The Wreckage Of Progress pt. 2

This is a three part series that chronicles the uglier side of Buffalo, the side which the city is primarily known for.

The city of Buffalo entered the 20th century as the 8th largest city in the US and being home to more millionaires than any other city. At the time the Buffalo-Niagara region, powered by the cheap energy of Niagara Falls, was anticipated to become an industrial megapolis that would eclipse New York City as the nation's larges. Factories like these, which lay out in a five mile stretch of brownfields on the city's southern edge, were the fuel that led to that growth.

History has shown, however, that things do not always work as anticipated. As water and rail travel became less important compared to air and highway travel, Buffalo lost her edge. Growth ground to a halt in 1970. Hundreds of thousands fled the city for the suburbs. Factories that once powered the city's economy now sit crumbling and decaying. Buffalo enters the 21st century as the 42nd largest metro area in the country, with a horribly poor inner city population and high unemployment. These crumbling edifices serve as a reminder of the mistakes of the past, and grim proof that even the most well run, successful, fast growing city can face ruin in just a few generations.