Buffalo is an American city in western New York State. With a population of 282,864 as of the United States Census Bureau's 2004 estimate, it is the state's second-largest city, after New York City, and is the county seat of Erie County.^GR6 The Buffalo-Niagara metropolitan area has a population of 1.1 million. Buffalo is home to a diverse population and thriving arts, cultural, and nightlife scenes, and is considered the regional hub of the greater bi-national region.

Buffalo lies on the Niagara River, which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. European-Americans first settled there in the late-18th century. Growth was slow until the city became the western terminus of the Erie Canal some 40 years later. By the turn of the next century, Buffalo was one of the country's leading cities, and by far its largest inland port. The huge grain elevators and industrial plants that the canal spawned began to disappear in the mid-20th century as the Saint Lawrence Seaway enabled water traffic to bypass the city.

Distancing itself from its industrial past, Buffalo is redefining itself as a cultural, educational, and medical center. The city was named by Reader's Digest as the third cleanest city in America in 2005. In 2001 USA Today named Buffalo the winner of its "City with a Heart" contest, proclaiming it the nation's "friendliest city." Also in 1996 & 2002 Buffalo won the All-America City Award.

It is a well known fact that the City of Buffalo received its name from the creek of the same name, however, there are several unproven theories as to the origin of the name of the creek. Early French explorers reported the abundance of Buffalo on the south shore of Lake Erie but their presence on the banks of Buffalo Creek is still a matter of debate, so the origin of the name of the creek is still uncertain. Neither the Native American name ("Place of the Basswoods") or the French name ("River of Horses") survived so the current name likely dates to the British occupation which began with the capture of Fort Niagara in 1759. The first known appearance of the name was in 1764 in the Journal of British military engineer John Montressor who explored Buffalo Creek before choosing the site of Fort Erie on the opposite side of the Niagara River. Another claim is that the creek is named after a Native American, who once lived in that area. The argument that the name is an anglicized form of the name Beau Fleuve (beautiful river), which was supposedly an exclamation uttered by Louis Hennipin when he first saw the stream, is the least likely explanation.

Most of western New York was granted by Charles II of England to the Duke of York (later known as James II of England), but the first European settlement in what is now Erie County was by the French, at the mouth of Buffalo Creek in 1758. Its buildings were destroyed a year later by the evacuating French after the British captured Fort Niagara. The British took control of the entire region in 1763, at the conclusion of the French and Indian War.

The first permanent settlers in present day Buffalo were Cornelius Winney and "Black Joe" Hodges, who set up a log cabin store there in 1789 for trading with the Native American community. Dutch investors purchased the area as part of the Holland Land Purchase. Starting in 1801, parcels were sold through the Holland Land Company's office in Batavia, New York. The settlement was initially called Lake Erie, then Buffalo Creek, soon shortened to Buffalo. Holland Land Company agent Joseph Ellicott christened it New Amsterdam, but the name did not catch on. In 1808, Niagara County, New York was established with Buffalo as its county seat. Erie County, New York was formed out of Niagara County in 1821, retaining Buffalo as the county seat.

Joseph Ellicott, a principal agent of the Holland Land Company, designed in 1804 a radial street and grid system that branches out from downtown like bicycle spokes, and is one of only three radial street patterns in the US. In 1810 the Town of Buffalo was formed from the western part of the Town of Clarence. On December 30, 1813, during the War of 1812, British troops and their Native American allies captured first the village of Black Rock, and then the rest of Buffalo and burned most of both to the ground. Buffalo gradually rebuilt itself and by 1816 had a new courthouse. In 1818 the eastern part of the town was lost to form the Town of Amherst.

Upon the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, Buffalo became the western end of the 524-mile waterway starting at New York City. At the time, Buffalo had a population of about 2,400 people. With the increased commerce of the canal, the population boomed and Buffalo was incorporated as a city in 1832. In 1853, Buffalo annexed Black Rock, which had been Buffalo's fierce rival for the canal terminus. During the 19th century, thousands of pioneers going to the western United States debarked from canal boats to continue their journey out of Buffalo by lake or rail travel. During their stopover, many experienced the pleasures and dangers of Buffalo's notorious Canal Street district.

Buffalo was a terminus of the Underground Railroad, an informal series of safe houses for Africans escaping slavery in the mid-19th century. Buffalonians helped many fugitives cross the Niagara River to Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada and freedom.

Several U.S. presidents have connections with Buffalo. Millard Fillmore took up permanent residence in Buffalo in 1822 before he became America's 13th president. He was also the first chancellor of the University of Buffalo, now known as SUNY University at Buffalo. Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, lived in Buffalo from 1854 until 1882, and served as Buffalo's mayor from 1882–1883. William McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz on September 6, 1901 at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, and died in Buffalo on the 14th. Theodore Roosevelt was then sworn in on September 14th, 1901 at the Ansley Wilcox Mansion, now the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, becoming one of the few presidents to be sworn in outside of Washington, D.C..

At the turn of the century, Buffalo was a growing city with a burgeoning economy. Immigrants came from Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Poland to work in the steel and grain mills which had taken advantage of the city's critical location at the junction of the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. Hydroelectric power harnessed from nearby Niagara Falls made Buffalo the first American city to have widespread electric lighting, yielding it yet another nickname, the "City of Lights." Electricity was used to dramatic effect at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. The Pan-American was also notable for being the scene of the aforementioned assassination of President William McKinley.

The opening of the Peace Bridge linking Buffalo with Fort Erie, Ontario on 7 August 1927 was an occasion for significant celebrations. Those in attendance included Edward, Prince of Wales (later to become Edward VIII of the United Kingdom), his brother Prince Albert George (later George VI), British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, Canada's Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, US Vice President Charles G. Dawes, and New York governor Alfred E. Smith.

Buffalo's City Hall, an Art Deco masterpiece, was dedicated on July 1, 1932. It was the city's tallest building until 1970.

The city's importance declined in the late 20th Century for several reasons, perhaps the most devastating being the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1957. Goods which had previously passed through Buffalo could now bypass it using a series of canals and locks, reaching the ocean via the St. Lawrence River. Another major toll was suburban migration, a national trend at the time. The city, which boasted over half a million people at its peak, has seen its population decline by some 50 percent, as industries shut down and people left the Rust Belt for the employment opportunities of the South and West. The county of Erie has lost population in every census year since 1970. The city also has the dubious distinction along with St. Louis of being one of the only American cities to have had fewer people in the year 2000 than in 1900.

There is a myth, propagated by a local newspaper following one of the Buffalo Bills' four straight Super Bowl losses in the 1990s, that Buffalo suffers from the "Curse of McKinley" -- that the city has been cursed by bad luck since President McKinley's 1901 assassination and this explains why neither the Buffalo Bills or Sabres have been able to win a league championship. This myth doesn't explain the city's booming economy in the earlier part of the 20th century and why teams in America's two other assassination-hosting cities, Washington, DC and Dallas, TX have both enjoyed major league championships.

On July 3, 2003, at the climax of a fiscal crisis, Buffalo was taken over by the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority. After a period of severe financial stress, Erie County, where Buffalo resides, followed the city in to insolvency and since July 12, 2005, operates under a Fiscal Stability Authority. Both Authorities were established by New York State. In November of 2005, Byron Brown was elected Mayor of Buffalo. He is the first African-American to hold this office.

Buffalo is located on the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the beginning of the Niagara River, which flows northward over Niagara Falls and into Lake Ontario. It is located at 42°54'17" North, 78°50'58" West (42.904657, -78.849405)^GR1. The city is geographically closer to Toronto, Canada than it is to any major US city. The city is opposite Fort Erie, Ontario in Canada.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 136.0 km² (52.5 mi²). 105.2 km² (40.6 mi²) of it is land and 30.8 km² (11.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 22.66% water.

Buffalo has a makeup of 32 neighborhoods:

Allentown, Bailey-Lovejoy, Black Rock, Central Park, Cold Springs, Delaware District, Downtown, East Side, Elmwood Strip, Fillmore-Leroy, First Ward, Fruit Belt, Hamlin Park, Hospital Hill, Humboldt Park, Kaisertown, Kensington, Kensington Heights, Lower West Side, Masten Park, North Buffalo, North Park, Parkside, Polonia, Riverside, Schiller Park, South Buffalo, University District, University Heights, Vernon Triangle, Upper West Side, and Willert Park.

Buffalo has an exaggerated reputation for severe weather. In fact, Buffalo's summers are the sunniest and driest of any major city in the Northeast, but still receive enough rain for lush, green vegetation and good gardening conditions. Buffalo summers also are temperate with comparatively short humid spells. Many residents have backyard pools and air conditioners, a fact that surprises some visitors.

The occasionally heavy snowfall in the region is caused by below-freezing winds blowing over the warmer water of Lake Erie. This is the famous lake effect. The resulting snowbelts are often only ten or fifteen miles wide, with sunny skies in one spot and raging flurries a mile or two away. Lake Erie is much shallower than the other Great Lakes, and portions usually freeze over in the winter. When Erie ices over, the lake effect ends and snowfall is light to moderate.

Winters are longer than in other areas, and due to the lake effect, Buffalo averages more snowfall than most northern cities. Winters, however, are not extremely cold and include frequent thaws and rain. Hilly regions south of the city receive about twice as much snow as Buffalo proper, and provide some of the best winter recreation centers in the northeastern US.

The best known snow storm in Buffalo history was the Blizzard of '77. Severe storms also occurred on November 20, 2000 and at Christmas, 2001. The city is a competitor for Upstate New York's annual Golden Snowball Award, but for several years has lost out to Rochester or Syracuse, which have recently received more snow than Buffalo.

Obscured by the attention given to winter snowstorms is the fact that Buffalo benefits from the other lake effect, namely free, natural "air conditioning" from Lake Erie. Its summers are often delightful, with gentle southwest breezes off the Lake tempering the warmest days. Buffalo's official weather station has never recorded a temperature exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit, one of only three major US city weather stations with this distinction (the other two are Miami, Florida and Honolulu, Hawaii). Sailing, waterskiing, swimming, and gardening are popular summer pastimes, as well as sport fishing, which has at its disposal one of the greatest varieties of fresh-water fish in the nation, in the Niagara River, Lake Erie, and tributary streams. These include walleye, perch, large- and small-mouth bass, trout and steelhead, northern pike, muskellunge, and imported salmon.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000,the city had a total population of 292,648. Erie and Niagara Counties have a combined population of 1,170,111 (2000).

At that time there were 292,648 people, 122,720 households, and 67,005 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,782.4/km² (7,205.8/mi²). There are 145,574 housing units at an average density of 1,384.1/km² (3,584.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 54.43% White, 37.23% African American, 0.77% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.68% from other races, and 2.45% from two or more races. 7.54% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 122,720 households out of which 28.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.6% are married couples living together, 22.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 45.4% are non-families. 37.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.29 and the average family size is 3.07.

In the city the population included 26.3% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $24,536, and the median income for a family is $30,614. Males have a median income of $30,938 versus $23,982 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,991. 26.6% of the population and 23.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 38.4% of those under the age of 18 and 14.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Buffalo has very sizable populations of Italian, Polish, Irish, German and African descent. Major ethnic neighborhoods still exist; the Irish-Americans in South Buffalo, African Americans in the East Side and at one time Italian-Americans were in the West Side of the city but now it has become a melting pot of all races, with Latino culture being the strongest influence.

Buffalo is home to two State University of New York institutions, each the largest of their type in the system. Buffalo State College, a comprehensive college, and the University at Buffalo, the flagship university center of the State University of New York. The city also is home to Bryant and Stratton College, Daemen College, D'Youville College, Medaille College, Canisius College, and Trocaire College. A campus of Erie Community College and a site of Empire State College are also located in the downtown area.

The Buffalo Public Schools are going through a transitional phase, with many buildings requiring renovation and enrollments overall declining. The system boasts the best academically performing high school in Western New York and recently ranked fourth best in the country by Newsweek, the City Honors School at Fosdick-Masten Park, which was recently ranked number 4 in the nation by Newsweek magazine, Hutchinson Central Technical High School, a National School of Excellence, and Lafayette High School, completed in 1903 and the oldest Buffalo public school still in its original building.

Buffalo is also home to Darul Uloom Al Madania, one of the largest Islamic schools in North America. Many consider it to be one of the best institutions of its type on the continent. ^{[citation needed]}

Buffalo and the surrounding area was long involved in steel-making and automobile production. While steel production is now mostly a thing of the past, several smaller steel mills remain in operation. In addition, Ford maintains operation of its Buffalo Stamping Plant south of the city, and Chevrolet has two plants, one in Tonawanda (production plant), and one in the city of Buffalo (tool and dye plant). The windshield wiper was invented in Buffalo, and the Trico company still operates some facilities there. For many years, Buffalo was the nation's second largest rail center, with Chicago being the first.

Many manufacturers have avoided expanding or building facilities in the Buffalo-Niagara region because of the unusually high tax burden and pervasiveness of organized labor.

In the 21st Century, Buffalo has become a center for bioinformatics and human genome research, including work by researchers at the University at Buffalo and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Buffalo has a District Office of the US Army Corps of Engineers, a civilian agency which designed portions of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and designed and built the Mount Morris Dam for flood control on the Genesee River above Rochester, the largest concrete-arch dam in the eastern United States. The agency now is heavily involved in remediation of hazardous waste sites in the northeast.

The Democratic Party has dominated Buffalo politics for the last half-century. As private sector employment has diminished in the city, the interests of government employees in job security and material benefits have led to higher levels of public spending and taxation on a shrinking population and business community. This higher taxation has in return driven more employers out of the region resulting in a downward spiral of economic development and population loss. Civil servant union interests in preventing governmental reforms or consolidation that might threaten remaining municipal jobs has driven large voter turnouts and financial support for Democratic candidates that have consistently preserved the large City of Buffalo government.

In 2005, Buffalo voters faced a historic decision. Kevin Helfer, the city's first major GOP candidate in over 40 years, defeated Byron Brown by a 2-1 margin in the Conservative Primary to win the first ever write-in campaign. Ultimately, voters rejected Helfer's reform agenda and chose Byron Brown as the city's first African-American mayor. Union support bolstered Brown's campaign, ultimately providing a substantial fundraising and volunteer effort. In exchange, Brown has backed a police job action and advocated eliminating the wage freeze imposed by the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority.

See also: List of mayors of Buffalo, New York

By no means has City of Light been Buffalo's only nickname. The most common of its monikers -- The Queen City -- first appeared in print in the 1840s, when the city had more ambitions than achievements. Buffalo has also been called The Nickel City due to the appearance of a bison on the back of US nickels in the early part of the 20th century. The City of Good Neighbors refers to the helpful, friendly spirit of its inhabitants. Recently, Buffalo has also acquired the nickname B-lo among the younger generation.

Buffalo was first settled by New Englanders, then experienced a large influx of Germans, was further populated by Irish famine immigrants, and infused by Polish, Italian, African-American, and more recently Latino populations, all of which have made it a melting-pot of ethnic cultures. The newest immigrants are from Somalia, Asia, and the Arab world.

The old First Ward in South Buffalo retains a strong Irish identity; Kaisertown reflects German heritage, and the East Side is the home of Buffalo's Poloniacentered around the Broadway Market which is microcosm of Polish traditions and food delicacies. The West Side is home to the city's Hispanic & Italian American communities. The Italian custom of preparing St. Joseph's Day (March 19) tables, at which various meatless Lenten courses are laid out for the poor, continues in many Buffalo households as well as in some churches and restaurants. Bordering the West Side is the Black Rock section of the city which is a mixture of Polish, Ukrainian and Hungarian communities. The city's near East Side and near North Side is largely dominated by African-Americans and Buffalo was a major transit point for the Underground Railroad.

German Jewish immigrants originally settled on Buffalo's West Side in the mid-1800s. Less well-off Russian and Polish Jews immigrating to the Niagara Frontier in the early 1900s initially settled on the lower East Side, near William and Jefferson Streets. The community migrated to the Masten Park neighborhood on the East Side, and then to North Buffalo between the 1940s and the 1960s. Although many still live in the city, particularly in North Buffalo and the Delaware District, the majority of Buffalo's approximately 25,000 Jews now live in the northeastern suburbs of Amherst and Williamsville. Buffalo's Jewish Community Centers are located in the Delaware District and suburban Amherst.

The Buffalo area's cuisine reflects Indian, Italian, Irish, Jewish, German, Polish, Greek and American influences. Beef on Weck, Sahlen's hot dogs, Sponge Candy, Pierogi, and Haddock fish fries are among the local favorites. Teressa Bellissimo, the chef/owner of the city's Anchor Bar, first prepared the now-widespread chicken wing (Buffalo Wing) here on October 3, 1964. Buffalo pizza is also of unique design; perhaps because Buffalo is geographically located halfway between New York City and Chicago, Illinois, the pizza made here is likewise about halfway between thin-crust New York style and deep-dish Chicago style. Often times Buffalo style pizza comes in the rectangular sheets (called square by the locals). Several websites will ship Buffalo pizza and other local delicacies anywhere in the country.

Buffalo also has several specialty import/grocery stores in old ethnic neighborhoods, and is home to an eclectic collection of cafes and restaurants that serve adventurous, cosmopolitan fare. Locally-owned restaurants offer Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican, Italian, Greek, Arab, Indian, Caribbean, French, and "soul" food.

Several well-known food companies are based in Buffalo. Non-dairy whipped topping, later imitated by Cool Whip, was invented in Buffalo in 1945 by Robert E. Rich, Sr. His company, Rich Products Corporation, is one of the city's largest private employers. General Mills was organized in Buffalo, and Gold Medal brand flour, Wheaties, Bisquick, Betty Crocker mixes and Cheerios are manufactured here. Freezer Queen Foods, a well-known producer of frozen dinners, also operates from the Buffalo waterfront. One of the country's largest cheese manufacturers, Sorrento, has been here since 1947.

Buffalo is also home to one of the largest privately held food companies in the world, Delaware North Companies, which operates concessions in sports arenas, stadiums, resorts, and many state & federal parks.

Much to the delight of millions of dogs, Buffalo is the Milk Bone capital of the world.

Buffalo is home to over 50 private and public art galleries, most notably the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, home to a world-class collection of Modern art. The local art scene is also enhanced by the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, CEPA, and countless small galleries and studios. Two street festivals - the Allentown Art Festival and the Elmwood Festival of the Arts - bring thousands of people to the city to browse and purchase original artwork.

Many architectural treasures exist in Buffalo, including:

The country's largest intact parks system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, including Delaware Park. Buffalo was the first city for which Olmsted designed (in 1869) an interconnected park and parkway system rather than stand-alone parks.

The Guaranty Building, by Louis Sullivan, was one of the first steel-supported, curtain-walled buildings in the world, and its thirteen stories made it, at the time it was built, the tallest building in Buffalo and one of the world's first true skyscrapers.

The H.H. Richardson Complex, originally the State Asylum for the Insane, is Richardsonian Romanesque in style and was the largest commission designed by prominent architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The grounds of this hospital were also designed by Olmsted. Though currently in a state of disrepair, New York State has allocated funds to restore this treasure.

Other notable buildings:

The creme-de-la-creme of Buffalo architecture, however, are several buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, including the Darwin Martin House, George Barton House, William Heath House, The Graycliff Estate, as well as the now demolished Larkin Administration Building. Buffalo has more Frank Lloyd Wright buildings than any other city except Chicago.

Last call is at 4am in Buffalo, while it is at 2am in most other areas of the nation. This is often attributed to the historic high density of industrial facilities and the demand of second and third shift patrons.

Several distinct and thriving nightlife districts have grown around clusters of bars and nightclubs in the city. The most visible nightlife district is West Chippewa Street, between Main Street and South Elmwood Avenue, home to high-energy dance clubs, crowded bars, trendy coffehouses, a sex shop, and restaurants. Bohemian Allentown, where bars are as numerous but the atmosphere is a bit more relaxed, is a 20-minute walk north to Allen Street. Another 20-minute walk north on Elmwood Avenue from Allentown is the Elmwood Strip, which runs several miles from about Bryant and Elmwood to Elmwood and Forest. This strip has numerous small boutiques and restaurants, with few large corporate establishments. Crowds on this strip include everyone from college students to entire families.

Also, see the article on parks and other recreation areas in Buffalo for a extensive listing of outdoor areas.

See the article on Famous people from Buffalo, New York for an extensive listing of many of Buffalo's notable sons and daughters.

See also Category:Television stations in Buffalo

The Buffalo Niagara Film Commission exists to promote and assist filmmaking in Buffalo and the eight counties of Western New York.

The Buffalo International Film Festival was founded in 2005 for the benefit of the Western New York region.

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, or NFTA, operates public transit throughout the Buffalo area. The NFTA runs a number of buses throughout the city and suburbs, as well as a 6-mile Metro Rail light rail rapid transit system in the city. The NFTA also operates Buffalo Niagara International Airport and Niagara Falls International Airport.

The Metro Rail is unusual in that it operates above ground in the section closest to downtown, the Main Street pedestrian mall, then descends under Main Street as it heads toward UB's south campus. Buffalo is the smallest city in the U.S. to have a subway system.

Two Amtrak stations, Buffalo-Depew (Amtrak) and Buffalo-Exchange Street (Amtrak) stations serve the city.

Downtown Buffalo is also served by The Buffalo Bike Taxi Co.

Buffalo has ten sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities, Inc. (SCI) New York State Sister Cities direct link.:

Adirondack Mountains | Capital District | Catskill Mountains | Central | Finger Lakes | The Holland Purchase | Hudson Valley | Long Island | Mohawk Valley | North Country | Shawangunks | Southern Tier | Upstate | Western

Albany/Schenectady/Troy | Binghamton | Buffalo/Niagara Falls | Elmira/Corning | Ithaca/Cortland | Jamestown/Dunkirk/Fredonia | Newburgh/Middletown/Port Jervis | New York | Poughkeepsie/Kingston | Plattsburgh | Rochester | Syracuse | Utica/Rome | Watertown

Albany | Allegany | Bronx | Broome | Cattaraugus | Cayuga | Chautauqua | Chemung | Chenango | Clinton | Columbia | Cortland | Delaware | Dutchess | Erie | Essex | Franklin | Fulton | Genesee | Greene | Hamilton | Herkimer | Jefferson | Kings (Brooklyn) | Lewis | Livingston | Madison | Monroe | Montgomery | Nassau | New York (Manhattan) | Niagara | Oneida | Onondaga | Ontario | Orange | Orleans | Oswego | Otsego | Putnam | Queens | Rensselaer | Richmond (Staten Island) | Rockland | Saint Lawrence | Saratoga | Schenectady | Schoharie | Schuyler | Seneca | Steuben | Suffolk | Sullivan | Tioga | Tompkins | Ulster | Warren | Washington | Wayne | Westchester | Wyoming | Yates

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