Independence Day at the Central Wharf
Last night, downtown Buffalo witnessed an historic moment at the Erie Canal Harbor when it presented its first ever “Official” City of Buffalo fireworks bash there. Thousands of people spent the day watching live bands rock the pier as people made their way in and out of the maze of paths and canal era ruins.
Buffalo Place arranged for live music on the new pier throughout the day with music from Wendell Rivera Latin Jazz Ensemble, Boys of Summer, Rod Nickson Project, Jackdaw (seen below) and Buffalo Trivia with Dennis George. Activities were scheduled during the day for the kids. Boaters took advantage of the re-watered Commercial Slip to watch all of the activities. The Erie County Sheriff’s Department made an appearance with their Marine Unit to ensure everyone’s safety.
Once the fireworks started someone asked when they were going to kill the house lights, saying it would have been nice to snuff the street lamps so the fireworks could be enjoyed without the ambient lighting, which there is plenty of in this newly developed and public friendly site. Still, it was a great display that started with Springsteen's Born in the USA and went for a good half hour.
This was the first time most people, stretched from the wharf all the way down to the tip of the Erie Basin Marina, had seen the harbor at all let alone all lit up at night. It was an amazing scene, especially seeing the Whipple Truss wearing its creative lighting. Traffic was brisk all day culminating in fireworks over the Buffalo River at about 10:20PM. It was truly an historic moment for the City of Buffalo. I can only see next year’s 4th of July bash even larger hopefully with a whole new cadre of historic buildings and venues.
Many people remarked that the slip was great and they'd be back just to hang out. Truly, it's a subway ride down to a haven of grass and plank patio and a delicious breeze off of the water. For picnicking, touring or reading a book, I think the wharf made a lot of believers last night. People who joined in the masses are going to want to come back and enjoy it on their own in less of a crowd because, face it, it's their waterfront property.
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Einstein
How is it that we are so sensitive about environmental impact of just about everything we own or use, but we welcome the discharge of potassium carbonate, potassium sulphate, potassium sulphide, dioxins from copper, sulfur, and other chemicals in levels that would shut down any industrial operation. Take a look at the sky after any fireworks show and wonder to yourself "what is in all that smoke and where is it going?".
I wonder what the impact of fireworks is on Global Warming? What is the true impact of all of the displays that take place across the country over the July 4th weekend? What about all the displays for New Years Eve, that take place around the globe over a 24 hour period? When do you think it will become politically incorrect to have these displays at all?
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Einstein
This is a great event and I hope that this becomes the place of choice for city events like this.
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Lifer
Einstein - way to make up your mind...
This was a fantastic event - although having the proverbial Jackdaw show before the fireworks was misplaced... How does irish rock and July 4th come together? It would have been nice to do something that "fit" a little better into the theme... but all in all - great time...
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onestarmartin
This event dawned a new era for Buffalo, we pulled up in the boat around 7pm just to check it out and ended up staying untill after the fireworks. Thousands of people stretched out from here to the hatch, well over a hundred boats in the water also. With the music, the sunset, the views around the Buffalo River one never would of thought we were in the same ole' Buffalo of a year ago. I hope the Mayor and other city officials were present to witness the fact that if you build it, they will come! Last night proved beyond a doubt that a well planned waterfront venue is sorely needed and wanted by the people of this city. Lets get the cafes, coffee shops, pocket parks and boutiques up and running Byron! [ a few more day slips along the breakwall would be an added bonus!]
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onestarmartin
[I agree Lifer, the music choice was a bit odd, "Boy's of Summer" would of been more fitting, but, still a fun evening]
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smythie
What an amazing transformation of that area. My family and I rode our bikes down for the festivities yesterday, enjoyed some eats at the Hatch and stayed for fireworks. A great day that makes me remember how glad I am to live in such close proximity to the water! I can't wait to see what happens when there is more development in terms of restaurants/bars/shops, etc. (other than Bass Pro, does anyone have any word on other plans once the Aud/Donovan building comes down?) My jaw just dropped. I realize there are many naysayers as far as the cash that was used to complete the slip and surrounding area (I just want to know whey it took so long!), but hopefully any of them who venture down there will be won over and realize the potential this area has to boost our region. One small/medium step in the whole scheme of bettering the region, but a significant step none the less.
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GDC
I'd come down more often when the shops and restaurants open up. Right now, it looks nice, but to look and stroll through.
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griffen_star
I have to say the when my boyfriend and I went to the warf last night to see the fireworks, it was a bit crowded for us. We ended up heading to the General Mills building, where we got the best view of the fireworks, there wasn't really a soul around, and even on our way back got to see the fireworks from South Buffalo as well.
I'm glad Buffalo is using its waterfront again as a major attraction. Keep it up.
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joey
The News @6pm had a story about the fireworks show ...and added $6.00 to park your car???...Exactly the reason people fled to the suburbs to do their shopping! We went to UB Amherst , parked for free, and had the usual superb display with the convenience of parking free, close to your vehicle so as not to have to lug chairs, coolers etc. Not a bad situation for a afamily with children..so dont tell me about rail,bus etc..not practical here! I'm sure the show was excellent, but even Riverside Park was more practical to a family with young children.
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joey
The News @6pm had a story about the fireworks show ...and added $6.00 to park your car???...Exactly the reason people fled to the suburbs to do their shopping! We went to UB Amherst , parked for free, and had the usual superb display with the convenience of parking free, close to your vehicle so as not to have to lug chairs, coolers etc. Not a bad situation for a afamily with children..so dont tell me about rail,bus etc..not practical here! I'm sure the show was excellent, but even Riverside Park was more practical to a family with young children.
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GDC
Joey, u could have also parked near the UB Metro Station, parked for free and only spend ONY $2. to go downtown and avoid the traffic jams and high cost of parking or the stress of finding a spot and getting back home in a traffic jam. Just something to think about next time.
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TjR
Joey-I bet it was really fun sitting in all that traffic trying to make your way home. I watched the fireworks sitting on rocks surrounded by huge old buildings and grain elevators overlooking a river full of docked sailboats and the view coupled with the echo was amazing.. I parked for free without any trouble, and was home in 10 mins without any traffic. When I have kids,this is the kind of view I will be exposing them too. To each there own I guess.
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SilentMajority
When is the last time you saw that many people downtown AT NIGHT for something other than a Sabres game. Just curious what type of police presence was around. Anyone make any observations?
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Irishprgrl3
Joey..... DO YOUR RESEARCH!!! We parked for free in the marina. And as GDC said, the subway was open later at night. You could have parked a few blocks away for free and taken the subway above ground for free. Or actually planned your trip better and parked in the marina parking FOR FREE!
You suburbanites need to realize public transportation does work if you actually are capable enough of figuring out how to use it. BTW, most big cities have a much higher price tag for parking as it is anyways. The subway is there PEOPLE! USE IT!
This event was absolutely great. I'm excited, and it's given me a new fire under my butt to start enjoying what Buffalo has to offer a bit more. We walked all around the marina, stayed on the wharf a bit, walked to the Hatch for some ice cream and even hung out at Shanghai Red's patio for a drink and to hang out near the open fire pits. You couldn't ask for much better. And I can bet not one of WNY's suburbs could have done that.
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leadi
I had no problem paying $6.00 for parking to be close to where the fireworks were. (In NYC it would abut $25.00) We had kids with us as well - if you can't handle bringing kids and a backpack with some popcorn and juice/water and a blanket to enjoy the totally cool event on the water front that's is too bad. You missed a really nice evening. The weather was perfect, the boats were fun for the kids to check out and the sheriff's boat came by too. Everyone there seemed polite enough and there was security everywhere. It was a great family event and a historical day for Buffalo's waterfront as well!
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probuff
good for us! good for buffalo! i can feel the momentum...
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orlanmon
What incredible photos from last night! Spread the word Buffalo's waterfront is on the move, Inner Harbor is the first piece of the puzzle and the Outer Harbor is underway. I has a discussion with someone yesterday while visting with my in-laws in a town South of Rochester and they had not a clue whatsoever of the progress being made on Buffalo's waterfront. Time for the residents of Western New York to stop complaining and start informing people of Buffalo's progress as of late....
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al-alo
i went down myself with a few friends.
it was alright. too crowed for my taste. perhaps as projects are completed, more public space will open up. otherwise, Delaware Park was more able to absorb the large numbers. not to mention, Delaware Park (or any other neighborhood park) is much easier for adjoining residents to walk to, reducing parking needs.
i did appreciate the security keeping the booze, bikes and dogs out. it is a family event folks!
parking was tough in close. i went for one of the cobblestone streets by BRO hq. no prob. if i had know where the fireworks were, i would have stayed over there. if i go next year, ill try to grab a spot on the 2nd fl of the DL&W, or maybe @ the Swannie house.
it was a great feature to have boaters down there, despite the poop.
id give it a six and a half out of ten.
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smythie
I don't get it. How is public transport not practical with kids? People in NYC do it all of the time with kids. How are we here in WNY any different? Kids are pretty flexible! I think we all had better get used to a) living a more urban lifestyle and b) using public transport--city or suburban dweller--more often with the trend in gas prices.
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leadi
Joey - doesn't the Galleria Mall have one of the highest rates for stolen cars in WNY? As a City resident, it is something I think about while venturing to the 'burbs to shop. I am pretty sure paying for parking to a special event in the City is not the the reason people "fled to the suburbs to do their shopping".
Wondering how you can explain people paying for parking to a Bills game at the stadium in Orchard park? This is after paying $80.00 for a ticket.
The event on the 4th was free downtown, so paying $6.00 to park really was a bargain for us. The place was clean, lots of security, decent parking available all over the area, well lit and our kids loved being in the middle of all of the excitement.
Anyway - no sense being negative about a small fee to check out a very cool event. Buffalo has so many free events during the summer, that if you have to pay for parking for any of them, you are still getting a great deal.
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buffaloed
Seriously? We are complaining about parking? Congressman Higgins said it perfectly, "people will just have to find a spot just like any other urban area." $6.00 isnt even that much to pay, for a great event in a great place.
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benfranklin
Joey, keep to the patio home, and quit posting here about why vanilla ice cream is the coolest. Some people are just a little boring, best not to bring attention to yourself. (Have the kids been South of Sheridan?)
For the rest of you, congrats on a night well done.
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al-alo
im all about new urbanism and public transportation, but without to go the inner harbor for this event 95% of people need to drive there.
first off, this is well outside of walking distance from almost all city neighborhoods - let alone a suburban one.
secondly, city buses operated on a Sunday schedule on the 4th. has anybody here taken the bus on Sunday? guess what? it sucks. you are lucky if they come every hour. then imagine if everybody tried to get down there on an hourly bus with kids, a chair, strollers or blankets. currently, there isnt enough public transport capacity. in NYC, there is train in minutes, not an hour. not comparable.
like i said before, in other city parks, there is walkability. here, not so much. sort of ironic that a downtown event lack an urbanist principle like that. im not liking that fact. just saying is all.
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smythie
I'm not talking bus, I'm talking rail. Park at South Campus and take the train down (which comes more often than a bus) with couple of blankets and ditch the strollers (at least the huge ones that seem to have everything hanging off of them and take up nearly a city block). This is, of course, if you're coming from the north towns, which presumably is where anyone who went to UB to see fireworks would hail from. Plan accordingly. It's completely possible. If it was completely necessary to drive, there was plenty of FREE parking under the 190 about 10 minutes prior to the start of fireworks so there shouldn't be any whining about parking.
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smythie
Oh...and by saying this, I'm not implying we have a problem free public transport system, by any means. It can be and often is darn inconvenient to get around on our system, but last night's event would have been easily accessible by rail from the north. I say this as someone who grew up near South Camus and took the rail downtown for events all of the time. Once more people start to HAVE to use it (bus AND rail), hopefully it will force changes in terms of scheduling (and not just special schedules for special events), ease of getting from point A to B with the addition of more routes, etc.
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sbrof
It look like it was a great event, what fourth for Buffalo.. I do wish i could have joined but watched fireworks elsewhere this year.
On a different but slightly off 4th of July topic I talked to one of the engineers for the Whipple truss bridge and he was disgusted to find out that you can't ride your bike over it considering that he and the architects designed it for that exact purpose. There is a middle lane two way moving traffic (including bikes) and the side areas are for people to stand and read the signs. It was designed to allow it.. so who whispered in who's ear to get them banned.
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sbrof
For Einstein http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1833/85/
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300miles
People on this site seem to find ANYTHING to whine and complain about. Whatever. If you don't like fireworks, then don't go. If you can't figure out how to park your car in the city, then don't go. Obviously there were thousands of other people that WERE able to figure it out.
It was a great weekend for the Harbor. Seeing all those people down there was just amazing. It will only get better from here.
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stephenjames716
this looks like it was a great event! congrats to all those involved in putting it together. the lightening on the bridge looks really well done.
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smythie
yeah...what 300 miles said!
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P525
Yes, bravo 300 miles -- there will always be those who will find a way to get down here and those that chose not to expend the effort. Simply nice to see that chose to go had great time and are beginning to take advantage of the investments that were made at Erie Canal Harbor. Transformation always begin with small steps -- here's to a great end of the beginning and hoping there's more to come.
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Darrell
I work right on the water front and I 've never seen it this packed. I was quite proud of my little city. It was at that moment that I knew people would start crying about the parking, traffic, and people. These of course are the same people who complain that Buffalo is not doing enough to grow as a city.
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dagner
Chicago has waterfront events which attract tens of thousands, who somehow figure out how to use mass transit even with their children. For many kids the train-riding experience is half the fun. And probably leaves them with an indelible, positive impression of mass transit. I'll not forget the sound of the ridership joining in to sing America the Beautiful after one such event.
The city transit authority ratchets up the schedule to meet the demand, as the NFTA does for some events here.
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becker
Our metro sucks! What is someone from Orchard Park going to do to save time getting downtown? Drive to UB? Head further up Main Street just to take the subway back to the base? THE NFTA IS A JOKE!
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BADASH
funny, when I left right after the fireworks, a MetroRail was pulling out but most people were walking to their parked cars. Unfortunate. Me and a few of my buds walked from the West Side and it's a neighborhood as well as the newer neighborhoods brought into walking distance being in downtown. what's up your craw, al-alo?
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wizardofza
I parked for FREE on Washington St. behind the Market Arcade, rode the train for FREE from Fountain Plaza station, got off the train within 100 ft. of my destination and had a wonderful time watching the fireworks from the Central Wharf. I don't see what the fuss is all about.
The fact that downtown Buffalo has A REAL WATERFRONT now outshines any lame bitching about parking.
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icecreamsub
parking wasn't a problem for me, I kayaked all the way from Ellicott Crick. the ride home sucked though.
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gaustad
Was the boat slip filled with fescies and sewage furing thie glorious event.
I am sure right after the fireworks, everyone left because there is nothing to do there.
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Colin
I hear that 90% of everyone who went was a crackhead.
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GDC
With gas prices nearing $5 a gallon, who really wants to drive now anyways. Bus and Rail is cheaper, but NFTA does need to improve it's system....alot.
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driz716
Lets face it, even if there was free VALET parking at this event, bro readers would have found something else to cry about.
My friends and I were at a brand spankin new historical site teaming with educational oppurtunity and esthetic value paired with rockin bands playing all day long and cold beer to boot.............good thing you got your free parking spot at UB I guess?
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DJB
Anyone know if there are plans to bring Thursday in the Square down here for next season? I hope so. It has completely outgrown the current space and it draws from all over WNY, so it would be nice to introduce some of our neighbors to the newly developed waterfront. Any action down there will help persuade retailers to invest in the area. I wonder why no complaints about parking for Thursday in the square? As for the easier access to parking in the suburbs??? Try going to class at UB North and you'll see that parking can be an issue anywhere. But, to complain about parking in that area of downtown demonstrates ignorance of the area. There are always dozens of free spots, if you know where to find them.
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gaustad
Colin, how did you know that? Was your Dad there?
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buffalo339
I had been meaning to check the new slip out since I readabout it, but never really got to doing so. We went to check out the fire works with an ex-pat currently in indiana and were all very impressed even though we got there late and just made it to the new bridge. My fiance and I made a day trip out of it on sat and walked from north buffalo through delaware down elmwood and eentually to main and then the harbor. It was very nice to see so many people down there on both friday and saturday. I hope this keeps moving in the right direction.
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SBUBfloBoy
Donald, I only have one issue with the entire article. When you wrote the the fireworks went "for a good half hour." Seriously? I agree that the event was amazing and I really enjoyed the bands but the fireworks were scheduled to start at 9:45 and didn't start until almost 10:20. Also, the paltry display ended by 10:35. My friends and I loved the event and the entire Central Wharf/Inner Harbor area is very nice but we all mentioned how poor the fireworks display was. However, we also weren't bothered by that because they put the whole thing together in only a couple of weeks. Just wanted the article to be accurate.
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