Elmwood Historic District-West

Elmwood Historic District (West) is a residential neighborhood of nearly 300 acres in central Buffalo, built between about 1867 and 1941. Its development began with the parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, which drew new residents and developers. Streetcar lines, including the Elmwood Avenue line opened in 1889, then fueled a building boom, with roughly two houses completed each week between the 1890s and 1910s. No single developer controlled the area, yet builders used a shared vocabulary of popular styles, giving the streets a cohesive look. The district holds 1,988 contributing resources, mostly single and multiple-family houses, apartment buildings, churches and commercial buildings, plus carriage houses, garages and stone hitching posts. Houses are typically two to two-and-a-half stories, with consistent setbacks and mature street trees. Because the street grid and building stock have survived with few demolitions, the district preserves the character of Buffalo's streetcar-era growth, when middle and upper-middle class residents settled here.