Buffalo in 1980: The biggest WNY events of the ’70s, in pictures

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

Over a two-page spread six days into the 1980s, The News looked back at the most important stories of Western New York over the previous 10 years in photos.

Fourteen photos represented events that defined Buffalo during the decade. The images are grainy, but the memories of the happenings are still with us.

They include the Attica prison uprising; the Sabres’ coming to town and playing for the Stanley Cup; violent clashed between police and students at UB; construction of the Marine Midland Tower; OJ Simpson’s gathering records as the Bills opened Rich Stadium; noxious chemicals in a Sunset bay train wreck; St. Joseph New Cathedral is torn down, but visitor Karol Józef Wojtyla becomes pope; Love Canal closes; UB’s North Campus opens; and the Blizzard of ’77.

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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.