These are exciting times for Buffalo's waterfront with Canalside and Habor Center taking shape at the foot of Main Street and big plans being contemplated for the Outer Harbor site off of Fuhrman Boulevard. There's been talk about a new stadium for the Bills, a park designed by some big time park architects, and a mystery third option yet to be determined. After a long period in limbo and after an even longer period of neglect, a big decision with long-term ramifications for the area and our vastly underused waterfront is coming, and hot damn I want that park... just so long as we get to keep and develop the Outer Harbor Concert Series.
Now of course this isn't just because I'm a music fan. There's a lot of reasons why a well designed park is not only a great option, but rather it's really the only option. The stadium idea of course it's patently nonsensical, as anybody who sat in traffic for those Hip and Black Keys shows can attest. The two lanes of Fuhrman Boulevard can't cut it for 15,000 concert goers, so a modern football stadium that would hold 80,000 is utterly out of the question. As far as other uses for that patch of land, I just don't see any, considering it is waterfront property and we still have Buffalo winters (for now, global warming is sure to take care of those for us eventually).
But how about a mall? Or office park? Yes. Let's sell that land to somebody so they can develop it, and we can shop on the Buffalo waterfront. And go to work. On the waterfront. Because we can't do either of those anywhere else in Western New York. Yeah, let's not do that. We're pretty good for museums. Are there ideas for the Outer Harbor yet to be articulated? Sure, and I want to hear them, but we've had a few years to spitball ideas, and frankly it's time to move forward.
No, this park concept from the folks who designed Brooklyn's idyllic Brooklyn Bridge Park is something to really chew on and dream about. Looking at what's happening along the New York waterfront, and Brooklyn in particular, it's amazing the amount of park land there or going in there after post industrial reclamation. From the Brooklyn Heights Promenade overlooking the Piers 5 and 6 parks to Brooklyn Bridge Park itself, it's almost one big park system for the people of that proud borough, and where people gather, it's largely believed that economic development follows. And if this good enough for Brooklyn, the new center of the universe, and if NYC is getting in touch with it's Olmsted legacy, there's a good possibility that it might be good for Buffalo, with its own Olmsted pride.
More importantly however is the fact that the park concept unifies that area and provides solutions to a few problems facing the Outer Harbor, namely ingress and egress for concerts thanks to enhanced water taxi facilities and a land bridge linking the Harbor with Ohio Street for foot traffic. While by no means a cure all for that traffic hell, they along with aggressive and logistically sound shuttle bus service could help alleviate some of that particular grief.
Because make no mistake, traffic hell or no, the Outer Harbor is a beautiful place to see a show, and with concerts in the park plan, the process can only improve. And with boutique music festivals all the rage, a park at the Outer Harbor with multiple meadows could be an ideal site for a multi-stage festival that could draw music fans from southern Ontario, mid state, and eastern Ohio. Actually, we don't even have to wait for a park to have a one day festival like The Grove Music Festival this past August at Fort York in Toronto, as a day and night of music would make the ensuing traffic snarl worthwhile, and frankly we were kind of having a boutique experience ourselves this year at the Harbor, with VIP options and the food truck vending.
I'd love to see us go all in on the Outer Harbor park idea. With people looking at the Silo district in a different light and he return of industry at the other end that patch of earth, a modern park in tune with Buffalo's Olmsted history and the possibility for concert experiences we've only dreamed of. Speaking of dreams and looking ahead, here's my three dream Outer Harbor shows for 2014:
- Arcade Fire. They're from Canada, they'll be flogging Reflektor all over the world next year, they kind of owe Buffalo a show, and I suspect they'd be glorious at the Outer Harbor.
- Speaking of Canadian acts that owe Buffalo a show, an electronic show featuring The Weeknd, along with Chvrches (Scotland), and Neon Indian (Texas) would be boffo, and not a straight up rave for kids to die at and give the squares ammo to harsh our fun.
- Sir Paul McCartney. That rumor earlier this year making the rounds about a Beatle Paul Outer Harbor show was cruel, and a McCartney show would have cross generational appeal and bring joy to the hearts of a lot of folks, especially when he shouts "hellooo Buffalo!"
Special thanks to brother Tim in Madison WI for thoughts and suggestions.
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