Broadway Street, on Buffalo’s near east side, has long been home to its immigrant population, from nineteenth century Germania to a twenty-first century community which includes African Americans, and former residents of Burundi, the Congo, Liberia, Rwanda and Sudan.
In the 1850s, German immigrants settled a neighborhood anchored by its churches, one of which was St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church. The area’s population grew as did its church. The result is one of the most extraordinary church buildings in Buffalo, a city filled with exceptional ecclesiastical architecture. The stone church was constructed by its parishioners from 1878-1886 and consecrated at that time, a rare feat, indicating that the structure was free and clear of debt.
While the future of the congregation and the church is far from clear, the congregation has presided over ongoing efforts to preserve St. Ann’s Church as an important religious and cultural anchor in Buffalo and in Western New York. A two-hour walking tour will include a meander through the neighborhood surrounding St. Ann’s church, full of surviving nineteenth century homes and churches of alternate Christian denominations, some listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The tour will conclude with an exterior and interior tour of St. Ann’s Church, led by Martin F. Ederer, professor of history at Buffalo State College and author of Buffalo’s Catholic Churches. Proceeds from the tour will support St. Ann’s building restoration effort.
Cost is $10.00
Saint Ann’s Church and Shrine
651 Broadway
Buffalo, NY
