FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kickoff to Yearlong Celebration to Include Unique Events and Commemorative Opportunities
Media Contact: Therese Fuerst, Fuerst Consulting Corp., 716-200-3593
WHO:
Stephanie Crockatt, Executive Director, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
Dennis Horrigan, Chairman of the Board, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
The Honorable Byron W. Brown, Mayor, City of Buffalo
Patrick Kaler, President and CEO, Visit Buffalo Niagara
Doug Blonsky, Honorary Co-Chair of the 150th celebration, Former President and CEO, Central Park Conservancy
Kevin Kelly, President of Travel and Hospitality at Delaware North and the local Chairman of the 150th celebration
WHAT: Celebrating 150 years commencing the Olmsted Park System in Buffalo
WHEN: January 16, 2018, 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: The Buffalo Club, 388 Delaware Avenue, Crystal Room
WHY: To celebrate and educate the community on Frederick Law Olmsted’s legacy and the initial creation of the Buffalo Olmsted Park System, the first urban park system designed in America. The Conservancy will unveil a commemorative logo and celebration schedule.
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About the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is the first nonprofit organization in the nation to manage and operate an entire urban park system that consists of 850 acres of beautifully designed parks, parkways and circles. The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is a membership-based, community organization whose mission is to promote, preserve, restore, enhance, and maintain the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed parks and parkways in the Greater Buffalo area for current and future generations. More than 2.5 million people use Buffalo’s historic, award-winning Olmsted Park System annually for recreation, relaxation and rejuvenation. The parks were designed by America’s first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, more than 149 years ago. Basic maintenance of the parks has been greatly improved since the 2004 groundbreaking public/private agreement with the City of Buffalo and Erie County. Since that time, the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, now partnering with the City of Buffalo, has retained full responsibility for the management and care of these green spaces, which are listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places. In 2014, the American Planning Association recognized Delaware Park as on of the the Great Places in America. Most recently, The Guardian named the Olmsted Park System as one of the Top 10 Parks in the World. Learn more at: bfloparks.wpengine.com.
The Buffalo Olmsted Park System includes:
Six parks: Cazenovia Park in South Buffalo, Delaware Park in Delaware/Parkside District, Front Park at the Peace Bridge, Martin Luther King, Jr. Park at Fillmore Avenue, Riverside Park at Niagara and Tonawanda Street, and South Park at McKinley Parkway
Seven parkways: Bidwell, Chapin, Lincoln, McKinley, Porter, Red Jacket, and Richmond
Eight landscaped traffic circles: Agassiz, Colonial, Ferry, Gates, McClellan, McKinley, Soldiers, and Symphony
