RIBBON CUTTING - NEW PATHWAY IN MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR. PARK
Funding Provided by the James H. Cummings
Foundation
A $100,000 grant from the James H. Cummings Foundation has paved
the way for new pathways in Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. A ribboncutting ceremony took place today with representatives of the
Cummings Foundation, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy along with
elected officials including, Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples, Mayor
Byron Brown and Council member Demone Smith.
The pathway rebuilding project included removal of a deteriorated
non-historic path located behind the statue of Martin Luther King, Jr, on
the east side of the park. Nearly 1700 feet of historic Olmsted-designed
pedestrian pathways were restored; landscaping, flower beds, soil
enhancements and new trees also have been added to the park. There
are over two miles of walking paths in MLK Park which the newly
completed work now links together.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Park is a vital part of Buffalo’s East Side
community. Designed in 1871 by Frederick Law Olmsted, it was one of
the first three parks in Buffalo’s Olmsted System. MLK, originally
named The Parade and then Humboldt Park, is best known as home to
the splash pad and basin wading pool, the Buffalo Museum of Science,
the annual Juneteenth Festival and Pine Grille Jazz Reunion concerts.
MLK, Jr. Park is also popular for summertime picnics, sports and
recreation programs for youth.
“Investing in the redevelopment of Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and the
entire Olmsted Park and Parkway System strengthens our residents’
quality of life and makes our parks more inviting to all that come to
enjoy them,” said Mayor Byron W. Brown. “This $100,000 grant from
the James H. Cummings Foundation, coupled with the additional
funding from my Administration and New York State, is helping to
restore Martin Luther King, Jr. Park to its original level of beauty and
attractiveness.”
“The Board of Trustees of the James H. Cummings Foundation is proud
to be supportive of the many upgrades to Martin Luther King, Jr. Park
by the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy,” said Charles F. Kreiner, Jr.,
Foundation Trustee. “We are particularly pleased to see that these
pathways will benefit this community and the many park neighbors
who use it.”
“The Olmsted Parks Conservancy is grateful to the James H. Cummings
Foundation for reinvesting in this important landmark park,” said
David J. Colligan, chairman, Olmsted Board of Trustees. “We all know
that regular exercise plays a key role in living a healthy lifestyle; it is
our sincere hope these paths will be used year-round for walking,
jogging, strollers, skating and even cross- country skiing.”
A special acknowledgment was made to the young park patrons who
assisted in the ribbon cutting;
Lorena James, (age 9); Miles James, (age 7) ; Curtis Steed, (age 17) and
Janell Steed, (age 7).
The James H. Cummings Foundation, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit
corporation organized in New York in July of 1962 for the purpose of
complying with certain directions in the will of its founder and
namesake. James H. Cummings was a resident of Buffalowhere he
owned and operated a pharmaceutical business, American Ferment
Company. Routinely spending 14-hour days working at his desk or in
the laboratory, Cummings built the company’s success around a group
of proprietary medicines which carried the trade name, “Caroid.”
The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is a 31-year-old, not-for-profit,
independent, community organization that promotes, preserves,
restores, enhances, and ensures maintenance of Frederick Law
Olmsted-designed parks and parkways in the Greater Buffalo area now
and for future generations. Last year, the Conservancy recently
released its Plan for the 21st Century, a blueprint for the management and
restoration of the entire park system. Listed on the National Register of
Historic Places, the Olmsted system in Buffalo is the first of its kind in
the nation designed,beginning in 1868, by America’s greatest landscape
architect, Frederick Law Olmsted.