(By Angela Keppel) While researching Curtiss Street, I noticed that there was Polonia Park marked on some of the maps. I have a great interest in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood and the area around the Central Terminal in particular, and I had never heard of this before. I got sidetracked from my street researching and ended up finding out some interesting stuff which I would like to share with you all. I know it’s not a street history, but hopefully you all will enjoy these tidbits of information as much as I do.
Polonia Park was located on Curtiss Street prior to the Central Terminal’s construction. The park was purchased by the City in 1913 at the same time as the land for Schiller Park, Willert Park, an extension to Riverside Park and an addition to Lanigan Park.
In June 1916, the Buffalo Live Wire (a publication published monthly by the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce) posted that “A well-prepared city plan is indispensable to the intelligent acquisition of park properties, and if we enjoyed the guidance of a city plan in our recent campaign for additional parks, we would not now be wondering why we purchased, at a cost of $60,000, Polonia Park, consisting of lands useful for neither park nor playground.”
Great post, I had no clue this ever existed.
I saw Polonia Park on an old map and had wondered about it. Thanks for sharing.