Buffalo musician Ben Abraham (music professor and entertainer, available for parties), knows it's great to be alive on Pearl Street.
Buffalo, arty and hip? Who knew? I'll admit I had been brainwashed by the propaganda from New York City, although from reading Elizabeth Licata's blog, Gardening While Intoxicated, and reading Buffalo Spree magazine I was clued in that there is a vibe of cool going on in Buffalo. What I wasn't prepared for was all the great architecture. Like a modern day Bruges, Buffalo is nearly frozen in time from its late 19th century
and early 20th-century heyday, which just happens to be my favorite architectural period.
Can you say "Arts and Crafts"?
window in co-host Jim's beautiful house ( Art of Gardening )
A bit of Prairie Style:
This large planter in the Allentown neighborhood was filled with colorful annuals. From the tour bus (we traveled in comfort), we saw a Frank Lloyd Wright house.
How about Art Nouveau?
glass house at the botanic garden
This vintage fairy is in the garden of the 20th Century Club where we dined.
There are also plenty of examples of Queen Anne architecture.
There's even some of the classical stuff.
Buffalo Historical Society
Buffalo likes to mix it up.
stair riser, front porch Victorian, Delavan Avenue
Pearl Avenue house
with matching garden screen in wood.
Because of the cold winters, the outdoor art has to be made of durable materials.
Japanese Garden in Delaware Park
Much of the garden art is metal, which I love.
Lancaster Avenue
Hey, how'd that get in there? ("David of the Highway")
That's better. (Summer Street, Cottage District)
Lancaster Avenue
Garden of Rue Franklin, a restaurant where we had an exquisite lunch. (Don't get me started on the food.) Can you see the bird being smothered by the Brobdingnagian Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)?
Elizabeth Licata has little rusted metal pigs in addition to her main sculpture.
Do you notice something odd in the corner of the following picture?
Yep, Elizabeth, that paragon of taste and culture, has a plastic pink flamingo in her garden.
(And I thought she couldn't get any hipper.)
She's not the only one.
See the flamingo hiding in the jungle of plants? While the gardeners of Buffalo have excellent taste,
(from the same garden on Delavan), they clearly have a sense of humor.
Summer Street
also Summer Street
house on Bird Avenue
Quirky and charming are good words to describe Buffalo.
Summer Street
It certainly charmed me.
handpainted rainbarrel in garden on Summer Street
By the way, there are some nice gardens in Buffalo too. * * * This is just the first post about Buffalo. I chose to focus on art for it because I had the least to say about it. I want to thank Jim and Elizabeth for all their hard work. It paid off in spades, Buffa10 was simply magnificent.
To read other bloggers' takes on Buffa10, use google.