BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — We all know how annoying potholes can be this time of year. They are everywhere. However, a pothole on Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo has revealed a piece of the city's history.
The discovery was made by Mike Lynch, a resident of Hertel Avenue, who noticed metal and brick in a pothole after driving his kids to school. Upon closer inspection, he realized it resembled a piece of a train track.
"It's my favorite pothole of all time," said Lynch. "I saw some metal and some brick, came out, took some pictures, and sent it to a friend that concluded that it looks like a train track or a former trolley car."
My conversation with Lynch had me wanting to learn more about the find, so I contacted the Buffalo History Museum.
Cynthia Van Ness, Director of Library and Archives at the museum, confirmed that the metal rail visible in the pothole is indeed a fragment of a streetcar rail line. Hertel Avenue once had a streetcar line running east and west, which began service around 1894-1895.
Streetcar service in Buffalo started as early as 1834, with horse-drawn cars transporting people from downtown to Ferry Street. The Hertel Avenue line was operated by the International Railway Corporation, which eventually transitioned out of rail service, handing over operations to the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority. The last streetcar in Buffalo ran on July 1, 1950, marking the end of an era as the city moved towards buses for public transportation.
While potholes are typically seen as nuisances, this particular one on Hertel Avenue has provided a unique glimpse into Buffalo's past.
"You know so much of what's cool about living in Buffalo is the history, and I think uncovering some of this history and making it useful again would be awesome," said Lynch, expressing a desire to see the return of streetcars to North Buffalo.
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