Riverside Park is a historic park located in the Riverside neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. Located in northwest Buffalo, it is an individual park designed by the Olmsted Architectural Firm in 1898 after Frederick Law Olmsted's retirement. It is on a 22-acre (8.9 ha) site on a bluff overlooking the Niagara River. Riverside Park was designed for active recreation and periodic alterations have occurred as the community's recreation needs have changed. Despite the changes, the park retains numerous original design elements and remains as the final element completed as a part of the Olmsted plan for Buffalo's park system.[2]
Riverside Park | |
 Entrance to Riverside Park | |
   | |
| Location | Roughly bounded by Vulcan, Tonawanda, Crowley, and Niagara St., Buffalo, New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°57′20″N 78°54′32″W / 42.95556°N 78.90889°W |
| Area | 21.9 acres (8.9 ha) |
| Built | 1898 |
| Architect | Olmsted Bros. |
| MPS | Olmsted Parks and Parkways TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 82005026[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 30, 1982 |
The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1]
Facilities and events
editSome attractions include a playground, picnic areas, two public pools, tennis court, and a basketball court. The lighthouse facing Tonawanda street was recently relit after years of inoperation. The Bud Bakewell Arena, located on the Niagara Street side of the park directly facing the river, is an ice rink and lacrosse field, as well as home to youth hockey, Hasek's Heroes, and other sports affiliations. The park is also home to several baseball diamonds maintained by the River Rock Baseball League, a youth baseball and softball organization, and a fully renovated football field, home to the Black Rock Riverside Little League Football and Cheerleading organization. A winding road, Hotaling Drive, bisects the park at the edge of the football field. In July 2011, the park received additional grant funding for future development.
Riverside Parks hosted the annual Friendship Festival in the past along this road during the Independence Day holiday in conjunction with Fort Erie, Canada. In addition, the park hosts a seasonal farmer's market and other community events.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Claire L. Ross (December 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Olmsted Parks and Parkways Thematic Resources". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2009. See also: "Notifications". Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. and "Meeting minutes". Archived from the original on June 16, 2012.
External links
edit
- Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy - Buffalo, NY, Western New York, WNY, Olmsted, Frederick Law
- Buffalo as an Architectural Museum, "Municipal Parks and City Planning: Frederick Law Olmsted's Buffalo Park and Parkway System," by Francis R. Kowsky, Reprinted with permission from the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, March 1987.