Overlooking the Niagara River, Riverside Park filled the missing piece in the park system by providing access to the river that, together with Lake Erie, is Buffalo’s other outstanding natural feature. Designed by Olmsted’s sons and successors after his retirement in 1895, it once had a landing on the river where boats from downtown would load and unload passengers.

The final Olmsted park designed for Buffalo was the city’s northernmost park, Riverside Park. The plan for this park was created in 1898. 22 acres in size, this park was built on the site of a private picnic ground overlooking the Erie Canal and the Niagara River.

Its formal feature was a fountain and music court, with a carriage drive separating them from a play area devoted to ball fields and from a series of minnow pools nestled amongst a dense grove of trees. Riverside Park was the first Buffalo park designed by Olmsted with a direct waterfront connection.

Olmsted’s design for Riverside Park has suffered considerably from intrusions and neglect. The noise of the Niagara Thruway is a significant distraction along the western portion of the park. In 2014, the River Rock Garden was designed and established as a reinterpretation of the original minnow pools.