Canalside

Buffalo

Canalside, formerly known as Canal Side and Erie Canal Harbor, is a master-planned neighborhood and festival marketplace within the inner harbor of Buffalo, New York. Envisioned as a recreation of the western terminus of the Erie Canal, Canalside is situated on the Buffalo River, where the area was historically home to the Seneca people. In the early 20th century, the predominantly Italian area known as Dante Place and Canal Street was subjected to the forces of urban renewal, and the canals were filled in and dense neighborhoods were razed. The Buffalo Skyway, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and Niagara Thruway took its place, with parking lots interspersed. With the completion of Marine Midland Arena in 1996, the Memorial Auditorium stood vacant. Empire State Development Corporation created a master plan for an Erie Canal Harbor redevelopment project in 1999, which addressed developing parcels of land underneath the Buffalo Skyway. In 2004, a new plan was created, centered around the creation of historically-aligned canals and mixed-use development. Wikipedia