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City on the Edge: Buffalo, New York, 1900 - Present
BUFFALO, NEW YORK IS ENJOYING A RESURGENCE, AND HAS BECOME A RECOMMENDED TRAVEL DESTINATION. THIS BOOK TELLS THE STORY OF HOW IT GOT HERE.In a sweeping narrative that speaks to the serious student of urban studies as well as the general reader, Mark Goldman tells the story of twentieth-century Buffalo, New York. Goldman covers all of the major · The rise and decline of the city's downtown and ethnic neighborhoods · The impact of racial change and suburbanization· The role and function of the arts in the life of the community· Urban politics, urban design, and city planningWhile describing the changes that so drastically altered the form, function, and character of the city, Goldman, through detailed descriptions of special people and special places, gives a sense of intimacy and immediacy to these otherwise impersonal historical forces. City on the Edge unflinchingly documents and describes how Buffalo has been battered by the tides of history. But it also describes the unique characteristics that have encouraged an innovative cultural climate, including Buffalo's dynamic survival instinct that continues to lead to a surprisingly and inspiringly high quality of community life. Finally, it offers a road map, which-if followed-could point the way to a new and exciting future for this long-troubled city.
440 pages, Paperback
First published March 20, 2007
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August 28, 2009
Mark Goldman's "City on the Edge" is a history of the past and a look at the possible future of Buffalo, New York. As such, this is a book of real interest to me. I spent four years in Buffalo, studying for my Ph. D. at the (then) State University of New York at Buffalo. For the next twenty plus years, I taught at a university in Western New York and often visited friends in Buffalo or just went there for mini vacations. I start off by saying that I thought that Buffalo had many attractions--but obviously faced many challenges. I loved wandering around Delaware Park, driving along the Niagara River, going to the Anchor Bar for chicken wings and jazz. . . . Goldman is also a resident of Buffalo and also a real booster for the city.
This book takes a look at how Buffalo has come to be where it is now. The history really starts at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. At that time, the future looked good for Buffalo. Manufacturing and shipping were mainstays of the economy; the Exposition promised a great deal of visibility. But, as with later events, the promise had counterpoint in misfortune, such as President McKinley's assassination, the economic failure of the Exposition, and so on.
The book spends time on the growth and glory days of Buffalo. But the current realities are set in motion later on, in the 1960s, 1970s, and thereafter. Key problems facing Buffalo were a set of ethnic political leaders who played by "old politics," the politics of favoritism, of patronage. I don't know how true this is, but a friend of mine once worked for the city at a club for kids. As part of her purview, she was responsible for a swimming pool. The local political "boss" made sure that sons and daughters of party favorites got jobs as lifeguards, some of whom could not swim. True? I don't know, but it represents the mindset of the old style politics current in Buffalo then.
Challenges faced Buffalo, such as the decline of the steel industry (the old Lackawanna steel facility was awesome to drive past! It seemed to stretch forever, but it just about died out in the few years that I was in graduate school. . . .), the decline of the auto industry and its local subsidiaries, and the challenges created by racially segregated schools.
Buffalo's leaders were not a sterling lot (to put it mildly). This book is pretty hard on a mediocre lot of mayors and other local politicians, who dithered and tried to stay in power by the politics of favoritism. Federal funds were used to try to prevent the downtown from deteriorating, but tons of money were lost as projects often did not come close to achieving their goals.
The book ends by looking toward the future; there is hope in that glimpse--but the book itself provides precious little reason for that hope. There are some questions that I have about the book. The author at one point speaks positively of one mayor, but goes negative later. Sometimes he seems to change his mind about the value of some of the actors in a space of twenty pages. Nonetheless, this is an interesting book on the challenges facing a lot of older urban areas. Why do some succeed in addressing those challenges? And others fail? This book is worth considering as adding to that dialogue.
This book takes a look at how Buffalo has come to be where it is now. The history really starts at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. At that time, the future looked good for Buffalo. Manufacturing and shipping were mainstays of the economy; the Exposition promised a great deal of visibility. But, as with later events, the promise had counterpoint in misfortune, such as President McKinley's assassination, the economic failure of the Exposition, and so on.
The book spends time on the growth and glory days of Buffalo. But the current realities are set in motion later on, in the 1960s, 1970s, and thereafter. Key problems facing Buffalo were a set of ethnic political leaders who played by "old politics," the politics of favoritism, of patronage. I don't know how true this is, but a friend of mine once worked for the city at a club for kids. As part of her purview, she was responsible for a swimming pool. The local political "boss" made sure that sons and daughters of party favorites got jobs as lifeguards, some of whom could not swim. True? I don't know, but it represents the mindset of the old style politics current in Buffalo then.
Challenges faced Buffalo, such as the decline of the steel industry (the old Lackawanna steel facility was awesome to drive past! It seemed to stretch forever, but it just about died out in the few years that I was in graduate school. . . .), the decline of the auto industry and its local subsidiaries, and the challenges created by racially segregated schools.
Buffalo's leaders were not a sterling lot (to put it mildly). This book is pretty hard on a mediocre lot of mayors and other local politicians, who dithered and tried to stay in power by the politics of favoritism. Federal funds were used to try to prevent the downtown from deteriorating, but tons of money were lost as projects often did not come close to achieving their goals.
The book ends by looking toward the future; there is hope in that glimpse--but the book itself provides precious little reason for that hope. There are some questions that I have about the book. The author at one point speaks positively of one mayor, but goes negative later. Sometimes he seems to change his mind about the value of some of the actors in a space of twenty pages. Nonetheless, this is an interesting book on the challenges facing a lot of older urban areas. Why do some succeed in addressing those challenges? And others fail? This book is worth considering as adding to that dialogue.
September 11, 2008
I really resisted reading this book as I'm not much of a non-fiction reader. Surprisingly, it wasn't dry at all and I definitely enjoyed it. I learned a ton about the history of Buffalo and even more detail about things I already knew of. It was VERY well-researched. Pretty depressing stuff about the state of the city, though. Mark's final chapter is all hopeful and rosy, but I can't help but think the last 50 years of corruption and misguided "urban renewal" attempts are going to be hard to overcome. Wish there had been more pictures and maps. In any case, definitely worth picking up.
January 12, 2009
This, the 3rd of Goldman's surveys of the economic decline and resultant problems of Buffalo, NY, borrows much from his previous books. Maybe too much? Still, there is little here I would disagree with.
January 28, 2025
Best book i’ve read in a while. Mark Goldman does a fantastic job breaking down the complicated and at many times disappointing history of the city I’ve known my whole life. He does not hold back blame, and I really appreciated that about this book. After what felt like 3 chapters of loss and despair, he ends the book with a chapter that felt like a love poem. It was a fantastic ending that filled me with a hope for the future I at times lack with the current state of affairs in Buffalo. I would recommend this to those who have a love for this city like I do, or any citizen who wants to be informed on the place they grew up.
February 14, 2018
If you have ever lived in and loved a Rust Belt city, you know this story. But Buffalo, it seems has suffered more than most and has had a more difficult recovery. This book might be a bit heavy on policy and, for my interest, a bit light on social history. The point is well made, however, that a sense of place, a sense of history, and dedicated residents who stand their ground and refuse to leave can help Buffalo begin to claw its way back.
September 9, 2017
One of the essential single-volume resources to enter into the wonders and challenges of Buffalo and Western New York. Meticulously researches, zeal and bias intertwined, Mark Goldman gives us the loving and living anthem and critique of our home.
October 13, 2023
Decent; High Hopes was more compelling, if more depressing
March 31, 2024
Author gets Buffalo's culture. Narrative is good for straight nonfiction history. Can skip the "roadmap" though-- nothing new. Be better off just getting rid of one-party monopoly.
January 9, 2011
Anybody from Buffalo, or having friends or family from Buffalo, or spending any time in Buffalo, or even those of you who love just to make fun of Buffalo, will be interested in this book. It could have benefited from some more serious editing, but that hardly gets in the way of its overall thesis and presentation. Buffalo is a city that has been great, could have been great, might yet be great, but which never did, never has and probably never will make it into the ranks of truly world class cities: cities whose variety extends to a kind of infinity and whose personality makes them unlike any other world-class city.
Or maybe it's that last thing which both condemns and redeems Buffalo. Buffalo is unlike any other city in its essence. Mostly, that's taken as a negative. But on the actual negative side of the ledger is the fact that in most ways Buffalo is typical of all the rust belt has-beens. It's hard to find what might make it special. Goldman takes the burden to do that for us.
Almost all of Buffalo's citizens have their own personal "best worsts;" their own particular ordering of the collective regrets about what has been done wrong, to us, by us, for us or in spite of us. And we are proud of all the things which we've done right, but don't get credit for.
Goldman's regrets seem all on the side of too much pecuniary ambition by an ever diminutive and unrepresentative body of oligarchs which allowed for the destruction of that scruffy fabric of Buffalo which gave it its peculiar vitality. Those with voice almost always drowned out those with a stake in what was working.
Almost all of that destruction was done in the name of some form of "urban renewal." This was about neighborhoods blown away in the name of grand civic and architectural and mostly traffic schemes. Buffalo was always gaming automobile futures and always managed to guess poorly.
What got nearly destroyed was a unique willingness to experiment in the arts, and to get together across cultural divides for uniquely Buffalonian solutions to problems - like busing to desegregate schools - which would destroy other parts of the nation. In Goldman's fundamentally optimistic assessment, the people never did get drowned completely.
Somehow something identifiably Buffalo has managed to survive all the destruction. Almost magically, enough of the architecture, the art production, and even the neighborhood identities, has retained its heritage.
At this very moment, almost all public funding for any cultural production in the greater metro area of Erie County is being removed by a local branch of that frightening phenomenon which would have government funding good for nothing other than bombs big business and border fences. Even though cultural production overall may be Buffalo's most productive economic segment - it certainly is if you include education as cultural production.
People in power seem afraid of edgy thought. People short on enlightenment seem always susceptible to fear mongering on the part of the powerful. In that sense Buffalo surely is a city on the edge.
Goldman is utterly reliable in getting to the heart of all matters Buffalo. In particular, he should be listened to as regards what precisely are the wrong things to do. Which all too often end up being what the powers that be are about to perpetrate. He's good at knowing what we will surely regret if we let it happen.
And of course, beyond just local interest, Buffalo is, truly, a microcosm for everywhere and everyman in the United States. It is our collective future, staring us down in the present. We had all better hope that Buffalo finds a way through and doesn't drop off the edge. Otherwise, what's left will look a lot like Disneyland, pretty but dead at night. Too safe to be interesting.
Buffalo's also remarkably dead at night, except for a small district brought to life by the author's own forward-looking entrepreneurial investments. But Buffalo sure ain't Disneyland, and that's a good thing.
Or maybe it's that last thing which both condemns and redeems Buffalo. Buffalo is unlike any other city in its essence. Mostly, that's taken as a negative. But on the actual negative side of the ledger is the fact that in most ways Buffalo is typical of all the rust belt has-beens. It's hard to find what might make it special. Goldman takes the burden to do that for us.
Almost all of Buffalo's citizens have their own personal "best worsts;" their own particular ordering of the collective regrets about what has been done wrong, to us, by us, for us or in spite of us. And we are proud of all the things which we've done right, but don't get credit for.
Goldman's regrets seem all on the side of too much pecuniary ambition by an ever diminutive and unrepresentative body of oligarchs which allowed for the destruction of that scruffy fabric of Buffalo which gave it its peculiar vitality. Those with voice almost always drowned out those with a stake in what was working.
Almost all of that destruction was done in the name of some form of "urban renewal." This was about neighborhoods blown away in the name of grand civic and architectural and mostly traffic schemes. Buffalo was always gaming automobile futures and always managed to guess poorly.
What got nearly destroyed was a unique willingness to experiment in the arts, and to get together across cultural divides for uniquely Buffalonian solutions to problems - like busing to desegregate schools - which would destroy other parts of the nation. In Goldman's fundamentally optimistic assessment, the people never did get drowned completely.
Somehow something identifiably Buffalo has managed to survive all the destruction. Almost magically, enough of the architecture, the art production, and even the neighborhood identities, has retained its heritage.
At this very moment, almost all public funding for any cultural production in the greater metro area of Erie County is being removed by a local branch of that frightening phenomenon which would have government funding good for nothing other than bombs big business and border fences. Even though cultural production overall may be Buffalo's most productive economic segment - it certainly is if you include education as cultural production.
People in power seem afraid of edgy thought. People short on enlightenment seem always susceptible to fear mongering on the part of the powerful. In that sense Buffalo surely is a city on the edge.
Goldman is utterly reliable in getting to the heart of all matters Buffalo. In particular, he should be listened to as regards what precisely are the wrong things to do. Which all too often end up being what the powers that be are about to perpetrate. He's good at knowing what we will surely regret if we let it happen.
And of course, beyond just local interest, Buffalo is, truly, a microcosm for everywhere and everyman in the United States. It is our collective future, staring us down in the present. We had all better hope that Buffalo finds a way through and doesn't drop off the edge. Otherwise, what's left will look a lot like Disneyland, pretty but dead at night. Too safe to be interesting.
Buffalo's also remarkably dead at night, except for a small district brought to life by the author's own forward-looking entrepreneurial investments. But Buffalo sure ain't Disneyland, and that's a good thing.
October 7, 2025
Fund it and build it, even operate it and subsidize it, if necessary; but don’t worry, they said, the supply will somehow create the demand, and eventually “they will come”
November 3, 2022
An excellent history of Buffalo that dives deeply into the issues that plagued a post-industrial city as time wore on.
August 16, 2007
This is the third of Goldman's book on Buffalo in the last 25 years. Much of it is an update of his previous book, City by the Lake, and some paragraphs are lifted, it seems, word for word from that book. This is more or less a history of Buffalo since 1900. The first few chapters are less interesting because they are kind of the part of Buffalo's history that everyone knows and are nostalgic about. The strength of this book and of Goldman in general is his tracing of the cultural/artistic history of Buffalo on one hand, and the analyses of urban renewal, ethnic/race relations, and consistantly bad municipal leadership on the other. He also dedicates ample time to the important industrial development and the downfall of industry in Buffalo and the Rust Belt in general. An urban studies specialist, Goldman's knowledge of the old ethnic enclaves is impress, though his romantic view of them may be a bit revisionist (he moved to Buffalo from New York in the 60s, around the time the oldest ones were destroyed for "urban renewal" and when the other ones had already started to crumble). His study is limited to the corporate limits of Buffalo; by excluding any significant mention of the suburbs (other than they are generally bad and the development of which is largely to blame for the downfall of the city), I think he neglects a big part of the psyche of Buffalonians and the relation between suburb and city. In fact, the few remarks he makes on the suburbs, in my opinion, not only show complete disinterest in them, but also in some cases a lack of knowledge of them. At any rate, the most significant contribution that Goldman makes is his analysis of the school integration in the '70s and '80s, which was touted as arguably the most successful in the country. He makes this point in "City on the Lake" (1989), and adds to it in "City on the Edge," though what has happened to Buffalo and its schools since "City on the Lake" I think is inadequately treated here. The successes of the racially integration -- which were truly remarkable -- have been completely undone, due to many other factors; the biggest of which, however, is the ease of moving across school-district lines into other municipalities where integration is not an issue at all because in those districts there are few blacks. It is this issue that I think plagues Buffalo and I would have liked to see Goldman address it further.
November 12, 2008
Sober and interesting analysis turns to floofy civic cheerleading in the book's final chapters. Still a good read, tho.
City on the Edge illuminates the disastrous urban renewal policies that accelerated Buffalo's decline. Lousy, car-centric planning did serious damage. Coupled with massive job losses in manufacturing, it was a disaster for the city.
This book would be great - but the closer it gets to modern times, the more it begins to sound delusional. The author sets great store in the civic energy of Buffalo's community groups. Now who doesn't love civic energy and people who care about their nabes? But a little extra civic pride and participation isn't going to turn Buffalo around - alone.
The bubbly - almost delusional - tone the author adopts for more recent history is particularly odd because the first half of the book slams previous generations of civic leaders for misplaced optimism and faith in cars, parking lots, and ever more highways. Goldman argues convincingly that previous generations of civic leaders were self-deluded, failing to see Buffalo's real problems.
So it's strange to see the author fall *hard* for the little civic groups as *the* tonic for Buffalo. Community groups are an important part of any healthy city. But they're not a one-sided solution. It's a little last-minute self-delusion by an author that pummels it for a couple hundred pages.
In any case, color me a Buffalo optimist too - but for a more basic reason: I think the city hit rock bottom a few years ago and can only either tread water or revive a little. A few things are going for the city that will give it a marginal boost: 1. a better understanding and appreciation for city life; 2. lots of colleges and universities; 3. better urban planning centered on healthy nabes and parks - not cars, lots and speedways; 4. cheap energy; 5. a couple cool neighborhoods and 6. yes, civic pride and civic groups.
There are other reasons that I think give Buffalo a chance for a marginal revival, but I'm tired and this is the end of my review. Overall, City on the Edge is a good read - but it could have been a 5 star book if only the author had taken off the love blinders and dealt honestly with the Buffalo of today.
City on the Edge illuminates the disastrous urban renewal policies that accelerated Buffalo's decline. Lousy, car-centric planning did serious damage. Coupled with massive job losses in manufacturing, it was a disaster for the city.
This book would be great - but the closer it gets to modern times, the more it begins to sound delusional. The author sets great store in the civic energy of Buffalo's community groups. Now who doesn't love civic energy and people who care about their nabes? But a little extra civic pride and participation isn't going to turn Buffalo around - alone.
The bubbly - almost delusional - tone the author adopts for more recent history is particularly odd because the first half of the book slams previous generations of civic leaders for misplaced optimism and faith in cars, parking lots, and ever more highways. Goldman argues convincingly that previous generations of civic leaders were self-deluded, failing to see Buffalo's real problems.
So it's strange to see the author fall *hard* for the little civic groups as *the* tonic for Buffalo. Community groups are an important part of any healthy city. But they're not a one-sided solution. It's a little last-minute self-delusion by an author that pummels it for a couple hundred pages.
In any case, color me a Buffalo optimist too - but for a more basic reason: I think the city hit rock bottom a few years ago and can only either tread water or revive a little. A few things are going for the city that will give it a marginal boost: 1. a better understanding and appreciation for city life; 2. lots of colleges and universities; 3. better urban planning centered on healthy nabes and parks - not cars, lots and speedways; 4. cheap energy; 5. a couple cool neighborhoods and 6. yes, civic pride and civic groups.
There are other reasons that I think give Buffalo a chance for a marginal revival, but I'm tired and this is the end of my review. Overall, City on the Edge is a good read - but it could have been a 5 star book if only the author had taken off the love blinders and dealt honestly with the Buffalo of today.
May 11, 2016
Absorbing history of Buffalo from the time of the Pan American Exposition up to the present. It chronicles the rise and fall of the city well, from the industrial and Great Lakes port glory days through the long decline. The book touches on all kinds of topics, including local politics, industry and business, the arts, the integration of the school system and the role of the University at Buffalo. It is most valuable from the standpoint of city development, showing the changes over time due to the ascension and decline of industry, and discussing the many questionable (or worse) decisions by city officials to try to arrest the loss of business and the declining population, mostly caused by white flight to the suburbs and the reduction in manufacturing jobs in the city. The wide range of topics makes for an interesting study, but also leaves the reader with the sense that the book is incomplete. For example, there is much discussion of the arts and the University in the 1960s and 1970s, but not so much after that, leaving one to wonder why things changed, or if they changed at all. The author is harshly critical of former Mayor Masiello, and his attraction to "silver bullet" proposals like Bass Pro and the downtown casino, but has little to say about the Griffin administration that preceded the Masiello years. The schools are examined during the discussion of the desegregation court case, but not before or afterward, though one could certainly surmise that the white flight to the suburbs and the desegregation of schools were related events. Little is heard from minority voices until the end of the book, and close examination of city neighborhoods is similarly lacking until the last chapter.
Despite all of that, the book is well worth reading and always interesting. I haven't read anything quite like it and it should be of interest to Western New York residents and anyone interested in the plight of Rust Belt cities.
Despite all of that, the book is well worth reading and always interesting. I haven't read anything quite like it and it should be of interest to Western New York residents and anyone interested in the plight of Rust Belt cities.
September 13, 2009
Very entertaining and informative, for former Buffalonians, like myself. Interesting story of the Pan American Exhibition, its racism, the assassination of McKinley and its aftermath.
Good portrayal of the city's problems: The downhill trend of economic activity, -- bad luck exacerbated by poor planning: a microcosm of our nation; the story of to big-money stadium sports, corrupt political leadership -- corporate welfare leading to immense waste of resources.
At the same time, the city's great cultural life, the ethnic vitality, and the citizens' hopes and dreams and accomplishments are treated poignantly here.
The quality of critical analysis varies in this book. In one passage, Goldman states that in Buffalo there is an excess of government workers, that they are too highly paid, and that the taxes there are the highest ever, anywhere. These claims are backed up mostly by citations of libertarian screeds from the Buffalo News. In fact, in 2003 it would have been hard to tell an Erie County social worker that his department was over-staffed.
Ironically, Goldman castigates the News' bias elsewhere in the book.
Good portrayal of the city's problems: The downhill trend of economic activity, -- bad luck exacerbated by poor planning: a microcosm of our nation; the story of to big-money stadium sports, corrupt political leadership -- corporate welfare leading to immense waste of resources.
At the same time, the city's great cultural life, the ethnic vitality, and the citizens' hopes and dreams and accomplishments are treated poignantly here.
The quality of critical analysis varies in this book. In one passage, Goldman states that in Buffalo there is an excess of government workers, that they are too highly paid, and that the taxes there are the highest ever, anywhere. These claims are backed up mostly by citations of libertarian screeds from the Buffalo News. In fact, in 2003 it would have been hard to tell an Erie County social worker that his department was over-staffed.
Ironically, Goldman castigates the News' bias elsewhere in the book.
December 26, 2012
If you want to know more about the history and the trials and tribulations of Buffalo this book is a great place to start. As an avid lover of all things Buffalo I couldn't wait to read this book, but sadly it took me several weeks to finish it. Inside the 400+ pages there are some great stories and insight into the right and wrongs of a once great city but too often the author goes into serious detail of less interesting aspects of it. He's pretty thorough for the most part, but as a finicky reader on the subject of Buffalo I sometimes wanted to hear more about certain topics and didn't and other times I would have been happy with less content about less interesting topics. In conclusion, I find this a necessary read if you love Buffalo history but it's a slow read. If it wasn't for my love of Buffalo I might not have finished it.
June 28, 2007
The story of Buffalo is gripping and sad. Mark Goldman presents a sometimes astonishingly detailed account of the city's birth, rise, fall, and current state of depressed limbo. While the extent of Goldman's research is clear, his insight is lacking at times; he occasionally falls into the rhetorical potholes of his favored city: blind, boosterish optimism and a clumsy handling of the city's racial issues. That said, the story of Buffalo remains a good read and I would recommend it to anyone who (mistakenly) believes they have the Queen City pegged.
September 10, 2011
This book will be enjoyed by people who appreciate Buffalo and it's history. There is alot of detail so some may be turned off by it's encompassing specifics. I did like learning of so many references of UB buildings as I was unaware that much of the city's early leaders are now referenced daily at both campuses.
It was frustrating at times to read of past leadership which ruined iconic buildings and thorough-fares. I can only hope that the city is finally moving in the right direction and the next volume will show upward progress for the next 100 years.
It was frustrating at times to read of past leadership which ruined iconic buildings and thorough-fares. I can only hope that the city is finally moving in the right direction and the next volume will show upward progress for the next 100 years.
January 10, 2008
Sad tale of what Buffalo has been and how far we've fallen from that point. hey, did you know that UB was once considered "the hub of postmodernism?" Yep, in the sixties.
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January 23, 2008I can't wait to read this.
December 5, 2008
Had no idea that Buffalo was so prominent in terms of the arts throughout the 20th century.
May 13, 2010
One of my favorite books I've read about the history, cultural life, rise, decline, and possible rise again of an American city.
June 30, 2011
Of all the books I've read on history, this one stuck with me the most, since it deals with places I am now within spitting distance of
September 27, 2013
Likely the only book on Buffalo I will ever read, and I feel like I might have picked the best. It provided what seems like a comprehensive overview of the city's history.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews