(OT) Skating at Canalside

[josie]

To go off topic, Josie, Toledo today sounds like Buffalo in the 1970s when the steel industry collapsed.

 

We went to Toledo several times when we lived in Detroit (we actually lived in Troy, then Auburn Hills, then Dearborn). Took in a Mudhens game or two, visited the zoo which I remember as quite nice.

I'll hop off the Toledo train here in a sec, but our zoo is still amazing. Top 10 in the country. I volunteered there for a while, got to do all kinds of amazing stuff. But that's another story.

 

Our art museum is really great, too. It's where I went for classes every Saturday to learn. It's on the edge of the ghetto though...

 

I'll be at the Mud Hens stadium this Friday for their winter fest winter classic thing. Should be nice.

 

And that comparison seems fair from what I've read/heard. Thing are pretty rough in the Glass City these days.

[LastPommerFan]

I'll hop off the Toledo train here in a sec, but our zoo is still amazing. Top 10 in the country. I volunteered there for a while, got to do all kinds of amazing stuff. But that's another story.

 

Our art museum is really great, too. It's where I went for classes every Saturday to learn. It's on the edge of the ghetto though...

 

I'll be at the Mud Hens stadium this Friday for their winter fest winter classic thing. Should be nice.

 

And that comparison seems fair from what I've read/heard. Thing are pretty rough in the Glass City these days.

 

Tell me about it.

[That Aud Smell]

I did think of you. There's a sign on the boards. "In it's heyday, the Erie Canal." Would you mind going down with some blue paint?

At least it's not in stone.

 

Edited December 23, 2014 by That Aud Smell

[SwampD]

I did think of you. There's a sign on the boards. "In it's heyday, the Erie Canal." Would you mind going down with some blue paint?

 

Also — no one on the ice bikes looked like they were having any fun.

Just,... ugh.

[spndnchz]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/12/27/buffalo-ice-bikes-are-cool-ride/DBgzWyg70gkX0PfcxuUIOK/story.html

[darksabre]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/12/27/buffalo-ice-bikes-are-cool-ride/DBgzWyg70gkX0PfcxuUIOK/story.html

 

Awesome that they're being made locally. That's doing it right.

[Stoner]

I didn't know ice bikes weren't a thing. Pretty cool.

[IKnowPhysics]

I got a chance to check this out before the Islanders game, as well as the rinks inside Harbor Center. Outdoors, it's a great use of public space with nice amenities and plenty of room for vendors and food trucks. Indoors is a great venue for a rockin' college game, and the way that it's built, that little rink is going to get LOUD.

 

Should be tons of fun for generations and I look forward to a time that I may enjoy it more consistently.

[Eleven]

A brief documentary about some guys who used to skate at Canalside:

 

[Stoner]

Ohhhhh, that's the Lindy face where he talks about asking Tony McKegney to smell his finger! Then, ohhhh God this was good, he put tabasco on Derek Smith's dental floss. Wait, hockey players don't use dental floss. It was tabasco in the jock! Hand in a warm tub of water was good too. Lindy was close to developing the shaving cream in the hand and tickle the nose trick, but he never did perfect it.

[Eleven]

Ohhhhh, that's the Lindy face where he talks about asking Tony McKegney to smell his finger! Then, ohhhh God this was good, he put tabasco on Derek Smith's dental floss. Wait, hockey players don't use dental floss. It was tabasco in the jock! Hand in a warm tub of water was good too. Lindy was close to developing the shaving cream in the hand and tickle the nose trick, but he never did perfect it.

 

This is why we can't have nice things.

[Stoner]

This is why we can't have nice things.

 

Come on. Lindy's been gone for awhile now. I know it was painful, the way he was drawn into that turbine, but he'd be the first one to laugh about it.

[MattPie]

I didn't know ice bikes weren't a thing. Pretty cool.

 

No kidding. I had the following conversation the other night after seeing the clip of someone riding the bike from ice level (shown on during intermission):

"Is that someone riding a bike on ice?"

"Yeah, it's in an ice bike."

"You say that like we should know what you're talking about."

[shrader]

2014 was the first year of my life where I never set foot in the Buffalo area for even a single day. Is it crazy that I kind of want to go back just to see this place?

[Doohicksie]

2014 was the first year of my life where I never set foot in the Buffalo area for even a single day. Is it crazy that I kind of want to go back just to see this place?

 

I was up there this summer and I gotta tell you, the city is hoppin' these days. When I was a kid, Buffalo was one of three things: A place to watch a Sabres game, a place to buy your first (cheap) house until you could afford one in the suburbs, and a place to stay out of. So different now.

[Samson's Flow]

I was up there this summer and I gotta tell you, the city is hoppin' these days. When I was a kid, Buffalo was one of three things: A place to watch a Sabres game, a place to buy your first (cheap) house until you could afford one in the suburbs, and a place to stay out of. So different now.

Ironically Buffalo is now none of those things. Nobody wants to attend the Sabres games, the downtown lofts and condos are pretty pricey (and in high demand), and while you should still stay out of certain areas, there's plenty of attractions now.

 

When the Genesee St. restaurant district opens up, that will provide another draw to the city. The only big item the city is missing is development to bridge the canalside district with Main St/Chippewa/Theater developmets. Right now there is a big gap where One Seneca Tower and that surrounding area is.

[Doohicksie]

It's true that downtown lofts are expensive, but there are lots of neighborhoods where the housing is pretty affordable. My nephew just bought a damned cute little home off Bailey Ave. for well under $100k.

[Samson's Flow]

It's true that downtown lofts are expensive, but there are lots of neighborhoods where the housing is pretty affordable. My nephew just bought a damned cute little home off Bailey Ave. for well under $100k.

No argument here. I bought my first house in Kenmore for under 100k. There's no better value for homes than Buffalo and the surrounding suburbs.

[Eleven]

Ironically Buffalo is now none of those things. Nobody wants to attend the Sabres games, the downtown lofts and condos are pretty pricey (and in high demand), and while you should still stay out of certain areas, there's plenty of attractions now.

 

When the Genesee St. restaurant district opens up, that will provide another draw to the city. The only big item the city is missing is development to bridge the canalside district with Main St/Chippewa/Theater developmets. Right now there is a big gap where One Seneca Tower and that surrounding area is.

 

The biggest gap is where Genesee comes into Main, across Main from the Hyatt. It looks like Beirut circa 1983. I don't understand how that one block exists as an oasis of misery in the resurgence of downtown.

[Samson's Flow]

The biggest gap is where Genesee comes into Main, across Main from the Hyatt. It looks like Beirut circa 1983. I don't understand how that one block exists as an oasis of misery in the resurgence of downtown.

That area is actually in the process of being turned into a restaurant strip, with most of those buildings turning into 1st floor retaurants and 2nd/3rd floor apartments. I assume from your description you are referencing the buildings with the old 'Louies Texas Hots' signage? It is being upgraded as we speak.

 

Linkage:

http://buffalorising.com/2014/11/gastro-corridor-expands-with-planned-pizza-restaurant-at-5-7-genesee-street/

[Eleven]

That area is actually in the process of being turned into a restaurant strip, with most of those buildings turning into 1st floor retaurants and 2nd/3rd floor apartments. I assume from your description you are referencing the buildings with the old 'Louies Texas Hots' signage? It is being upgraded as we speak.

 

Linkage:

http://buffalorising...genesee-street/

 

Yes. Good to know. That is UGLY right now.

[Samson's Flow]

Yes. Good to know. That is UGLY right now.

No argument here. Walking from the theater district to lafayette was always a bit of an adventure. Nothing like boarded up buildings to make visitors feel safe and welcome.

[Doohicksie]

I go through similar areas here in Fort Worth, but I usually do it on a bicycle; you can scream through areas like that to minimize risk but thinking about it, I don't think I'd want to walk though those parts of Ft Worth at night.

[Samson's Flow]

I go through similar areas here in Fort Worth, but I usually do it on a bicycle; you can scream through areas like that to minimize risk but thinking about it, I don't think I'd want to walk though those parts of Ft Worth at night.

IMO that is one of the biggest issues that Downtown Buffalo needs to resolve (and are working on fixing). Without good walkability and eliminating the riff-raff that hang out downtown at night, sustained growth and small business development will be hard to come by. Right now there are pockets of desirable areas in Buffalo but they need to be connected and accessable in order for the city to truly transform from the former rust-belt days.

[Eleven]

IMO that is one of the biggest issues that Downtown Buffalo needs to resolve (and are working on fixing). Without good walkability and eliminating the riff-raff that hang out downtown at night, sustained growth and small business development will be hard to come by. Right now there are pockets of desirable areas in Buffalo but they need to be connected and accessable in order for the city to truly transform from the former rust-belt days.

 

It's going to happen. Main Street is really the only problem area now.