Blossoming Friends

April Afternoon Japanese Garden

 The Japanese Garden in Delaware Park,  just below the Historical Society, was dedicated as a symbol of our friendship with the city of Kanazawa, Japan. We give a shout out to our friends in Kanawaza who have reached full bloom this weekend of Cherry Blossom season in Japan. We still have a few weeks to go in our neck of the woods.

http://www.buffalocherryblossomfestival.org/
http://japanesegardenofbuffalo.blogspot.com/

David

The David, Delaware Park

A silouhuette of Michangelo's David looks across the Scajaquada toward the Buffalo Historical Society.
Our David is, of course a replica, but beloved all the same.

President William McKinley, Shot on this Day

Memorial plaque on the site where McKinley was shot 

President McKinley was shot in Buffalo in this day in 1901, 115 years ago.  Through a series of missteps in his care, the popular president succumbed to  infection from his wounds . Attending the Pan-American Exposition, the president, who had been stalked by anarchist Leon Czolgosz, was approached and assassinated. The location of the attack was the Exposition's Temple of Music, now marked by a simple stone in the middle Fordham Street. This former Pan-Am location is lined with lovely bungalow -style homes dating back to the neighborhood's development in the years after the fair.

Sunday Sanctuary

A View of the Japanese Garden - Mirror Lake

The sole occupant of the string of tiny islands in Mirror Lake is a white crane. The scene could be that of  a Buddhist meditative sanctuary, but it is just off the Scajaquada Expressway and Elmwood Avenue. Tucked in behind the Historical Society and Nottingham Terrace, you will find the Japanese Garden, quiet, understated and tranquil as it was intended to be. The walkway that passes through the garden, shadows the creek taking you from the lake at Delaware Park across the former Parkway, now the Scajaquada Expressway (Route 198 ), along Nottingham Terrace to the Garden, and all the way to Niagara Street. The garden is based on the design of a garden in our sister city of Kanazawa, Japan and installed by skilled Japanese artisans. The garden fits seamlessly into the Olmsted design, which itself was influenced by that country's nature-based architecture. The ancient quality of the garden does not belie its 1970s construction, and that is a good thing. In 2012 it was dedicated as an International Peace Garden commemorating our post War of 1812 peace, exemplified by the longest unprotected border in the world, that between the U.S. and Canada.

http://www.ipgf.org/gardens/go.asp?siteid=buffaloja1812
http://buffaloah.com/a/notting/25/jap/jap.html

Third Fridays

Party on the Portico - The Buffalo Historical Society 

The gang at Travel and Leisure are at it again, picking on Buffalo. This time they have listed Buffalo number 6 on their list of Friendliest Cities in America. Travel and Leisure have a very rigorous and sophisticated rubric to come up with these things, so we'll take their word for it. I think they know what they're doing. After all they found Buffalo to be America's # 1 Favorite City.  In an age where rudeness rules, it's a tremendous accolade to be considered friendly. Speaking of friendly, we stopped by the Historical Society's Party on The Portico to watch a few hundred Buffalonians and plenty of tourists enjoy another wonderful summer evening above the museum's Japanese gardens .   

Let's face it. You can have all the physical trappings of a great city, but if you're miserable, there will always be something lacking. With all of these positive rankings, I'm asking that y'all sweeten your dispositions just a bit to get us to number one. Hey, we will never be the biggest city in New York, but we will hopefully, always be the nicest.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/americas-favorite-places/friendliest-cities#buffalo

http://buffalohistory.org/Visit/Event-Details.aspx?id=946&type=events