Red Jacket River Front Park – Buffalo, NY

The riverfront of Buffalo was once the epicenter of industry in the city. The area is filled with the skeletal remains of massive buildings that have long since been abandoned. The riverfront over the last few years has been bestowed with new life. Red Jacket River Front Park is one of the areas that has been cleaned up and made a green space for visitors to enjoy all sorts of recreation.

Revitalized Parks

Red Jacket River Front Park isn’t the only revitalization park to appear along the buffalo Riverfront in the last few years. Two other parks, Thomas Higgins Park and Seneca Bluffs Natural Habitat Park have also reclaimed former industrialized land and have been cultivated with gardens, trees, and benches to welcome visitors. Groomed trails have been laid out for guests to enjoy walking along the river and enjoying a small part of Buffalo’s history.

Red Jacket River Front Park has some neat features, like the murals that line the street as you drive up to the parking area. Some of these have been painted over due to graffiti, but enough of the artwork remains to add a sense of a bygone era.

Activities at Red Jacket River Front Park

While this park is an excellent place to enjoy a walk, especially with your favorite four-legged friends (on a leash, of course.) it is also an excellent place to fish or paddle since the park is directly on the water. Wintertime gives people the chance to snowshoe or cross-country ski through the park. We visited the park in winter and found it exceptionally quiet and we didn’t see another person the entire time we were there.

Railroad

There are active railroads around the park, which is exciting for both railroad enthusiasts and young children who adore trains. There is a railroad bridge that butts up to the park, so be careful to always keep an eye on your little ones.

Historic Abandoned Buildings

There are several old, abandon factory buildings in the area, which can be reached by visiting this park. The Concrete Central Elevator is quite visible across the river and the railroad bridge leads directly to it. I am not sure of the legality of visiting the abandoned building. We didn’t see any posted or keep-out signs when we visited. I, of course, must warn you to investigate at your own risk and we don’t encourage anyone to visit this area at night or alone. You do have to cross a railroad bridge, so again proceed at your own risk.

The Cement Central Building was in 1915-1917 during World War 1. At the time of construction, it was the largest grain elevator in the world and would be the biggest ever built in Buffalo. The grain elevator had the capacity of 4.5 million bushels of grain and they could fill 20 train cars per hour. Concrete Central was closed in 1966. In 1976, a boy fell to his death from the roof of the facility. The City of Buffalo responded by removing all the stairs from the building.

The grain elevator now sits basically completely empty. The walls are covered in enormous amounts of graffiti but a stroll through this imposing building is still thrilling.

Concrete Central was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 2003

Getting to Red Jacket Riverside Park

Because of the remoteness of this park, I do not recommend people visit alone. Especially if you plan to do any real exploring. This would extremely dangerous.

Address: off Smith Street and South Park Ave, Buffalo, NY 14210

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