Buffalo in the 50’s: Downtown, Black Rock First Ward, and The Fruit Belt in Color

Buffalo, NY – Here are dozens of beautiful photos showing downtown, areas along the Black Rock Canal that have been replaced with the 190, and photos of the Fruit Belt neighborhood devastated by the building of the 33 Expressway, great old downtown flicks, a few from the First Ward, and even some shots from “out in the country.”

These photos are mostly from 1957 & 1958.

Becky Harbison had a car trunk full of old slides rescued from the home of a relative, who obviously had a great love for some of the more interesting scenes around Buffalo in the late 50s.

Read more about William Harbison (and see a few more GREAT slide) here. We scanned in the slides, and here they are… Along with a few other slides I had laying around.

Church & Franklin
Church & Franklin
Cherry & Goodell
Cherry & Goodell
20a near Orchard Park
20a near Orchard Park
Thruway toll booths
Parkside-Zoo streetcar, Erie overpass
Downtown
Downtown
Lafayette Square, Kleinhans
Lafayette Square, Kleinhans
West Side Rowing Club
Washington at Virginia
Tug Oklahoma, Irving L Clymer. Black Rock Canal, 1957
South Wales Depot
Sewer Authority
Sacred Heart Academy Washington Street
Rt 16 in Holland
219– road to Bradford
Public School 15 from Ellicott Square Bulding
Ash & Genesee, Police Precinct 4
Old Police Barns
Ohio St, Louisiana St, St Clair St, First Ward
Niagara Section (I-190) anf Massachusetts Pumping Station
Michigan & South Park
Michigan & Scott
Michigan & Genesee
Massachusetts Ave Pumping Station
Goodell & Washington
Goodell & Washington
Goodell & Demond Alley Lux Funeral Home
Goode3ll & Demond Alley
Franklin & Court
Forest Lawn/Mt St Joseph Academy
Forest Lawn Millard Fillmore grave
Forest Lawn
Foot of Erie Street
Ferry Street from Gull Street
Foot of Ferry Street
Ferry St Bridge
Ferry St Bridge
Ferry St Bridge
Ferry St Bridge
Ferry St Bridge
Ferry St Bridge from Bird Island
Ferry St Bridge from Bird Island
Ferry St Bridge
Ferry St Bridge
Ferry Street and Rowing Club from Canada
Niagara St & Ferry St
Niagara St & Ferry St
Niagara St & Ferry St
Niagara St & Ferry St
Niagara St & Ferry St
Niagara St & Ferry St
Fairmont Creamery
Fairmont Creamery
Edmund P Smith
Edmund P Smith
Edmund P Smith
Edmund P Smith
Delaware & Huron
Delaware & Huron
County Hall, Delaware Ave Side
County Hall, Delaware Ave Side
Cotters Grill, First Ward
Cotters Grill, First Ward
Cotters Grill, First Ward
Cotters Grill, First Ward
Coal Dock from canal terminal
Coal Dock from canal terminal
Church & Franklin NFT Bus
Church & Franklin NFT Bus
Central Book Store
Central Book Store
Barge Robert M Trotter and tug at Black Rock
Barge Robert M Trotter and tug at Black Rock
SS Irvin L Clymer at Black Rock
SS Irvin L Clymer at Black Rock
Pioneer at Black Rock
Pioneer at Black Rock
Niagara Mohawk at Black Rock
Lydon at Black Rock
Lydon at Black Rock
HL Gobeille at Black Rock
HL Gobeille at Black Rock
Freighter at Black Rock
Freighter at Black Rock
Black Rock Canal at Ferry Street
Black Rock Canal at Ferry Street
Black Rock shoreline tug boat
Black Rock shoreline tug boat
Ball Brothers, Black Rock Canal
Ball Brothers, Black Rock Canal
Black Rock Canal
Black Rock Canal, Meyer Malt
Bird Ave at Soldiers Pl
Bird Ave at Soldiers Pl, Frank Lloyd Wright Heath House
Allegheny State Park
Allegheny State Park
Reformatted & Updated pages from staffannouncer.com finding a new home at buffalostories.com
Reformatted & Updated pages from staffannouncer.com finding a new home at buffalostories.com

Published by

Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.