a half-hour's drive from one of the "seven natural wonders of the world," Niagara Falls. Actually, the cataract consists of two falls: American Falls in New York State and Horseshoe Falls in Ontario.
- Buffalo, home to many famous figures, is also the birthplace of two US presidents. Native son Millard Fillmore held office from 1850-53, and Grover Cleveland served two terms from 1885-89 and 1893-97.
- Buffalo is known for welcoming the works of men like architect Frank Lloyd Wright and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The city also has a reputation for extraordinary Art Deco architecture. Of particular note is the 1928 City Hall building, which is not only a masterpiece of the style but one of the tallest City Halls in the nation.
- The Buffalo Bills have the dubious distinction of losing the most consecutive Super Bowls ever – four, between 1990 and 1994. Subsequently, many people labeled them "losers," forgetting that no other team in NFL history (before or since) had ever had the skill and perseverance to make it to four consecutive Super Bowls.
- Frederick Law Olmsted and his partner Calvert Vaux designed Buffalo's original park system in 1868. The first of its kind, the system of parks, circles, and connecting parkways not only brought Olmsted deserved fame, but it also set the standard for urban park planning for the rest of the nation. Olmsted's park system is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- When most people think of Mark Twain, they envision the corncob-smoking satirist whose classic stories centered around the mighty Mississippi River. But during the 1870s, Twain worked as an editor at a small newspaper called the Buffalo Express before becoming a literary giant. Back then, of course, he was known as Samuel Clemens.
- Buffalo's famous Delaware Avenue is often referred to by locals as "President's Avenue." After all, Millard Fillmore lived there until his death, as did William McKinley, who died in the home of John Milburn. In addition, Teddy Roosevelt took his presidential oath at the Wilcox house, also on Delaware Avenue.
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