Don’t know much about North Buffalo? Alleviate some of that metropolitan ignorance and let’s discuss some of the history and highlights of the great North Buffalo.

by Max Fisher

Explore some staples of the North Buffalo area

Explore The True North

It’s strange how you can live in a city for the vast majority of your life and still have entire sections be a complete mystery to you. It’s the type of ignorance we all possess in one way or the other. “The best sandwiches are on the North Side” you might hear someone say, and in a sudden burst of excitement due to wanting to discover what all the fuss is about for yourself, you realize “huh, I seldom if ever go to the North Side, that’s why that statement seemed so foreign to me.”

So, how about we alleviate some of that significant metropolitan ignorance and discuss a little history and some highlights of North Buffalo? At best we’ll all be more knowledgeable about the city we inhabit, and at worst, we’ll know where to get some top-notch sandwiches. So it’s win, win!

UB Anderson Gallery

The goal of a good university is to educate those who come through its doors to the best of that institution’s ability. Many universities stop at the scholastic aspect. They hand you an overpriced book and send you on your way (I apologize I’m slightly venting about my college experience, those books are just so unbelievably overpriced). But not UB. With its Anderson Gallery, UB states that its overall mission statement is “education, research, and maintenance of the University’s permanent collection. Through its accessibility, the Anderson Gallery offers a rich cultural resource to scholars, regional arts communities, and the general public.” In other words, they use their vast art collection as another tool in their arsenal to educate.

Take, for example, their current exhibition ELIZABETH MURRAY: BACK IN TOWN. Focusing on the two-year period where she worked in Buffalo as a teacher at Daemen College and looking critically at the impact those two years had on her work and career moving forward. Maybe you’re not an art student, and maybe this type of thing isn’t for you. Still, either way, finding a university that focuses on the works of lesser-known local artists in a critical lens, and even the mere act of using art exhibitions as an extension of the higher learning experience is a rarity that at the very least should be appreciated for what it’s trying to do.

The Buffalo Zoo

Founded in 1875, the Buffalo Zoo is the 7th oldest zoo in the United States. The Zoo welcomes approximately 400,000 visitors and is the second-largest tourist attraction in Western New York, only to Niagara Falls. Although Buffalo Zoo has had financial problems ever since its opening in the mid-1870s, it nevertheless always mange’s to bounce back with proper and exceptional care for the animals it has on its premises which includes bison, big horn sheep, polar bears, and exotic birds, among others. The Buffalo Zoo has and always will be a great hub not only to spend a fun day admiring all the different types of animals they have on display, but it’s also a great way to educate the public on the needs and concerns of wildlife at large.

So, if you have some spare time on your hands, why not head on over to the Buffalo Zoo? Any time you can look at a majestic animal, learn about its needs and how it, and by extension, you fit into the bigger picture of everything, I’d consider that time well spent.

The North Park Theatre

North Park Theatre

You know I had to at least mention this one. Originally opening November 21, 1920, for its time, the North Park Theatre was the premier theater in the city. And in 1941, The iconic Art Deco Marquee was designed and built by Flexlume signs (a locally owned sign manufacturer that’s been open for 100 years and is still going strong even in the digital age). Despite all the history and cherished memories shared in its halls, the theatre fell into disarray due to poor management and even poorer upkeep. There were a few glimmers of light, such as Vincent Gallo showing the premiere of his film Buffalo 66 at the North Park Theatre in 1998, but nothing came close to its glory days in the 1920s.

This was until 2013 when Eoannou partnered with Left Bank Restaurant and Mes Que owner Mike Christiano to assume full operational control of the North Park Theatre under a newly formed ownership group. Thus, reopening its doors to the public in spectacular fashion! Who can really say definitely what the theater was like during its halcyon days in the 20s, but if it was anything like how it is today, there’s no doubt in my mind that it was indeed something special!

Joe’s Deli

There has been a secret war raging in the city for years. Who makes the best beef on weck sandwich? It’s a deadly serious question, one in which people might come to blows as soon as they wipe the au jus from their mouths (luckily, there’s never any napkins around, so the fisticuffs rarely get taken out). It’s still a widely contested debate, but Joe’s Deli has to be among the best for sure. What once was home to Mastman’s Delicatessen, a legendary Buffalo deli in the heart of North Buffalo’s Hertel Avenue strip, transformed into Buffalo’s very own Joe Lyon’s culinary base of operations.

Joe’s Deli offers an assortment of delicious sandwiches like the forementioned Buffalo mainstay beef on weck to tasty concoctions like The Hangover, which has hot capicola, fried egg, sautéed onions, cherry peppers, and melted provolone, topped with lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a toasted Costanzo’s hard roll, among many others.

So although this cold war continues to rage all over Buffalo, grab a hot sandwich from Joe’s Deli and know that no matter what you choose, it’ll make you forget all about the war and make you laser-focused on what you should order for next time.

The Buffalo History Museum

Buffalo History Museum

Established in 1862, the Buffalo History Museum and its programs tell the story of Western New York and how that story helped shape American history as a whole. The Buffalo History Museum and the gambit of historical documents on display ranging from old handwritten business ledgers to turn-of-the-century photographs, the museum continues to strive towards making a complete picture of Western New York’s past so that we may use its findings as a possible roadmap for the future.

Let's do this again, shall we?

Let us do the ground work. Get our weekly newsletters and partner updates delivered right to your inbox, twice a week. We have weekly giveaways and will keep you up-to-date on all the latest and greatest around Buffalo Niagara. Hope to see you there!