Constructed at the height of Urban Renewal, Buffalo’s Kensington Expressway tore through neighborhoods and destroyed the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Humboldt Parkway.
The original Humboldt Parkway was part of a historic system of parks, parkways, and circles designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the late 1800s.
The Humboldt Parkway was a boulevard with a wide tree-lined median that connected Humboldt Park (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Park) with Delaware Park, creating a park-like neighborhood atmosphere.
The boulevard served as a focal point for the adjacent neighborhoods, providing a link between the various local streets and nearby recreational attractions, cultural and religious institutions, and local businesses.
The construction of the NYS Route 33 (Kensington Expressway) in the 1950s and 1960s resulted in the removal of the original Humboldt Parkway landscaped median, which severed several local east-west streets, reducing connectivity between the east and west portions of the neighborhood.
Now, with the New York State Department of Transportation planning to redevelop the expressway, local advocates, especially the East Side Parkways Coalition, are leading efforts to ensure community voices are heard and that any redevelopment prioritizes the restoration of the parkway as a vital public space — not just a traffic corridor.
Their work represents a model for how grassroots advocacy can guide large-scale infrastructure projects toward equitable, restorative, and community-centered outcomes.
They envision a future where Olmsted’s original design flourishes anew, reconnecting neighborhoods, honoring Buffalo’s history, and empowering residents to shape the place they call home.
By recognizing the lasting harm caused by the Kensington Expressway and stressing the importance of community voices in the redevelopment process, they highlight this project as an opportunity to both honor the Olmsted-designed Parkway and uplift the surrounding neighborhoods.
The Preservation League of New York State has added the project to its Seven to Save list, which highlights New York’s most endangered historic sites. Inclusion on the list offers wider visibility, assistance with advocacy, and technical services.
You can support efforts to restore Humboldt Parkway here.
Illustration: Two hands holding a paper heart with the words “Restore Me!” overlooking the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo (Brandon Kennedy photo provided by Preservation League of NYS); and a rendering of a fully-restored Humboldt Parkway near Main Street and Kensington Avenue.
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