Buffalo, NY: Historic Harbor and Shredded Wheat Factory

Brendon Baillod posted
This Buffalo, NY view shows a fleet of bulk freighters. These are smaller, early freighters that look to be carrying coal.
Jay Bascom: Brendon Baillod The ones on the other side are package freighters not bulk carriers, and the first one facing us would be NORTHERN WAVE. Facing us at left is AUGUSTUS B. WOLVIN.

 

Brian R. Wroblewski commented on Brendon's post
The wharf on the left was the West Shore RR's & it was an ore dock. It collapsed & killed two people when a landslide occurred into the canal from the weight of the ore piles. The current CSI sand dock occupies that site today. The wooden piles are still there.

 

SmithsonianMag, New York Heritage Digital Collections
"The village had been burned to the ground by British troops in 1813, and when canal construction began four years later, Buffalo was still a remote outpost deep in the Niagara Frontier, home to no more than 2,000 people. By 1900, canal commerce had helped make it the ninth-largest city in America, the world’s largest grain port and a hub for American flour-milling."

 

Authentic Buffalo History posted
Buffalo harbor in the 1870s

Authentic Buffalo History posted
The harbor in 1895

Beth Willis posted
I so remember that when the building was torn down, Dad and I went to the site, and we took a few of the yellow bricks. Dad had worked for Nabisco Shredded Wheat until he retired.
[Satellite]

Brian R. Wroblewski's posted
Overview of the City Ship Canal & Buffalo River, 1940s.
Lukas Irons shared

Back then, the lake front had more canal and tracks and less roads.

3D Satellite

This topo map confirms that I found the correct bend in the river for the satellite image.

1948 Fuffalo Quad @ 62,500

Joseph Rennie posted four images with the comment: "Buffalo Harbor Scenes in Old Postcards."

Andrew Haenisch shared

Dan Meyers: Top one seems to be canal boats

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Author Richard Sullivan posted
BUFFALO 1902
Jodi Miller: Does anyone remember the orange colored smoke and soot from Bethlehem Steel?
Jim Myers shared

Deborah Brown posted two images with the comment: "Buffalo NY's Waterfront 1920s 🦬"

Jim Myers shared

Nick Le Poisson: Really wish the other Michigan bridge was still around. It would certainly make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists for get to the outer harbor from downtown.

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David Gad posted
Buffalo NY's Waterfront 1920s

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Bartel Miller posted
An aerial view of the Buffalo inner harbor in the 1930's!

Aldo Ferrelli: Great view of the Erie Canal in the present Canalside area. Adjacent to the canal is Canal Street, then Dante Place.

Jim Myers shared

WestCoast Fire Media posted

Buffalo, New York, early 20th century. A fire tugboat battles a fierce waterfront blaze with everything it has.

Powerful streams of water arc dramatically from the tug’s monitors toward a massive burning warehouse, while thick smoke billows into the sky. Standing on the deck of the steam-powered vessel, firefighters direct the high-pressure hoses — the only effective weapon against the intense heat and flames that threatened the busy harbor district.

Fire tugs were the guardians of port cities like Buffalo. Equipped with powerful pumps and able to maneuver quickly in tight waterways, they were essential for fighting fires along docks, grain elevators, and warehouses where land-based engines often couldn’t reach. This dramatic scene captures the raw power and coordination required to protect a city’s vital waterfront economy from total destruction.

A spectacular image of one of the most dramatic chapters in American firefighting history — when fireboats and their brave crews stood between a city’s lifeline and the flames.

Joseph Rennie: George R Potter which preceded the Edward M Cotter . At the turn of the century there were 3 fireboats the George R Potter , The William S Grattan (Edward M Cotter) and the John Hutchinson.