Buffalo Population 2010: 261,310, #70 in U.S., #2 in New York 1950: 580,132, #15 in U.S. 2010
Metropolitan Area: 1,135,509, #47 in U.S. 1950 Metropolitan Area: 1,089,230, #14 in U.S. Buffalo was one of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. in the 1900 and 1910 census. Setting Buffalo, located on Lake Erie, was first settled in 1789. Since 1825, it has been the western terminus of the Erie Canal. Today, there are harbor cruises on the lake and the Niagara River. LaSalle Park and the Buffalo Naval and Military Park are along the waterfront. Buildings Tallest building: One Seneca Tower, 529 feet (1974) List of tallest buildings City Hall (378 feet, 1931) has an observation deck on the 28th floor. Stores Buffalo has no downtown department stores. Ten blocks of Main Street have been closed to traffic since 1986 for a pedestrian mall. Main Place Mall (1968) is an enclosed shopping mall that today is composed mainly of offices. Trains Amtrak's Empire Service goes from Buffalo to Albany and New York City. The Lake Shore Limited goes east to Albany and Boston, and west to Cleveland and Chicago. The Maple Leaf goes to Toronto. All trains stop at the small Amtrak station in the town of Depew, east of Buffalo. All trains except the train to Chicago also stop at the small Exchange Street Station (1952) downtown. Buffalo’s historic Central Terminal (1929), east of downtown, has been abandoned for many years. Buffalo Metro Rail (1985) is a light-rail system, covering six miles from downtown to the South Campus of the University of Buffalo in the northeast part of the city. The system is partly underground and partly aboveground.
|  Downtown Buffalo and Lake Erie Waterfront Museums The Lower Lakes Marine Historical Society Museum is downtown. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Buffalo History Museum, and the Buffalo Museum of Science are north of downtown. Theaters The
Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre shows first-run and independent
movies on
five screens. Shea’s Performing Arts Center (formerly Shea’s Buffalo,
1926) is
a restored movie palace that now has concerts and touring Broadway
shows. The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra plays at the Kleinhans Music Hall (1940), just north of downtown. The Irish Classical Theatre Company and the Alleyway Theatre are also downtown. Sports The Buffalo Bisons, Triple-A International League affiliate of the New York Mets, play at Coca-Cola Field (1988). The NHL Buffalo Sabres play at First Niagara Center (1996). The NFL Buffalo Bills play at Ralph Wilson Stadium (1973), located in the suburb of Orchard Park, south of Buffalo.
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