Canal District is potential "cultural
landscape," linking Buffalo's future to its past
by Donna Ashby
Reprinted with permission from
Artvoice, July 20, 2000
The bulldozers have been silenced as work on the Buffalo Inner Harbor Project at
the foot of Main Street came to a halt so state government can reevaluate the project
in light of new discoveries such as the original east and west walls of the Commercial
Slip. A grassroots campaign and a lawsuit filed by the Preservation Coalition of
Erie County was instrumental in garnering public support for preserving artifacts
such as the wall remnants, which still exist at the site.
The three-year-old plans for redevelopment of the site did not include restoration
of the many original artifacts that lie there, and state officials now agree the
slip and the Canal District may have significant historical value that should be
preserved for future generations. The existing structures at the site reflect the
western terminus of the Erie Canal which drove the economic development of Buffalo
and all cities east right through to New York after the 363-mile canal was constructed
in 1825 to the mid-1900s.
"It's too bad we didn't know about the state of the Commercial Slip three years
ago, when the current plan was developed," says Robert Melnick, dean, School
of Architecture, University of Oregon.
"But what's another few months to get it right? In 10 to 15 years we'll look
back and say we did it right. This is a great opportunity for Buffalo to do the right
thing."
It has become apparent that the right thing involves unearthing the entire Commercial
Slip, the cobblestone streets and other infrastructures at the site, and doing restoration
that complies with federal Standards for Preservation regulations. This would give
Buffalo a cultural landscape that has the potential to draw thousands of heritage
tourists each year.
"A cultural landscape is an area that has historic importance and has evolved
over many years -- perhaps over 100 or even hundreds of years," Melnick says.
"It doesn't reflect one designer or person, it evolves from the needs of the
people living there at the time, and results in built forms that give us a piece
of our history."
The term "cultural landscape" was defined comparatively recently, says
Michael A. Tomlan, Ph.D., director, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation Planning,
College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. The idea,
he says, is to appreciate the changes that have taken place over time in the built
environment constructed by man.
"In a cultural landscape we see a series of human activities that have taken
place on the land," Tomlan says. "This gives us an understanding of the
history that we wouldn't otherwise have."
The Canal District qualifies as a cultural landscape because from the early 1800s
to the mid-1900s it served as a transportation hub for Western New York. Although
the Commercial Slip, which was the western terminus of the Erie Canal, is a critical
part of that evolution, the site and surrounding area include the street systems,
railroads, the river, the lake, the barge canal and the grain elevators, Melnick
says.
"Without the western terminus of the Erie Canal, Buffalo would not have developed
as it did -- this site became the cataclysm of industry for the area,"Tomlan
says. One feature of this area of which Buffalonians are most proud is our industrial
heritage, and the Erie Canal was central to that heritage.
"Transportation systems of this nature are essential to understand how our society
functioned in the past," Tomlan says. "One can hardly think of anything
more significant in the entire Buffalo area than the Commercial Slip, the western
terminus of the Erie Canal."
Current plans for the Inner Harbor area would bury the Commercial Slip and cut
a new "replica" slip next to it, plus additional basins for boat moorage.
This is in direct opposition to the Federal Standards for Preservation for the National
Register of Historic Places (NRHP), which require the spatial organization and land/water
patterns of the original site be retained. Although the Canal District has not yet
been named to the NRHP, preservationists hope that it will be, and therefore would
like to see the Federal Standards applied at the site.
Existing cobblestone streets and other infrastructure would also be buried, contrary
to the federal rules for retaining and preserving existing materials, and where needed,
repairing or replacing those structures using materials that are as close to the
original as possible. The ESD plan does not include preserving for public access
more than a few of the limestone blocks that comprise the walls of the old Commercial
Slip. The site would be marked with signage and other visual clues, but none of the
existing streets, building foundations or other infrastructure would be visible.
Like many other cultural landscapes, Tomlan points out, there is not much left of
the original structures at the site. However, there is more there than at sites such
as historic battlefields, which qualify as cultural landscapes. The Canal District
was the innermost edge of the city from which the Ellicott plan hinged, he says.
Since the goal of a cultural landscape is to retain the historical character of a
property, it's worth preserving the majority of the artifacts that still exist at
the site. As a society, this is what ties us to the past.
"Everybody has mementos, something that ties them to the past -- family photographs,
souvenirs -- that's what this is about, only at a societal level. Looking at the
real thing helps to connect people to the past and enriches their lives," Melnick
says.
Melnick emphasizes it is also critical to have a plan that will add to the quality
of life in Buffalo, while respecting the quality of the built forms that are already
at the site.
"You don't want to build schlock -- you want to continue the craftsmanship of
the past into the future. Since a cultural landscape is important because of its
evolution over time, whatever is done is a continuation of that evolution, so the
quality needs to be upheld," he says.
What this area needs, Melnick says, is a good, responsible plan that makes sense
for Buffalo.
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