Grant Street History (New York, Buffalo, Chautauqua: neighborhoods, live in, shops)

[Emalynn]

I'm a student at UB workingon a project trying to compile a history of the commercial district on Grant Street for the West Side Community collaborative. Does anyone have any information about it? Stories about shopping there, information about what stores used to be there, when they closed? We have pictures, a few newspaper articles and vacancy rates from the Historical Society, but there is a surprising lack of information anywhere about the stores that we've managed to find the names of. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[FedupWNY]

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[Buffalonian4life]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

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LOL! So true .

[Shelia Ferrentino]

I am from the Grant Street area and grew up in the neighborhoods from the 50's. I have a domain name GrantStreet.ws (I love the ws for the Westside). I am also a Realtor and I am very excited in the changes that are taking place on Grant Street. I would love to be able to chat about your project and see where you are with it and possibly use it on my website as soon as I get it up and running. Shelia 716.863.9592

[Canerican]

I don't want to be rude or anything, but it's a very bad idea to post your phone number online like that.

[crittergal]

Saw this thread about Grant St. I am in San Antonio TX. There is a Grant St Pizza here. We came here from Chautauqua County 1 1/2 years ago, but my son has lived here for 11 years. He has gone to Grant St Pizza and was told that the owner is orginally from Buffalo, Grant St, and relocated here some years ago, hence Grant St Pizza. Don't know how true, and I have yet to try the pizza.

[mycrows]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

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Wow, what an awful response. There's a serious lack of history available about Buffalo's early ethnic neighborhoods. And a google search is definitely not going to turn up much of anything useful.

Emalynn - I guess you've probably been to the Central Library? If not, I'd pay them a visit, they are very helpful. There's also a small section in UB's library devoted to Buffalo's history, and I know I've looked at info about Grant St in some of the books there.

[RocketSci]

I didn't live in the neighborhood, but my sister lived right off Grant-Ferry in the early 70s and I worked off Niagara and Ferry in the late 70s. Also spent too many hours at the Masthead on Grant and Letchworth (gone now). It might be worth while to talk to some of the long time business owners in the area, though I don't know how many are still the original owners.

Guercios and Frontier Liquor have been there forever, I really don't recall how many of the other businesses are left. I remember that Grant Street seemed like another city when it was primarily Italian, and the sidewalks were always full of people in the late 70s. Grant and Lafayette had benches where the old men sat, and from the Your Host on Ferry near Grant to the Arkansas bar at Grant and Hampshire there were lots of teens and twenty something's hanging out on the street corners during the evening and night. Grant was bumper to bumper from Forest Ave south, but by the 70s I don't recall any businesses that stuck out - lots of resale and junk shops. Back then I wondered how many were fronts for non legitimate busineses.

Side note, I remember going to one of the last Italian Festivals when it was on Connecticut street and it was like a scene from West Side Story - every, and I mean everyone was was in black leather and you knew you were deep in the city.

[RocketSci]

I remembered that I made a video of a drive around Buffalo in 1987, and included a drive down Grant Street, Hertel, and Elmwood. I'll look thru it and see if I can find a way of getting it onto the computer.

[jblake78728]

I'm not sure if this website will help you at all but it looks to have some pretty good historical info of Buffalo neighborhoods .........

Neighborhoods in Buffalo, New York