#buffalo parks

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Buffalo Home to One of the World’s 10 Best Parks According to The Guardian

What does Buffalo have in common with Sao Paulo, Barcelona, London, and Beijing? Each holds one of the world’s 10 best parks according the The Guardian. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s network of parks integrated into the city made Olmsted declare Buffalo “the best planned city in the world.”

Recently, Delaware Park, the jewel of the Olmsted Park System, was declared one of the 10 greatest public spaces in America by the American Planning Association. These recognitions are even greater knowing that the system was carelessly cut up for highway travel convenience during the 20th century. Today, many still call for the return to Olmsted’s vision.

[whatsnewbuffalo]

South Park - Buffalo, NY

South Park is a 155 acre arboretum designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It is home to the Victorian designed Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens and is considered the southern jewel of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks system. Currently home to over 200 species of trees efforts are continually being made to improve one of Buffalo’s most alluring parks. In this video by Dan Oshier it’s possible to see South Park from above with the city and lakefront windmills in the distance. 

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Botanical Gardens embarking upon master plan project

Award-winning architect Toshiko Mori is leading a new master plan for the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens. Mori is known for designing the Greatbatch Pavilion at the Martin House Complex. The Botanical Gardens have had an increase in everything from attendance to revenue and now the 116 year old Buffalo jewel is implementing this master plan to continue the trend. Included in the plan are new exhibit spaces, the development of a cafe and events space, and minimizing view obstruction of the lake.

Photograph by Miles Bintz

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Tifft Nature Preserve at Dusk

Photography by Robert Thuerck

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Panama Rocks Scenic Park

One of the benefits of living in Western New York is the vast amount of natural attractions strewn throughout the region. One such destination that has continually attracted people for at least 130 years is Panama Rocks. Carved from a titanic glacier about 10,000 years ago the rocks remain the "most extensive formations of glacier-cut, ocean-quartz conglomerate in the world." The enchanting day trip still spellbinds visitors of these colossal touchstones to our ancient past.

[whatsnewbuffalo]

21st Century Park at the Outer Harbor

Momentum has been steadily building over the last year for the proposal of a 21st Century Park at the Outer Harbor. Recently, the group leading the proposal has released a professional design created by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. - the same group that designed the highly praised Brooklyn Bridge Park and Chelsea Cove in New York City. The purpose of the 21st Century Park at the Outer Harbor is to create a touchstone for Buffalo's resurgence into the new century; fostering an open and democratic space; using Olmsted's historic vision; and connecting it to the larger Niagara Greenway Project drawing national attention.