About buffalopost

Buffalo (pronounced /?b?f?lo?/) is the second most populous city in the state of New York.[1] Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the seat of Erie County.[5] The city itself has a population of 292,648 (2000 Census),[1] and the metropolitan area 1,170,111 (2000 Census),[6] the 47th most populous in the United States. The Buffalo–Niagara–Cattaraugus Combined Statistical Area is home to 1,254,066 residents.

Originating around 1789 as a small trading community near the eponymous Buffalo Creek,[3] Buffalo grew quickly after the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, with the city as its western terminus. By 1900, Buffalo was the 8th largest city in the country,[7] and went on to become a major railroad hub,[8] the largest grain-milling center in the country,[9] and the home of the largest steel-making operation in the world.[10] The latter part of the 20th Century saw a reversal of fortunes: by the year 1990 the city had fallen back below its 1900 population levels. The rerouting of Great Lakes shipping by the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway was a factor in the decline of the city. The closing or relocating of many of the steel mills and other heavy industries in the area also contributed to the decline.