Buffalo (city, United States)

Buffalo (city, United States), city, western New York, United States. Located at the eastern tip of Lake Erie at the mouth of the Buffalo River and at the head of the Niagara River connecting Lake Erie with Lake Ontario, Buffalo is a major inland port and an important commercial and industrial centre. Situated at the western terminus of the New York State Barge Canal, the city has extensive harbour facilities. As a port on the Great Lakes system, Buffalo is linked to the Atlantic Ocean via the Welland Ship Canal and St Lawrence Seaway, and has access to raw materials (notably grains, coal, and iron ore) from the Midwest. It is also furnished with an abundance of hydroelectric power generated around nearby Niagara Falls. These factors have helped make it one of the country's leading flour-milling cities and an important car manufacturing centre. Other industries produce chemicals, aircraft parts, processed foods, electronics, paints, and pharmaceuticals. Buffalo is also growing as a centre for medical research, and tourism has long been important to the regional economy. The city is served by Greater Buffalo International Airport, and has one of the country’s largest rail junctions.

Among its many educational institutions is the State University of New York at Buffalo (1846). Places of interest are the house (now a national historic site) where in 1901 Theodore Roosevelt took the presidential oath after William McKinley was assassinated, and the grave of and memorial to Red Jacket, a leader and orator of the Seneca. The city's famous residents have included two United States presidents, Grover Cleveland, who also served as mayor, and Millard Fillmore. Ralph Wilson Stadium in nearby Orchard Park is the home of the Buffalo Bills American football team. The Buffalo Sabres professional ice hockey team plays at Marine Midland Arena. Buffalo has a philharmonic orchestra, professional ballet, and an opera company. The centrepiece of a rejuvenated theatre district is Shea’s Performing Arts Center, an historic landmark. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is considered one of the nation’s finest museums for modern art. Buffalo also has museums of science and history, a zoo, and botanical gardens.

Although the site was long traversed by French explorers and traders, it was not settled until 1780, when Seneca Native Americans established a village. The settlement became known as Buffalo Creek, named after a nearby stream. The origin of the stream's name may be a corruption of beau fleuve, French for “beautiful river”. With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 Buffalo flourished, becoming a major distribution point between the East and America's western frontier; by 1850 it had become the country's foremost flour-milling centre. Industrial development of the city was accelerated by the construction of hydroelectric generators at Niagara Falls in the 1890s and shipping activity was enhanced by the completion of the St Lawrence Seaway in 1959. However, as Buffalo’s position as a major port grew, increased traffic on the shipping route reduced the city’s importance as a rail centre. Handicapped by ageing industrial facilities, Buffalo’s economy stagnated during the 1970s and early 1980s, and its population dropped to little more than one-half of its peak of 580,000 in 1950. However, in the 1990s the city’s economy stabilized. International trade and high-technology manufacturing emerged as viable replacements for former heavy industries. Population 279,745 (2005 estimate).