Allentown, Buffalo
Allentown Historic District | |
Queen Anne | |
NRHP reference No. | 80002605[1] |
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Added to NRHP | April 21, 1980 |
The Allentown district is a neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. The neighborhood is home to the Allentown Historic District.
History
Allentown is named after
Geography
Allentown is the first neighborhood north of the Downtown Buffalo core. It borders the downtown theater and entertainment district to its south, and runs north to North Street at its northern edge, Normal Avenue on the west, and Main street on the east. The neighborhood is generally centered on Allen Street and Elmwood Avenue.
Allentown is known for its community of artists, for its embrace of bohemian, hipster and gay culture, and for the civic commitment of residents to the historic and aesthetic sensibilities of the neighborhood. Allentown is one of Buffalo's premier areas for nightlife, dining, and antique shopping.
Historic district
The Allentown Historic District is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980,[1] and expanded in 2012. It includes the Kleinhans Music Hall which is separately listed on the NRHP and is further designated as a National Historic Landmark. Also listed on the NRHP is the Birge-Horton House on Delaware Avenue.
The original 1980 boundaries include approximately 733 buildings, not including secondary structures. Of these, 6 are Gothic Revival, 125 Italianate, 24 Second Empire, 92 Shingle style, 106 Queen Anne, 15 Stick, 5 Shingle, 56 Colonial and 196 are plain framed buildings.[5]
Three park areas are included in the area, two redesigned by
The new boundaries added about 320 properties to the list.[6][7]
Notable places
- Allendale Theater - home of the Theater of Youth
- Arlington Park - redesigned by Frederick Law Olmsted; home to Frank Lloyd Wright while he worked in Buffalo
- Butler Mansion - currently UB's Jacobs Executive Development Center
- Day's Park - redesigned by Frederick Law Olmsted
- Kleinhans Music Hall - home to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
- Symphony Circle- Part of the extensive parks and parkways system designed for Buffalo by Frederick Law Olmsted
- Wilcox Mansion - Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site
- The Nickel City Housing Cooperative, Buffalo's first single-family housing cooperative, located in Edward Brodhead Green's historic Granger Mansion.
- Trinity Episcopal Church- Noted for its stained glass architecture.
Allentown Art Festival
The Allentown Art Festival, originally known as the Buffalo Art Festival, is an event started by Jason Natowitz in 1958, beginning as a small town meeting to stimulate business in the neighborhood. The meeting triggered the foundation of the Allentown Village Society, and, by August, plans were in the works for an outdoor art show in the town, which occurred the following month in September 1958. With only 50 artists, the event quickly became very successful. Louis Cherenzia, another one of the founders, noted "It was rated as the most colorful cultural event in Buffalo since the Pan-American Exposition."[8] Following the event, the town recognized its success, and announced plans for a second annual.
"The Buffalo Art Festival" quickly came to be identified with its more precise location, Allentown, and eventually its name became "Allentown Art Festival".
The Allentown Art Festival has grown since its beginnings 50 years ago. Support of the Allentown Village Society, Inc. and its number of volunteers has essentially stayed the same. According to the official website, "Their labors have borne fruit beyond the annual Allentown Art Festival weekend and beyond the boundaries of the Allentown neighborhood of Buffalo."[8][9]
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Buffalo, New York
- Neighborhoods of Buffalo, New York
Gallery
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1913 Allendale Theatre
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Arlington Park
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Allen Street bars
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Tiffts Row
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Wilcox Mansion
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Allen at Elmwood
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A view of Allen Street from the west end
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b "Neighborhood History". allentown.org. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ Nevins, 31–36.
- ^ Graff, 14.
- ^ a b "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2016. Note: This includes Richard Martin; Darcy Leslie; et al. (August 13, 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Allentown Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2016., Accompanying photographs, and Accompanying captions
- ^ "Allentown Historic District Expanded". Preservation Buffalo Niagara. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ^ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2016. Note: This includes Francis Kowsky; Martin Wachadlo; Christopher N. Brown; Daniel McEneny (December 2011). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Allentown Historic District (Boundary Expansion)" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2016. and Accompanying photographs
- ^ a b "Festival History > About > Allentown Art Festival". allentownartfestival.com. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ "Allentown Art Festival". AllentownArtFestival.com. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
Sources
- Graff, Henry F. Grover Cleveland (2002). ISBN 0-8050-6923-2, short biography by scholar
External links
- Allentown and the Delaware District travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Media related to Allentown, Buffalo, New York at Wikimedia Commons
- http://www.allentown.org/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080731043517/http://library.buffalo.edu/maps/buffalo-wnymaps/buffalo_neighborhoods.php#allentown