By popular demand: Amherst, New York - Audubon New Community
Folks here have been begging for photos of a mythical land northeast of Buffalo called "Amherst."
The Town of Amherst is a big place; 120,000 residents and 53 square miles. Thus, a few photos can't capture the character of the entire town; it has to be absorbed neighborhood by neighborhood.
First, a bit of mythbusting.
Amherst is wealthy. FALSE. The median household income of Amherst in 2000 ($55,427) is actually below that of many large suburbs thought of as middle-class; Mentor, Ohio ($57,230), Westminster, Colorado ($56,323), and Richardson, Texas ($62,392), to name a few.
Amherst does have more elite high-end neighborhoods and subdivisions than other Buffalo suburbs. However, it's not exclusively upper-middle-class like some suburbs it's often compared to -- Beachwood and Solon, Ohio, near Cleveland; and Pittsford and Perinton, New York, ourside of Rochester. Amherst has a large student population, many retirees on a fixed income (most paid off the mortgage of their large houses, so they can still afford to remain), many apartment complexes, some middle-class neighborhoods and subdivisions, and even a struggling working-class neighborhood; the Sweet Home Road area south of Sheridan Drive.
Up until the 1950s, Amherst was a predominantly middle-income community. There were areas like Snyder and LeBrun Road, but those were the exception; not the rule. Drive along the old "long roads" in upscale East Amherst -- Smith, Heim, Dodge, and others -- and most of the homes you'll see will be average, medium-sized 1950s-era ranches and Cape Cods. Often you won't see the McMansions unless you turn off a long road into a subdivision.
Amherst is whiter than a bleached polar bear in a blizzard. FALSE. Amherst has suburban Buffalo's largest African-American community; 3.9% of the town population is black. (No, they're not all living in the Allenhurst Apartments.) About one out of every 20 Amherst residents is Asian. That doesn't include those from the subcontinent; Amherst is the center of Buffalo's growing Indian community. 60% of Erie County's 25,000 Jews live in Amherst.
Amherst has hoity-toity commercial districts - FALSE. Outside of the Village of Williamsville, and parts of Eggertsvilel and Snyder, most commercial development in the town consists of rather generic strip plazas, and one- and two-story professional and medical office buildings. Boulevard Mall is thriving, but the selection of stores there isn't particularly upscale. There are no lifestyle centers in the town; no Cheesecake Factory, no Restoration Hardware, no P.F. Chang's. Amherst has no architectural regulations, so commercial development is often wretched-looking compared to what is found in communities with stricter design controls. At least sign clutter isn't a problem.
Now, let's go to the heart of Amherst; Audubon New Community. Audubon was built in the 1970s, intended to house workers and academic staff from the new University at Buffalo North Campus. Audubon was intended to be a mixed-income community from the start; the home to professors and janitors, scientists and cafeteria workers.
Like UB North, Audubon New Community never grew as large as planned. The last station of the Metro Rail "Blue Line" was planned for Audubon New Community; today, Metro Rail's northernmost station is about five miles south of Audubon. Audubon Parkway, the main street of the community, was supposed to extend all the way to Ellicott Creek Road; today it ends in a barrier bust north of I-990.
The one thing most notice when they visit Audubon New Community is the architectural style of the housing. The vertical stained slats and odd angles are representative of what is known as "shed style" architecture. Shed style architecture is very common in the Pacific Northwest, but quite rare in the Northeast. The shed influence extended outside of Audubon; there are a few other small subdivisions filled with shed-style houses in the town.
Just for comparison, here's some typical new housing in Amherst.
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Now, let's look at Audubon. (Note the sidewalks; they're either non-existent, or surfaced in asphalt and lacking tree lawns; very unusual for the Buffalo area. Pedestrian paths run between and behind houses. There are no fenced yards anywhere in Audubon.)
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Most multi-family housing is designed in the same style.
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There are some non-shed style houses in Audubon, but they're the exception.
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Commercial areas are concentrated along Audubon Parkway, west of the residential areas. There are no retail uses in Audubon.
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The end, if you're not good.
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Larger images can be found at http://www.cyburbia.org/gallery .
Folks here have been begging for photos of a mythical land northeast of Buffalo called "Amherst."
The Town of Amherst is a big place; 120,000 residents and 53 square miles. Thus, a few photos can't capture the character of the entire town; it has to be absorbed neighborhood by neighborhood.
First, a bit of mythbusting.
Amherst is wealthy. FALSE. The median household income of Amherst in 2000 ($55,427) is actually below that of many large suburbs thought of as middle-class; Mentor, Ohio ($57,230), Westminster, Colorado ($56,323), and Richardson, Texas ($62,392), to name a few.
Amherst does have more elite high-end neighborhoods and subdivisions than other Buffalo suburbs. However, it's not exclusively upper-middle-class like some suburbs it's often compared to -- Beachwood and Solon, Ohio, near Cleveland; and Pittsford and Perinton, New York, ourside of Rochester. Amherst has a large student population, many retirees on a fixed income (most paid off the mortgage of their large houses, so they can still afford to remain), many apartment complexes, some middle-class neighborhoods and subdivisions, and even a struggling working-class neighborhood; the Sweet Home Road area south of Sheridan Drive.
Up until the 1950s, Amherst was a predominantly middle-income community. There were areas like Snyder and LeBrun Road, but those were the exception; not the rule. Drive along the old "long roads" in upscale East Amherst -- Smith, Heim, Dodge, and others -- and most of the homes you'll see will be average, medium-sized 1950s-era ranches and Cape Cods. Often you won't see the McMansions unless you turn off a long road into a subdivision.
Amherst is whiter than a bleached polar bear in a blizzard. FALSE. Amherst has suburban Buffalo's largest African-American community; 3.9% of the town population is black. (No, they're not all living in the Allenhurst Apartments.) About one out of every 20 Amherst residents is Asian. That doesn't include those from the subcontinent; Amherst is the center of Buffalo's growing Indian community. 60% of Erie County's 25,000 Jews live in Amherst.
Amherst has hoity-toity commercial districts - FALSE. Outside of the Village of Williamsville, and parts of Eggertsvilel and Snyder, most commercial development in the town consists of rather generic strip plazas, and one- and two-story professional and medical office buildings. Boulevard Mall is thriving, but the selection of stores there isn't particularly upscale. There are no lifestyle centers in the town; no Cheesecake Factory, no Restoration Hardware, no P.F. Chang's. Amherst has no architectural regulations, so commercial development is often wretched-looking compared to what is found in communities with stricter design controls. At least sign clutter isn't a problem.
Now, let's go to the heart of Amherst; Audubon New Community. Audubon was built in the 1970s, intended to house workers and academic staff from the new University at Buffalo North Campus. Audubon was intended to be a mixed-income community from the start; the home to professors and janitors, scientists and cafeteria workers.
Like UB North, Audubon New Community never grew as large as planned. The last station of the Metro Rail "Blue Line" was planned for Audubon New Community; today, Metro Rail's northernmost station is about five miles south of Audubon. Audubon Parkway, the main street of the community, was supposed to extend all the way to Ellicott Creek Road; today it ends in a barrier bust north of I-990.
The one thing most notice when they visit Audubon New Community is the architectural style of the housing. The vertical stained slats and odd angles are representative of what is known as "shed style" architecture. Shed style architecture is very common in the Pacific Northwest, but quite rare in the Northeast. The shed influence extended outside of Audubon; there are a few other small subdivisions filled with shed-style houses in the town.
Just for comparison, here's some typical new housing in Amherst.
Now, let's look at Audubon. (Note the sidewalks; they're either non-existent, or surfaced in asphalt and lacking tree lawns; very unusual for the Buffalo area. Pedestrian paths run between and behind houses. There are no fenced yards anywhere in Audubon.)
Most multi-family housing is designed in the same style.
There are some non-shed style houses in Audubon, but they're the exception.
Commercial areas are concentrated along Audubon Parkway, west of the residential areas. There are no retail uses in Audubon.
The end, if you're not good.
Larger images can be found at http://www.cyburbia.org/gallery .
