The transition from one year to the next falls during the most light-reflecting season in the icy North. It is a time when a different type of reflection can be desirable as well. Rather than casting back the light, many use December and January to cast back a year – its progress and products – in preparation for new beginnings. So, as I did last year, let’s reflect on the past year with the Heritage Engagement Project (HEP).
This year we continued to connect Western New Yorkers (and all park stakeholders) to the transformation of the former LaSalle Park into Ralph Wilson Park, utilizing the lens of heritage to do so. Ultimately, our goal is that this heritage-focused project connects people by stressing the value of the park as both inheritance from our past and a place we will pass to the future.
Much like its first year, HEP focused on topics highlighting the past, present, and future at the Buffalo waterfront. In the early months of 2024, we shared the impacts of nature on well-being. January’s article discussed plant-blindness and species loneliness, two growing but ill-understood trends affecting humans today. It offered a perspective on the role of parks in offering a solution. February and March highlighted evidence-based arguments for why we should seek nature in the depth of winter as well as the role of parks in fostering human happiness. The post-holiday winter can be difficult; I was compelled to emphasize what a park, and we as individuals, can do to make life better during those months. Winter writing last year consequently focused more on the benefits of heritage for the present (and future).
As the ice thawed, present-mindedness gave way to a focus on the past. As the ground re-emerged from the snow, so did historical landmarks like the park’s abandoned seaplane ramp. This ramp was once an important feature of Buffalo’s Marine Airport. I wrote about this short-lived (and largely unknown) early 20th century airport in April, its history physically tied to the history of the park. The month of May saw a similar focus on history with a brief look at the tale of the three parks. Ralph Wilson Park is the third greenspace in its location and each park has a different history. In all, the story of these three parks is an important part of the heritage of Lake Erie.
Spring thaw turned into summer heat and summer events. Two such events inspired the HEP articles in these warmer months. The start of baseball season in June inspired me to recast the game as a form of beloved American heritage and reiterate the role of our park in helping that heritage endure. Then, the long journey of the park’s new bridge provided a chance to learn more about a historical waterway. New York’s Erie Canal, a man-made waterway that cut a path through much of the state, also once cut through the park. Because it was filled in decades ago, community knowledge of the canal at the park is not well-known. July saw the canal entering park history once more as the waterway chosen to transport the park’s new bridge on its journey from Italy. The beautiful new pedestrian bridge will connect present and future communities to the redesigned urban park. It used the past to make its way home.
And finally, this fall gave me the chance to focus on two very different types of park visitors: concert-lovers and feathered friends. In September, I was able to share with fans of outdoor music venues that the long-standing park amphitheater has a fascinating spot in architectural history. September’s HEP article explored a history that made the choice to keep the amphitheater in the redesigned park even more momentous. I then ended the year with a collaboration and a shift in focus to non-human park visitors. In December I teamed up with Andrew Gaerte (from the park’s partner, the Western New York Land Conservancy) to explore the wildlife heritage of winter birds in the region. These birds, many arriving from the High Arctic as southern migrators leave, provide a great excuse to spend time at the waterfront in winter. They will find an even more ideal winter habitat when Ralph Wilson Park reopens.
From December’s article, a gull flying over one of the park’s picnic table in 1983. Photo is from the collection of Buffalo History Museum. General photograph collection, Parks – Buffalo and Erie County – Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park.
By exploring the many heritage-building and heritage-preserving qualities of the new Ralph Wilson Park, HEP 2024 provided new ways to connect people to a park currently closed to the public. Loss of access is hard, but a long-term perspective reminds us why we should endure this. As we continue to explore the past, present, and future on these 100 acres of Great Lakes shoreline, we are reminded that temporary loss can provide a greater gain. We look forward to a future where efforts to promote native nature, protect a threatened shoreline, and provide a high-quality greenspace to an urban community will be complete and ready to serve as legacy for generations to come.
With that, I wish you all a very happy New Year, from my family to yours.
Kathryn Grow Allen, PhD, Lead Writer & Creator of the Heritage Engagement Project
Lead Photo: solitary man on a bench in the former LaSalle Park, 1983.Collection of The Buffalo History Museum. General photograph collection, Parks – Buffalo and Erie County – Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park.
To read more about the project this article is a part of, check out our HEP page for past and future reading on heritage-building at Ralph Wilson Park in Western New York.
