Planned by Joseph Ellicott (agent of the Holland Land Company) in 1803, the city was modeled after Washington, D.C., which was laid out by his brother, Major Andrew Ellicott. Buffalo radiates from Niagara Square, dominated by a monument to President William McKinley, who was assassinated here while attending the Pan-American Exposition in 1901.

In 1679, when Buffalo was claimed by the French, La Salle built the first boat to sail the Great Lakes, the wooden Griffon. During the War of 1812, Buffalo was burned by the British, but its 500 citizens returned a few months later and rebuilt. In 1816, Walk-on-the-Water, the first steamboat to ply the Great Lakes, was launched here. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 made Buffalo the major transportation break between East and West and brought trade and prosperity. Joseph Dart’s invention in 1843 of a steam-powered grain elevator caused Buffalo’s grain-processing industry to boom. Since completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, Buffalo has been one of the top Great Lakes ports in import-export tonnage.

Buffalo has a $7 million city hall and state and federal buildings. The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Albright-Knox Art Gallery and many nightclubs cater to the varied interests of residents and visitors. The city is ringed with 3,000 acres of parks, which offer swimming, boating, tennis, golf and riding.