How to Take a Walk—in Buffalo, and Beyond (5th in the series)
We continue the series on Walking Buffalo, from the intrepid couple who went for a walk every day – no matter the weather – during the first 30 months of Covid. They believe (without being systematic) that they walked down every street in Buffalo and many in other cities and towns and took about 20,000 photos, some of which are shared in this series. While not itineraries, we hope to encourage others to “walk the path,” to see, observe, and appreciate Buffalo—and beyond. William Graebner and Dianne Bennett are also film critics here for 5 Cent Cine.
Today’s photo essay: The courtyard as a spectacle
Yards are right there, in your face, with every step of your walk. Many are interesting in one way or another, and some—especially if you escape the toney Delaware District, where standards of etiquette can limit one’s creativity (except perhaps with plants and flowers)—are spectacular, even bizarre.
There is no better example of the garden for spectacle than this one (above) on the corner of Glenwood Avenue and Humboldt Parkway. Amid the flags (the red, black, and green one is the pan-African flag first raised in 1920) and goo-gahs from Samantha Garden are memorials to those who died and photos of prominent African Americans, including Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith (the raising a hand with black gloves at the 1968 Olympics) and Malcolm X. The Pope is there too, as are some faces I didn’t recognize. Above a small red buffalo were the words “All Lives Matters”. This courtyard may change dramatically from time to time.
More limited, but no less spectacular, is the double floral cross (plastic, we assume) that dominates this courtyard on Beckwith Street in Madison, just off Sycamore. It’s a well-known feature of the neighborhood. A man who walked by said he had visited the cross at least 40 times and it was particularly dramatic when it was lit up at night.
The East Side is also home to two sculpture gardens occupying courtyards. One of them, visible from Highway 190 in the Seneca/Babcock neighborhood, features a standing buffalo, an eagle, and Michelangelo’s David.
The other, still in progress, centers around a fountain worthy of Florence or Rome, complete with angels and fish and – perhaps non-Renaissance – a young woman at the top. On the right of the photo another sculpted young woman demurely veiled. To the east, the Central Terminal hints at the site.
The pink plastic flamingo has been a popular feature of yards since 1957, when an art school graduate working for Union Products, a company specializing in “plastics for lawns,” designed the prototype. The first consumers of the product lived in working-class neighborhoods. Sixty-five years later, the pink flamingo is still a popular feature of area yards, usually with a bird or two prowling the bushes.
This North Buffalo courtyard on Hinman Avenue is the most elaborate we’ve seen – and one of the most patriotic, combining the flamingo with Uncle Sam, American flags and a large “FREEDOM” sign. Many of the flamingos wear “flag” hats. Buffalo may have a special relationship with the pink flamingo. In June, the city celebrates Frederick Law Olmsted’s 200th birthdayth Birthday, received the Guinness World Record for the “longest row of garden flamingos” (FLOmingos) with 4280.
A corner courtyard in Michigan and Riley offers a different kind of statement, simultaneously patriotic and somber, in honor of Vietnam War veterans, POW-MIAs, the Army and Marines. A pair of combat boots hangs over what appears to be a military shield. The ad has changed over the years.
Sometimes the spectacle just needs a character who seems to exist beyond imagination. We found this figure in a backyard on Red Jacket Street and Perry Street in the Old First Ward. He seemed ready to put sausages on the grill. The rest of the property also deserves a look. The owner encouraged us to explore his unique garden.
We’re no connoisseurs of plants and flowers, but we couldn’t help but admire this riot of celosia blooming on Best Street (yes, Best Street, near Wohlers, across from the barbed wire of a former juvenile prison) in late October) . This edible plant (I think I’ll stick with lettuce) is also known as cockscomb. In Italy it is sometimes called “penne”. [feathers] dei Carabinieri” and refers to the red, feather-like feathers on the ceremonial hats worn by members of the national police force.
We only have one spectacular yard left, and we could have saved it for a separate piece on Christmas displays. It’s so exaggerated that it seemed better here than the last entry in Der Hof als Spektakel. You must go to Niagara Avenue, Niagara Falls (New York) in December to see this one.
See also:
How to Walk in Buffalo – Look Up! roofers and roofers
How to Walk in Buffalo – Buffalo’s Mini-Marts
How to Walk in Buffalo – Remembering 9/11
How to Walk in Buffalo – Street Humor
© William Graebner