Rebuilding Buffalo..

When the Buffalo Central Terminal opened its doors on June 22, 1929, the largest crowd the city had ever seen gathered to celebrate the event and witness the departure of the very first train. During a time when many people questioned whether life would ever improve as they experienced the start of the Great Depression, our beautiful city was thriving. The “Queen City,” second only to Chicago, was proudly holding its ground as larger cities grew up around it. Just 30 years later, as everything else bounced back, Buffalo was falling apart. In 1959, Central Terminal was abandoned, leaving just a hollow building as a constant reminder of what this city used to be. What once was a mark of success for Buffalo has since become a stopping place for vagrants and drug dealers, so decrepit and dangerous that people were no longer even allowed to go inside the building.

50 years later, the Buffalo Central Terminal Restoration Corp. has released what they call their “master plan” to restore the building and make it not only useable, but livable as well. The looming tower that currently sits unused and in ruins is being renovated for residential living, with loft-style apartments throughout and penthouses on the upper floors. In addition, the rail lines plan to be used for access not only around Buffalo but as part of the high speed rail being built to New York City. Restoring the main concourse to be used as public space, along with an Urban Habitat Classroom to further green development throughout the city, are also part of this plan. Estimated at about $75 million overall, the restoration group hasn’t yet set a timetable for these goals, but progress is clearly being made.

Developing buildings like the Central Terminal is long overdue and with so many empty promises being made to this city (the waterfront, the Peace Bridge, the Aud site, to name a few) it’s a refreshing change to see a cultural landmark restored, rather than ignored. There are so many beautiful landmarks in the city that have been left to literally fall apart, it’s impossible to drive through the city and not notice how many things could be amazing if someone took the time to restore them. Take into consideration Mark Croce’s recent purchase of the Statler and that’s two gorgeous buildings in Buffalo that could become something we’re proud of again.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

First of all, did anyone else notice Dwayne Roloson diving to save Vanek’s third goal last night? He looked like Wiley Coyote trying to catch the road runner. Hilarious.

There are two games left in the Sabres season. That’s it, just two. Then we’re faced with the gut wrenching, nerve-wracking, deliriously exciting race for the Cup. Or, if the Sabres don’t make it to the run, we’re stuck with a month of games we pretend not to care about. Really, we’re just jealous that we didn’t make it, but as loyal fans we refuse to root for anyone else and we have to pretend we’re uninterested in who wins. Lucky for us, the Sabres have been rallying like only they can do, leaving us with an unavoidable feeling of hope that the Sabres might just make a valiant effort to bring the long-awaited Cup victory to Buffalo. If we get just one more point, or Carolina loses one of their three remaining games, we clinch a playoff spot and secure our future, at least for the first round. Even with Enroth in net, I can’t help but feel like this might be our year to really make ourselves known. Enroth has been 3-0-1 since Miller’s mysterious injury, and the NHL named him the 3rd star of the week.

I do wonder whether Enroth can keep up at this pace since Ruff obviously has no intention of playing Lalime with so much on the line, but being a Buffalo fan means having blind faith so I trust Ruff knows what he’s doing. Miller is due to be evaluated on Thursday and Ruff hopes he can play in at least one of the last two games, but with no one really speaking about his injury one can’t help but wonder about the rumors swirling that his injury may be more serious than the team and management are letting on. If Miller is, in fact, seriously injured then it would make perfect sense that no one is releasing the information. If opposing teams don’t know which goalie they’re facing, it’s harder to prepare. If Miller is even a remote possibility in their minds, they’d be fools not to be fully ready to face one of the best goalies in the league. Consider also that Vanek is at #17 in the league with 70 points and we’re shaping up to be a formidable opponent, just in time to head into the most important time of the season.

So, with just two games left in the regular season, I ask this simple question- can the Sabres do it? Call me crazy, but I say absolutely.