Delaware Park–Front Park System
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Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park, with the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
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Location | Front Park, Porter Ave. to Symphony Cir., N along Richmond Ave., Bidwell Pkwy., Gates Cir. and Delaware Park, Buffalo, New York |
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Coordinates | 42°55′10″N 78°52′47″W / 42.91944°N 78.87972°WCoordinates: 42°55′10″N 78°52′47″W / 42.91944°N 78.87972°W |
Area | 505.9 acres (204.7 ha) |
Architect | Olmsted, Frederick Law; Vaux, Calvert |
MPS | Olmsted Parks and Parkways TR |
NRHP Reference # | 82005029 |
Added to NRHP | March 30, 1982 |
Delaware Park–Front Park System is a historic park system and national historic district located in the northern and western sections of Buffalo in Erie County, New York. The park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and developed between 1868 and 1876.
The park system was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Delaware Park–Front Park System encompasses the following parts:
The centerpiece of the Buffalo, New York parks system and located in the North Buffalo neighborhood. The 376-acre (152 ha) park was named simply The Park by Olmsted; it was later renamed Delaware Park because of its proximity to Delaware Avenue, Buffalo's mansion row. It is divided into two areas: the 243-acre (98 ha) "Meadow Park" on the east and the 133-acre (54 ha) "Water Park", with what was originally a 43-acre (17 ha) lake ("Gala Water"), on the west. The 12-acre (4.9 ha) ravine and picnic grove on the south side of the lake comprise a subdivision of the latter. A widening of Scajaquada Creek, which flows westward through the park, is called Hoyt Lake (originally Mirror Lake). The lake was a feature during the Pan-American Exposition. The Scajaquada Expressway bisects the park west to east.
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery occupies the park's western edge, overlooking Hoyt Lake, and the Buffalo History Museum is situated on its northern edge, overlooking Scajaquada Creek. The park is also home to a noted replica of Michelangelo's David. The park is home to Shakespeare in Delaware Park, a summer tradition since the mid-1970s, and the second largest free outdoor Shakespeare festival in the United States (after New York City's). It is also the location of the Buffalo Zoo on the east side of Meadow Park. The park also has a golf course, four baseball diamonds, tennis courts, and a few soccer fields.