February 1996 Table Of Contents

By Michael Flanagan

On January 26, at the Evangelistic Temple and Community Church on Hedley Avenue, Hamlin Park residents met with community leaders to discuss the ins and outs of historic districts.

Ms. Margaret Strasner, Hamlin Park Community and Taxpayers Association president, presided. Rev. George Du Boise opened the session with a call for wisdom and divine guidance.

Ms. Strasner described Hamlin Park’s opportunity to become a City of Buffalo Preservation District. She explained becoming a preservation district is a long and challenging process. Few areas in the city have been granted this status. She said a preservation district will be "a tool we can use to enhance and protect our neighborhood."

Strasner mentioned Hamlin Park’s horse racing legacy (much of what is Hamlin Park today was occupied by Cicero Hamlin's horse track), while Mr. Don Hill, a teacher at the Hamlin Park School, School No 74, described its current architecture, as well as the social history of the area.

From 1910-1950 the area was predominately German and Jewish-American. In the 1950s these people migrated to the suburbs, and Hamlin Park became the first Buffalo district where African-Americans could buy into the "middle class dream" of home ownership.

White flight was described by Ms. Strasner a s"their loss, our opportunity" - Hamlin Park being filled with solidly built pre-Depression housing with fine woodwork and hardware. The Post-war suburban tracts were well supplied with hollow-core doors and asbestos.

Mr. Hill gave a rundown of renowned African Americans who lived - or still live - in Hamlin Park, from activists, entertainers, sportsmen, professional pioneers, and political policymakers.

Mr. Hill outlined the styles of architecture found in Hamlin Park, including American Foursquare, Bungalow, and Queen Anne, and the arrangement of the houses along the street, yielding a "well designed, planned community, worth preserving."

Ms. Mary Hill, another Hamlin Park resident , described the city's existing preservation districts. In describing some of famous buildings the citizens who inhabited them, she noted, "If Hamlin Park becomes a preservation district, it will be the first district on the east side of Main. It will be the only preservation area in the city which focus on African American history and achievements."

Ms. Justine Weathington, of Hedley Avenue, felt preservation district would help her neighborhood, making her proud, and noted that "few Americans can say that they live in a landmark."

Ms. Weathington said historic district status would give Hamlin Park a strong voice on all state And city planning decisions effecting Hamlin Park. She felt " The best benefit is that tomorrow's Hamlin Park will continue to look like the Hamlin Park we call home today."

Ms. Strasner and Ms Bea Berman, of Pansy Place, described the responsibilities of residents in preservation districts and the legislative process still to come. Strasner said, "A preservation district is only as successful as the residents want it to be."

The overwhelming sentiment of the Hamlin Park residents in attendance was "City Hall, here we come!"