By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church was the center of the Irish immigrant community in Buffalo’s First Ward neighborhood for more than a century.
Buffalo News archive
More than just the home of spiritual life, St. Brigid’s — and specifically St. Brigid’s Hall — was a center for union meetings, political rallies, parties, sporting events and theatrical performances.
Through the 1920s, it was also the place where thousands came together to organize the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade through the streets of the Ward.
The hall, pictured above in 1938, stood on the corner of Fulton and Louisiana streets.
The hall was across Fulton Street from the church, as shown on this 1894 city ward map. Buffalo Stories archives.