A Pictorial History of Black Rock, Buffalo, New York

This oversized coffee table pictorial history of the Black Rock neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, is an outcome of the Black Rock Historic Photo Project. This public history initiative engaged with the local community to collect and archive photographs held privately to preserve them as a legacy for future generations. The residents were encouraged to look through their family photographs for ones that reflected the life and activity of this largely Polish community. The community's interest was high, and over 2,500 objects were submitted, including photographs, trophies, bottles, and other memorabilia. The Buffalo History Museum (formerly known as the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society) mounted a small exhibit of the items collected, and presentations were taped to add to the archives. Oral interviews were conducted with influential members of the community. The initial showings spawned additional showings at other area museums and panel discussions, and some of the photographs have been utilized for park, biking, and hiking trail signage. The material collected through the project is now part of the permanent archives at the Black Rock Historical Society. The book includes an extensive index and list of over 150 photo submitters.Black Rock is indeed important from a historical viewpoint, and it is thus worth documenting its history and preserving these objects. It was a village dating back to the start of the eighteenth century before Buffalo became the major town in the area. With a naturally protected harbor, it provided employment for new immigrants and also outfitted ships used for the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. In 1854, the village was incorporated into Buffalo, which overtook it in size, but the neighborhoods remained Polish, Irish, and German as industry and commerce continued to move into the area. By 1880s, hundreds of Polish immigrants began arriving in Buffalo's East Side in the Black Rock neighborhood looking for jobs. A new large Roman Catholic church, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was erected to serve the growing Polish population, and the book documents many religious activities, with photos of priests, nuns, and classrooms central to the Polish community.Each section starts with a short historical introduction, written largely by local Polish American contributors. Topics include public and military service, business, transportation, churches, schools and ethnicity, industry, sports, recreation, family, and community. When historical events are mentioned in the introductory sections, references are provided. Photographs, the main asset of this book, are well annotated and individual names are provided on most images. The collection of photos spans approximately 100 years, with the earliest from the first decade of 1900s. There are charming photos of police officers on bicycles, events held in the Polish social clubs, Polish Cadets meetings, gatherings at local bars, Pulaski Day, and May Day parades over the centuries. Souvenir booklets provide another insight into the community, with lists of local businesses in 1926 and indications of which ones survived to contemporary times. The book provides a window into bygone days and chronicles the growth and development of this neighborhood.The earliest images are professional photos, including those of large community meetings, weddings, and communions. As cameras became more affordable, more of the photographs in the collection were taken by family members capturing events in their families, although wedding portraits and photos of business openings and street scenes were still captured by professional photographers. The predominance of professional photos results in images that have good clarity and well-positioned subjects, capturing men at work in factories and fixing cars, weddings, and civic commemorations. The book provides a solid overview of a working-class community comfortably situated with many local small businesses and automobile ownership. Not surprisingly, many activities are centered around the churches and ethnic social clubs, so there are many images of Communions, May crownings, and Corpus Christi processions.Some interesting tidbits of history are found in the introductory overviews, for example, the local precinct 13 police station held the assassin of President McKinley, a Pole named Leon Czolgosz, in 1913 before he was moved to the main city jail to be tried and executed. Polish Americans might be interested in the extensive engagement of the community in the recruitment of soldiers and provision of supplies for Haller's Blue Army located at Kosciuszko camp across the river in Niagara-on-the-Lake during World War I. During his 1936 American tour, General Haller paid a visit to Black Rock to present a medal of recognition for these initiatives. St. Pope John Paul II's visit to Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is shown.It would have been helpful, particularly for anyone not familiar with the community, to include a map showing the area's current boundaries. The only map included is a historic plat from 1906, which only shows part of the area. The introductory pages for each section provide an overview of the theme of the photographs in that section, but it would have been interesting to learn a bit more about the businesses or individuals portrayed in the photographs. A little more narrative would enhance and paint the neighborhood more fully. The preface mentions oral interviews that were conducted during the project, and for someone interested in researching this community, it would be informative to know the extent of these archives and general topics contained in the collection. Since the archives of the oral histories and photographs are the basis for this book, an index to these archives could have been included.This volume is a well-compiled and attractively published history of the Black Rock neighborhood. The community can be proud of this achievement, which will be a resource for future generations and researchers. The primary audience is the current residents and anyone who lived there over the last century. Younger viewers will be fascinated by seeing the old photographs, and for older readers, these will be nostalgic. Researchers of urban landscapes, communities, and ethnic history will appreciate the stories told through this collection of curated photographs. Reading this volume is an encounter with the past and a door to a previously nearly forgotten neighborhood.