The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

Geography

The Upper West Side is roughly bounded on the north by the Scajaquada Expressway - NY 198, on the south by Porter Avenue, on the east by Richmond Avenue, and on the west by the

Niagara River The Niagara River ( ) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce T ...

. Adjacent neighborhoods include the Black Rock Neighborhood to the north, the Lower West Side and

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

neighborhoods to the South, and the

Elmwood Village Elmwood Village is a neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. Geography Elmwood Village is in the central part of Buffalo. The neighborhood is located along Elmwood Avenue. The neighborhood is bordered on the south by the Allentown neighborhood. Th ...

to the east.

Key Streets

Lafayette Avenue

Lafayette Avenue runs east to west and links the neighborhood to the Elmwood Village. It meets Richmond Avenue at Colonial Circle, a neighborhood landmark. Lafayette High School
Our Lady of Hope Parish
West Buffalo Charter School, and the former Annunciation School are all located along Lafayette Avenue.

West Ferry Street

West Ferry Street runs east to west across much of the city of Buffalo. A principal feature of West Ferry Street is the lift bridge over the Black Rock Channel to

Unity Island Unity Island is an approximately island separating the Niagara River and the Black Rock Canal, located within the city limits of Buffalo, New York. The historic island is home to two public parks and a water treatment facility. It is connected to ...

(formerly known as Squaw Island) and

Broderick Park Freedom Park, formerly known as Broderick Park, is a public park situated on Unity Island in the Niagara River in Buffalo, New York, United States. It was originally named for Michael Broderick (died 1951), one of the founders of the West Side ...

. West Ferry meets Richmond Avenue at Ferry Circle, which was reconstructed in 2002 as designed by landscape architects

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

and

Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, FAIA (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape architect, landscape designer. He and his protégé Frederick Law Olmsted designed park ...

Grant Street

Th
Grant-Ferry Commercial District
was once one of the most dynamic neighborhood commercial districts in Buffalo, and is still the heart of the West Side. It features many unique stores such as the West Side Bazaar, a small business incubator with a diverse array of international food and vendors. The area is being marketed as the "International Marketplace" of the City. It is commercial center of the city's large and growing Burmese immigrant community and includes many Burmese retailers.

Niagara Street

Niagara Street is a principal industrial corridor of the City of Buffalo, and runs adjacent to the

Niagara Thruway Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ...

through much of the West Side.

History

The Upper West Side is a traditional landing zone for immigrant populations. Often associated with Sicilian immigrants who came to Buffalo in great numbers starting around the turn of the twentieth century, today the area has large Somali, Sudanese, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Mexican and Central American, Puerto Rican, and Southeast Asian enclaves. While the district has experienced significant

disinvestment Disinvestment refers to the use of a concerted economic boycott to pressure a government, industry, or company towards a change in policy, or in the case of governments, even regime change. The term was first used in the 1980s, most commonly in ...

and blight, it is experiencing revitalization, reflecting the area's new demographic and interest from "urban pioneers" and recent immigrants. From 2002 to 2016, 4,665 Burmese refugees settled in Buffalo.

Colleges and universities

Near the northern boundary of this neighborhood is

Buffalo State University The State University of New York Buffalo State University (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State University, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State) is a public college, public university in Buffalo, New York. It is part of ...

, a college of the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

. Its southern boundary includes

D'Youville College D'Youville University (D'Youville or DYU) is a private university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded as D'Youville College in 1908 and named by the Grey Nuns after the patroness saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville. As of fall 2022 D'Youville C ...

, along Porter Avenue and Connecticut Street. Many of the students at these and other area colleges and universities choose to live in the Upper West Side.

Geography

Key Streets

Lafayette Avenue

West Ferry Street

Grant Street

Niagara Street

History

Colleges and universities

Notable places

See also

References

External links