Chapin Parkway
Location: Parkway between Soldiers Circle and Gates Circle
Dates: Opened to the public in 1873
District: Elmwood Historic District (East)
Architecture: Colonial Revival, Italian Renaissance, Georgian Revival, etc.
Important Notes: An Olmsted Parkway named after Brigadier General Edward Payson Chapin.
Beginning in 1868, Frederik Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux began creating a series of parks and parkways throughout Buffalo that would eventually gain world-wide recognition. Inspired by Second Empire Paris design, Olmsted laid out a number of parkways to gracefully funnel downtown residents into his parks, making Buffalo one of the first American cities to incorporate public roadways into park design. When completed, Buffalo incorporated over 12 miles of parkways connecting to either The Park (Delaware Park), Front Park, and The Parade (Martin Luther King Park).
Chapin Parkway, which connects current day Gates Circle (Delaware Avenue) and Soldiers Circle (beginning of Lincoln Parkway, which enters Delaware Park), was one of the first parkways built. At the time, Delaware Avenue was one of the main routes that Buffalo residents traveled in order to get to The Park. Chapin Parkway linked Delaware Avenue to newly built Lincoln Parkway, which entered The Park's main entrance just south of Gala Water (Hoyt Lake). Over 200 feet wide, Chapin boasts some of Buffalo's most beautiful homes and estates within the city limits.
