The Niagara Frontier

NiagaraFrontier
Originally uploaded by Jaquandor.

The family that babysits Little Quinn (and, occasionally, The Daughter) while both The Wife and I are at work live in the hills south of Buffalo, and one of the back roads leading back to town from their area yielded this view of the entire Niagara Frontier. I've been waiting for a really nice and clear day on which I could get a photo from this vantage point, and today was the best I've had lately. I'll try again if I get an even clearer day, but for now, I'm happy with this one. (You may need to click through to the largest possible version to make out all the detail.)

To the right, obviously, is the Buffalo skyline, with the tallest building -- the HSBC Center -- rising above the rest. Buffalo's downtown, is more spread "out" than "up", and really tall buildings aren't the rule here. It does bother me, though, that our tallest building also happens to be our blandest.

To the left of the photo, you can spot a sliver of white splitting the area just below the horizon. That is the frozen, snow-covered surface of Lake Erie, and the bit of land beyond that sliver is actually Canada.

And speaking of Canada, if you look at the horizon just to the right of that plume of steam just in the middle of the photo, you can pick some tall buildings out of the haze. That is Niagara Falls, ON, whose skyline is moving ever, ever upward. It probably seems like cliche to think of Niagara Falls as a tourist destination (especially for honeymooners), but the Canadian side is hopping in recent years. (Not so the American side, much to the chagrin of we in New York.)

Also, just to the right of the tree at the lest, you can see a building that looks like a big, white barn. This is the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse, the team's gargantuan practice facility (as well as an incredibly-goofy looking construct that puts me in mind of what an Amish Barn Raising might result in if the Amish used more up-to-date construction techniques). Immediately to the right of the Fieldhouse is Ralph Wilson Stadium, but it's kind of hard to make out in this photo. All you can see is the very top section of seating on the Stadium's north side.

That's Buffalo, folks.