Tall Ships Return to Buffalo [Endnotes- Spring 2019]
“When Buffalo first began to boom, Buffalo harbor presented a spectacle that cannot be seen anywhere today, 150 sailing vessels moored closely together, with hundreds of men hurrying about loading and unloading cargoes of all sorts. Warehouses dotted the waterfront, and there was a hum of industry that is lost today, when so much more merchandise is moved in less time and with less display.”
Buffalo, From Lake Erie by William James Bennett, 1836.
Credit: Library of Congress
So the Buffalo Morning Express described the spectacle that was Buffalo’s 19th century harbor—a scene, it lamented, that had all but disappeared by the time these lines appeared in the paper on July 23, 1911.
With the opening of the Erie Canal nearly 200 years ago, Buffalo’s harbor became one of the busiest on the Great Lakes. Grain shipments from the Midwest mixed with immigrants who had traveled from the East on the canal, while lumber vessels moved down from Grand Island and up towards the Tonawandas.
This mix of commerce and human cargo was conveyed on vessels whose masts and sails filled the skies over the city’s waterfront, clogging its waterways while providing a visual majesty rarely seen in more recent times.
All of this will change for a few days this coming July, however, as the city becomes a host port for Tall Ships America’s Tall Ships Challenge Great Lakes race series from July 4-7. To mark the occasion, Basil Port of Call Buffalo (a special non-profit committee of the Buffalo Lighthouse Association) will be hosting a dozen of these incredible sailing vessels—more than have been seen in the Queen City’s harbor in more than a lifetime—along Buffalo’s waterfront in tribute to the city’s rich maritime heritage.
Basil Port of Call Buffalo will bring a dozen tall ships to Buffalo’s waterfront—more than have graced it in the modern age.
Credit: Courtesy Tall Ships America
This memorable event will feature numerous activities throughout the four days of the event, including live entertainment, food and historical exhibits, as well as the city’s first ever parade of sail—an event not to be missed. The event itself is free to the public, but for a fee visitors can tour the vessels—or even have the chance to sail on one!
If you have ever wondered what the Buffalo waterfront might have looked like in years gone by, or if you are fascinated by the flutter of canvas in a lake breeze, accompanied by the shifting and creaking of a wooden deck, then you won’t want to miss this event of the summer.
For more information on activities, commemorative publications and tickets, visit: portofcallbuffalo.org.
