FROM THE EDITOR You could almost hear the universal sigh of relief (perhaps tinged with a bit of cynicism) when a big outdoor/sporting store I won’t bother to name decided to let Buffalo off the hook. It was a hook baited with big, vague promises, and aimed to reel in a big gullible fish loaded with government subsidies. Most refreshingly, almost everyone I talked to about this was happy to turn immediately to the future. In the Spree office, we talked about other possibilities for our newly spiffed-up Inner Harbor/Canal Side. Aquariums, movie studios, various museums, and other retail possibilities—the usual suspects—were all discussed. And on my way home that day, I heard echoes of this relief on local talk radio, which is not usually a source I readily think of for interesting ideas and intelligent dialogue. But there were both that day. The politicians may have been disappointed—but the citizens were eager to move on. I am happy not to be alone in my hopes for our downtown waterfront. On a beautiful day in late July, just before we went to press, I headed down there with a friend to take a short cruise on the Spirit of Buffalo. On our way to the dock we walked by the gorgeous array of flowers of the Erie Basin Marina Test Gardens—a colorful and underrated addition to the waterfront scenery. Then we passed the imposing battleships and other military craft of the Naval Museum, finally crossing the bowstring bridge and walking along the wooden wharf. Everything looked great. And while it’s true that restaurants and shops are still lacking, I think an even greater lack is the universal inability of many Western New Yorkers to take a breath and appreciate what we do have and what we have accomplished. At one time I never would have imagined that Olmsted’s roundabouts would be restored to Richmond Avenue, that a new art museum would be built on Elmwood, that the missing pieces of the Darwin Martin Campus would rise from oblivion, or that abandoned and decrepit structures like the Webb building on Pearl would come back to restored life and utility. There were naysayers about all those projects, and yet they happened. There are plenty of naysayers and boatloads of cynicism obscuring the promise of Canal Side at this moment. But from what I have seen, the project is already a success in many ways, and I firmly believe that it will continue to grow successfully—even without the help of a silver bullet. SUBSCRIBE NOW Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top