Outdoor murals - Table of Contents

La Salle Park
1 Porter Avenue, Buffalo, New York

Namesake: Rene Robert Cavalier Sieur de LaSalle

Francis G. Ward Pumping Station

On this page, below:

Description/History

2014 photos - Centennial Pool Mural

2014 photos - Buffalo Skate Plaza

2015 photos - Buffalo Playground

2015 photos - The Barkyard

2015 photo - Amphitheater

Description

The 77-acre LaSalle Park is Buffalo’s largest waterfront park and located where the mouth of the Niagara River meets Lake Erie.

LaSalle Park is situated on a former dumping ground that was later transformed and landscaped into a scenic waterfront park in the 1930s.

On the northern edge of LaSalle Park is the historic Colonel Francis G. Ward Pumping Station, a colossal five-story building constructed during the early 1900s. The station houses several electric pumps delivering water to Buffalo and the surrounding areas.

The path passing through LaSalle Park is part of the Riverwalk waterfront trail system. The park offers a scenic view of the Canadian shoreline and home to various species of water birds including ducks and gulls.

LaSalle Park offers numerous recreational amenities including rollerblading, strolling, biking, sports fields (baseball, soccer, football), and has a large children’s playground.

The LaSalle Park Performance Center is an amphitheater and venue for concerts and other performances organized during the warmer months.

- Visiting New York:  LaSalle Park  (online June 2015)
History

Formerly known as Centennial Park, LaSalle Park is located on a former dumping ground along the Niagara River.

The city purchased the land from the state in 1911 for $1 million. Plans were finalized in 1931 to grade and seed the area for $340,000 after the city decided a permanent park was needed in the area.

- Waymarking: LaSalle Park - Buffalo, NY  (online June 2015)
History

The Buffalo News described the area that would become LaSalle Park thus on August 21, 1931:

" Waterfront lands between Georgia and Jersey Streets, bought for $1,000,000 from the state for park purposes 20 years ago, but used for dumping grounds instead, are now feeling the long-awaited touch of spade and rake as city workers level and grade the land in preparation for landscaping this fall. Here most of the centennial program next summer will be held, an event which the name of the park [Centennial Park] will serve to memorialize..."

- Western New York Heritage Press: Centennial Park/LaSalle Park Historic photos included  (online June 2015)
Amenities
Rollerblading, walking, jogging, bicycling, softball fields, baseball fields, football field, soccer fields, playground, amphitheater and meadow
Centennial Pool Mural


Left background: Ward Pumping Station
Left bottom: Centennial Wading Pool
Right: Mural and Porter Street



 Centennial Pool mural and wading Pool



Mural



Center tree ... 2 details below:









Left side tree



Buffalo Skate  Plaza


Background: Downtown Buffalo ... See also: Roller Skate Park, Bordeaux, France









Background: Ward Pumping Station



Background: Ward Pumping Station









Buffalo Playground












The Barkyard


In August 2007, The Barkyard was opened on a temporary site in LaSalle Park. The Barkyard opened the gates to its permanent home on June 25, 2009.To date, all funding used for building The Barkyard (fencing, asphalt, signage, etc.) has come from private donations and fundraising events.



Detail below:















Amphitheater










 Photos and their arrangement © 2014, 2015 Chuck LaChiusa
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