In addition to Ohio's three C's (see Work Trip to the Queen City album), my job also took me through Kingston, Albany, Cooperstown, Schenectady, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo. Enjoy.

 

 

Kingston, NY (New York's first capital)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Albany, NY

 

I really like Albany. Not sure how I feel about Empire State Plaza, but it definitely gives Albany one of the most unique skylines in America.

 

This is a beautiful building, but I hadn't yet mastered the panoramic

 

NY State Capitol Building

 

 

 

Empire State Plaza. Awful, but also cool at the same time. I can only imagine how many historic buildings were torn down to build this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of vacant storefronts on State Street

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schenectady, NY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Niagara Falls

 

I'm sure everyone has seen more than enough pics of Niagara Falls. So I'll only post a couple

 

 

 

 

 

Buffalo, NY

 

This was my first time actually visiting Buffalo. Previously I had only driven through it on my way to Niagara Falls from Cleveland. As an urban enthusiast, I really enjoyed Buffalo. I walked mainly down Main St, which reminded me of Howard St in downtown Baltimore. It has a light rail line down the middle of it, yet seems to be one of the most vacant and depressed streets downtown (although Main St does get better down towards the theater). And gotta love Buffalo's City Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hudson Valley cities are always fantastic and I always dug Buffalo.

Albany!!! = <3 <3 <3

 

Top 5 US city.

 

You are so right about Empire State Plaza. It has grown on me, though. It is like a Martian skyline! :)

 

I've gotta get to Buffalo. Always looks neat. I imagine it to be a bit like Cleveland. Have only seen it briefly on the way to Niagara Falls and Toronto.

I think Cleveland has a better downtown (in terms of activity). Buffalo has some better neighborhoods. Both have lackluster waterfronts.

 

I prefer Buffalo to any city in Ohio though. I found Elmwood Village much more impressive than any single neighborhood I saw in Ohio. Ohio has yet to produce a large, dense area like that with a critical mass of post-collegiate singles who aren't gay...though Buffalo is probably open to it (it just doesn't attract much of that crowd- probably for the same reasons Detroit, Toledo, and Rochester don't). I guess it depends on what you're looking for. For downtown living, I think Cleveland and Cincinnati are better. For a gayborhood, I'd imagine any of the ones in Columbus are better (Short North, German Village, etc.).

 

Buffalo's downtown actually doesn't have much more activity than Toledo's. It has a couple of blocks that are more impressive, but the differences weren't as big as I was hoping. Like Toledo, there is a noticeable drop off when there aren't baseball or hockey games. Buffalo is a chicken wing eating sports town, and that is one thing I didn't like about it. Its culture has much more in common with Ohio than New York City. Still, I'd rank it among the best bang-for-buck places in the country. Buffalo is only touched by a few cities when it comes to value. All that's holding it back is one of the worst winters on the Great Lakes.