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Olean (pop. 14,452) is the largest city in Cattaraugus County (pop. 80,317) and has an Urban Cluster population of 22,324. Located within the Allegheny Plateau and along the Allegheny River's 30 mile foray through Southwestern New York, Olean is about 1 1/2 hours drive south of Buffalo. Just a few miles north of the Pennsylvania border, Olean's major transportation link is I-86 (Southern Tier Expressway), which ties together the major centers of NY's Southern Tier and Erie, PA.
The small area surrounding Olean is the only part of New York not covered by the last glacial maximum, resulting in a dissected plateau region more rugged than the rounded hills of the rest of New York's portion of the Allegheny Plateau.
Olean was founded in 1804 and grew in the mid-1800s as a timber town and regional transportation center. In the late 1800s, Olean grew further as the oil pipeline hub for the oil boom in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Olean's population peaked in the 1950s at 24,000, which is when the oil industry left the city. Olean has maintained importance as a manufacturing center (Dresser-Rand), HQ of Cutco Cutlery, regional commercial hub and home of St. Bonaventure University.
Allegheny Plateau Vista a few miles southwest of Olean... the Southern Tier of New York is the northernmost extent of Appalachia.
The Allegheny River just south of Downtown
Dresser-Rand factory
St. Bonaventure (enrollment 2,400) is a Franciscan university on the west side of Olean. Its men's basketball squad made the Final Four in 1970. Notable alums include Fox News business analyst Neil Cavuto.
The Village of Allegany(pop. 1,816) is located just a couple miles west of Olean on the other side of St. Bonaventure's campus. I was expecting to just drive through this area on my way to I-86 and other destinations... assuming these area would be mundane suburbia, but Allegany's gorgeous business district compelled me to stop.
There is a lot of character in the architecture there. I need to take a trip down there one day. I had some classmates in HS that went to St. Bonaventure too.
Great photos Evergrey! One of my most favorite areas of our country is the Southern Tier of WNY.
Another really pretty little town, just down I-86 east, is Angellica, NY. Worth a visit for sure.
What prompted your visit to Olean?
Great photos Evergrey! One of my most favorite areas of our country is the Southern Tier of WNY.
Another really pretty little town, just down I-86 east, is Angellica, NY. Worth a visit for sure.
What prompted your visit to Olean?
I'm a native of nearby St. Marys, PA. I'd like to photograph some more Southern Tier communities in the future.
Nice photos. Never been to that part of NYS. I am intrigued by the fact that with the exception of a couple of photos towards the end, most of the other photos show absolutely no human activity. Almost seems like a ghost town. What day of the week were these taken? Nobody out and about? No kids playing? Just curious.
Nice photos. Never been to that part of NYS. I am intrigued by the fact that with the exception of a couple of photos towards the end, most of the other photos show absolutely no human activity. Almost seems like a ghost town. What day of the week were these taken? Nobody out and about? No kids playing? Just curious.
I certainly do not shy away from capturing human activity in my "urban photos"... however, Olean is a small town... so there isn't the volume of pedestrians you will find in a major city.
I can't remember what day of the week it was... but there was intermittent rain (you can see a raindrop on my camera lens in several photos... ugh)... which probably kept people inside. Olean didn't seem dead to me when I visited... but you're right... some of the pictures are desolate... I'm surprised how most of my downtown photos feature zero cars in the diagonal parking spots.
Gorgeous architecture! Thanks for sharing with us.
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