Blog 141 Day 14 of 30. City Hall Tour. Fond farewell to Buffalo.

I vacated my room 621 with an hour to spare; checkout was at a generous midday. I had two cardboard bowls of oatmeal, toast, and banana, as well as something that looked like a mini oatcake and (for once) a few nice sauté potatoes. (Memories of breakfast on the train back at home, and very much in the past!) For a brief period, I was questioning my being here at all, particularly during the night when being awakened by a frequent diabetic need for the bathroom! My train to Niagara Falls wasn’t until the revised time of 15.32, which Amtrak at Buffalo seemed to know nothing of. I owed it to myself to do something specific, rather than wait in the air-conditioned comfort of the hotel lobby, and then at the superbly presented modern Buffalo Exchange Street Station near to Canal Side. I legged it to the massive City Hall in the hopes of exploring inside. I was in luck! A guided tour was to take place at midday for an hour and twenty minutes, and although I had made no prior reservation, I was “squeezed” into what was a decent sized gathering. As always, I remember very little of what I was told during the guide’s extremely fascinating presentation. However, one fact (at least) stuck. It was anticipated that being an important port and rail hub, second only in size to that of Chicago, the City Hall should be adequate enough to deal with one million citizens. Buffalo was indeed a major industrial centre, and its main roads radiated out from a central point, rather than the usual grid system, so as to facilitate easy transport of goods in either direction.

*Buffalo City Hall, built for an anticipated population of 1 million, which even in its* heyday, never materialised. Buffalo at one time as a rail hub was second only to Chicago, the biggest rail hub in the world (probably still). It was fascinating seeing for myself the numerous portraits of civic luminaries and past mayors throughout all the places we were shown. The building dates back to the 1930s and is *a wonderfully preserved and functioning art deco structure built to last 500 years.* *Some* of *the stons* *flooring* *comes* *from* *Cardiff*, *Wales.*

*Another building here that* *fascina*ted *me was the long-since* *closed Statler Hotel. It is* *not derelict and?at times,* *the* *canopy* is *illuminated* by *old֊fashioned* *light* *bulbs.*

New York Central had the main station in Buffalo which was pointed out by the guide at City Hall from the Observation Deck.

*The formerNew York Central Station from the Observation Deck of Buffalo City H*all

*On the ground floor*. *The material for the floor was imported from Cardiff.*

*There are numerous friezes on the ground floor representing, for exampl*e, *protection, education, construction etc.*

*The* *chambers* *where meetings* *are held* *each Tuesday.*

*Views from the observation deck of City Hall, Buffalo NY*

*A quotation on the stairway wall down from the observation deck*

I enjoyed that brilliant use of the remaining time I had before taking an Uber to Exchange Street Station.

*The waiting room at Buffalo Exchange Street Station, beautifully modernised.*

The Maple Leaf Amtrak Service was on time, and we arrived at Niagara Falls, NY, where, for whatever reason, the train would stay for around 40 minutes before crossing to Niagara Falls ONT.

*40 minutes waiting at Niagara Falls NY*

It is on the Canadian side that all passengers and their luggage are ordered off the train for customs procedures. This involved lining up against a wall opposite your luggage while a sniffer dog “searches” both passengers and luggage. My bags were chosen for the sample drugs bag to be placed against. The procedure felt as thorough as ever. The customs personnel were polite, but as surly as ever! I was granted entry and immediately taken by taxi to my Hotel. the view of which from my room did not disappoint.