Buffalo Facts

From the renaissance of the Waterfront and downtown's steady growth, to the major airport expansion and a revived arts and cultural scene, New York's second-largest city is booming again.

Buffalo's ethnic diversity includes people of Greek, Irish, Italian, African American, Polish, Scottish, Latino and German decent, to name a few. That, combined with a blue-collar mentality, creates a solid foundation for the community to build and re-build. And that it has, by pumping millions into its downtown showpiece Theater District, by expanding the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, by creating waterfront housing and establishing a Metro Rail line from HSBC Arena to the South Campus of the State University...

...at the turn of the 20th century. It's no secret that this city has seen better days, but the legacy of its past -- one that's being renovated with some modern quirks thrown in for good measure -- makes Buffalo a worthwhile stop for a couple of days' stay.

I grew up in nearby Rochester, and all I knew about Buffalo was that it was home to the invention of the chicken wing and it got more snow than anywhere else in the universe. My loss. When industrialists realized that the Great Lakes/Erie Canal/Hudson River route was the way to get things from America's heartland to Europe, it inspired a boom. And those businessmen put their money back into the city: They brought Frederick Law Olmsted, fresh...