From Canal Street to Dante Place

  Back during the mid 1850s, when the Erie Canal emptied into Lake Erie, there was a street on the waterfront in downtown Buffalo called Canal Street. It was a tough and dangerous place, frequented by thieves, prostitutes, brawlers, and gamblers, studded with bars and brothels, teeming with every variety of vice. Thirsty sailors and canal men with pay in their pockets roamed the area and were both victims and predators. This map from 1901 shows Canal Street where it started at Commercial Street.

Image courtesy of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library

               When this map was made, the atmosphere of Canal Street had been in a state of transition for a decade or more. What happened? Several things: the railroads had begun to make inroads into the canal trade. Irish immigrants who could move to better neighborhoods were moving. And, most importantly, during the 1880s Italians began immigrating in ever increasing numbers to the United States, forced from their homes in the old county by high taxes, agricultural failure, and poverty. Early in the new century, so many Italians had settled in the area that the name of the street was changed from Canal Street to Dante Place. It was also called 'the Hooks', the Canal district, and Buffalo's Little Italy.

                       Many Italian families in Buffalo can trace their beginnings to this area of the city. I would love to hear from any and all with stories about the neighborhood, whether they have ever heard of Salvatore Rizzo and his marionette theater or not. Your comments are always welcome!