Mel and Emily were live at Hoyt Lake because we have a new partnership with Olmsted Conservatory. It is called #MyParks. Anytime you come out to the parks this Spring and Summer make sure you use that hashtag because we are celebrating so much that these parks have to offer.
The Casino at Delaware Park is not what you think. When is a casino not a casino? Mel is with Greg Robinson, director of park administration at the Marcy Casino in Delaware Park. He tells us that typically park buildings around the turn of the century or the 1900’s, when this was designed, that the casino term was commonly used. At this location there has been a park structure ever since Olmsted designed the parks.
Originally, a boat house was designed for this location back in 1874. It was used to store boats on the lower levels for Hoyt lake and the upper levels were public gathering spaces and restaurant services very similar to what is used today.
Jason Davidson runs Magnolia Events at The Terrace at Delaware Park. He says it is not uncommon for people to show up looking for a casino because it says casino on their GPS. He goes on to say the original term for casino was park gathering space. For ten years now Magnolia Events has managed The Terrace at Delaware Park, opening up what was once an event space, to become a restaurant that can be enjoyed by everyone.
Stephanie Crockatt, Executive Director, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy says they have 850 acres of gardens. Something to look forward to, in the near future, are the Cherry Blossom trees. She says they are swelling now and getting ready to bud. The Cherry Blossom Festival will be virtual again this year.
Stephanie Crockatt, says they have 37 full-time people, but they hire over a hundred season workers to take care of the parks. They also need volunteers. Usually they have between 1,800 and 2, 000 volunteers that come out in a typical year. Last year, with the pandemic they had hardly any volunteers there so if you are looking to get outside and help their parks, they could really use your help.
Don’t forget to use #MyParks when you visit to show the world how beautiful our parks are.
