Economic and Cultural Renaissance Is Alive and Well
Located
at the crossroads of a historically significant parkway system and home
to an impressive collection of world-class architecture, Elmwood
Village is a premier urban, mixed-use neighborhood that dates back to
Joseph Ellicott's 1804 plan for the City of Buffalo, New York.
The
American Planning Association has selected Elmwood Village as one of 10
Great Neighborhoods in America for its vitality, broad spectrum of
cultural and social assets, and its commitment to maintaining high
community standards while solving real problems.
Tucked
inside the City of Buffalo, mixed-use Elmwood Village is a neighborhood
where one can find examples of works by renowned landscape designer
Frederick Law Olmsted and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The village
also is home to several world-class cultural institutions, including
the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, which contains one of the country's best
collections of modern art. It includes a prosperous commercial
district, primarily along Elmwood Avenue, with more than 200 shops and
restaurants. Four large colleges and universities are located in or
near the neighborhood, adding to the area's diversity and vibrancy.
Helping make the neighborhood attractive and comfortable to pedestrians
is the Elmwood Village Association, which has established design
guidelines for the area to ensure new development does not detract from
the existing architecture and character.
While
Ellicott's plan gave definition to this neighborhood, it was a series
of planning efforts spanning two centuries that wove Elmwood Village's
intricate urban, economic, and cultural tapestry. The earliest, in
1868, was Olmsted's Park and Parkway System. Delaware Park, at the
village's northeastern corner, is considered the system's crown jewel.
Criss-crossing the village are three of Olmsted's tree-lined parkways
graced with the homes of 19th-century industrial leaders and today's
visionaries.
Fine
examples of residential and institutional architecture abound. H.H.
Richardson's Buffalo State Hospital complex and Frank Lloyd Wright's
William Heath House are joined by Eliel and Eero Saarinen's modernist
Kleinhan's Music Hall and E.B. Green's Greek-revival Albright Knox Art
Gallery.
Despite
these assets, residents left Elmwood Village for suburbia during the
latter half of the 20th century. A dwindling customer base caused
businesses along Elmwood Avenue, the community's main street, to close
up shop. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the street saw a slow resurgence
of small, funky retailers and college bars, attracted by quirky spaces
and rock-bottom rents.
To
encourage an economic and cultural renaissance, the nonprofit Elmwood
Village Association was formed in 1994. With membership drawn from both
the business and residential sectors, the organization used planning to
reclaim the neighborhood's former vitality. One of its first successes
was narrowing Elmwood Avenue and widening its sidewalks to shift the
street's emphasis from cars to pedestrians.
Intelligent
street design and management has enhanced the visibility of local
shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Elmwood Avenue businesses
rely heavily on foot traffic, so the streetscape is of prime importance
to retailers. Today, Elmwood Avenue is one of Buffalo's busiest
commercial districts with some 200 boutiques, restaurants, and taverns.
It
also is a place where business owners and residents work together to
preserve the community's unique urban character and bolster its image.
The result is a lively, walkable, clean, safe, and sustainable district
where community spirit is contagious.
In
2005 the City of Buffalo announced plans to reconstruct a segment of
Elmwood Avenue. The village association solicited neighborhood input
and presented an alternative plan with a higher level of pedestrian
amenities, including intersection bulb-outs, traffic circles, and other
traffic calming measures. The Elmwood Village community hopes to have
many of these elements included in the city's final reconstruction plan.
Design
guidelines adopted by the association have resulted in new mixed-use
structures built up to the street and in character with neighborhood
architectural styles rather than single-use buildings set back from the
street and surrounded by parking.
Standards
are high in Elmwood Village, but given its proactive, "can-do"
attitude, the neighborhood is able to support the needs of today's
local businesses and residents without losing sight of its historic
past. |