Branding Buffalo

by Tim Tielman

Reprinted from ARTVOICE, May 25-31, 2000 with permission

The Eiffel Tower. The Pyramids. Canals. Big Ben. The Arch. Mention any one of, these icons, and what comes to mind is the city in which (or near which) it, stands. Paris. Cairo. Venice. London. St. Louis. In today's marketing lingo, this is called "branding." A few lucky cities, mostly the larger ones, have an immediately recognizable image that brands it in the public mind.

What is Buffalo's icon? Today we may not have one ó although some may, think it's snow ó or is it "wide left," or "no goal"? But in days gone by, Buffalo certainly did have an icon that branded it. It was the western terminus of the Erie Canal. That terminus established Buffalo as the port for transporting goods and people from the east to the west.

Because of the Erie Canal, Buffalo was the site for Joe Dart's first grain elevator. Because of the Erie Canal, the conveyor belt was developed here. Because of the Erie Canal, important decisions regarding the Civil War were made in Buffalo, and some of the biggest names in the banking and insurance industries made their homes here.

In fact, from about 1825, when the canal opened, until the mid- to late-1800s, anyone who said or thought, "Erie Canal," thought of Buffalo. The canal itself, plus the river, were such busy places of commerce that it was possible to cross them simply by stepping from vessel to vessel, according to a, prominent businessman of the time, Jewett M. Richmond (who lent his name to Richmond Avenue). The Erie Canal was Buffalo's icon, or brand. Reproductions of it appeared in national and foreign magazines and travel books, not to mention countless penny postcards.

And it's not too late for the Erie Canal to become an icon again. Only this time it will be a tourism icon that will draw travelers from across the country and the world, much the same way the Falls draws visitors.

Taken together with its associated artifacts ó brand extensions, as it were: the cellar of Dug's Dive, and the old Central Wharf, narrow stone streets with stone sidewalks ó the canal could once again be an international "handle" for Buffalo to attract national and international tourism.

lt is, however, essential that as much of the original Canal District infrastructure as possible be preserved.

"It [the Canal District] is a real and authentic remnant of a critical time in the historical evolution, not only of this city but of this country," says Mark Goldman, author of "High Hopes: The Rise and Decline of Buffalo" and "City on the Lake: Buffalo 1954-1990."

Goldman, an avid preservationist who owns the historic Calumet Building, says that through his own and the research of others, a large inventory of historic transportation infrastructure has been found at the Inner Harbor site.

"These [transportation infrastructure items] include canal-, road and rail beds, as well as the substructure picture of the Central Wharf," Goldman says. Although .the Central Wharf was rebuilt from 1910 to 1914, its original construction was unique, and this substructure is worth preserving.

Currently, the Empire State Development Corporation is excavating at the replica slip section of the Inner Harbor site, as part of the first stage of replacing the original canal structures with new steel-lined boat slips and a new Naval Museum. Unfortunately, the work that is underway is damaging artifacts at the Commercial Slip that are central to the Canal District.

Also in danger are sites like Dug's Dive, which are significant because they illustrate the social and recreational life of our city's predecessors.

"The Canal District could help fill many gaps in our knowledge of ethnic groups, women's history and labor history," according to Goldman

Like the Tower of London, Colonial Williamsburg, or Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Erie Canal has the potential to become the basis of sustainable tourism. Canal tourism would not require public subsidy because it has the capacity for self-renewal, attracting investors, residents and visitors who appreciate the authentic and real.

As an icon, the Erie Canal ó a symbol of bustling commerce, prosperity and progress ó is not a bad image. Certainly preferable to snow, wide left, no goal....