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The urban streetscape around the Broadway Public Market is in grave jeopardy of being lost forever.  Neglect and demolition are erasing Gibson and Lombard Streets from the Historic Polonia District. The preservation of these streets is VITAL to the future growth and development of Buffalo's Public Market and the surrounding neighborhood.

The Broadway Public Market wall: Westside of Lombard Street

Prior to the building of the current Broadway Public Market structure in the mid-50s, the Market was a mix of indoor and outdoor retailers. For the most part, outdoor produce stands surrounded a large Victorian-era structure that housed butchers and bakeries.  

Increased usage of the automobile in the 1950s, completion of newly built suburban plazas, a need for parking for the entire Broadway/Fillmore Shopping District and calls to build a modern market structure resulted in the current building opening in 1956. What resulted was a parking garage with a public market on the ground level.  The interaction of market vendors with the neighboring streets was sealed off within concrete walls and non-descript entrances.
 
 

Why is saving the Gibson/Lombard Marketplace Important?

1)Demolitions in the Polonia District, over the last 5 years, has resulted in the loss of a critical mass of both commercial and residential structures. Demo'd sites around the Market, specifically the stretch of Gibson Street from Broadway to Sienkiewicz, are quickly creating a parking ramp surrounded by parking lots.

2)The loss of buildings will limit the ability to apply for State or National Historic District designations that will allow owners preservation tax credits and other development funds. Gibson & Lombard Streets might provide the structural density needed to apply for such preservation programs.

3) While preserving the entire Polonia District is now impossible, a concerted effort to SAVE Gibson and Lombard Streets will provide future generations the ability to experience the former urban density of this unique urban environment.

4) While building a modern Broadway Public Market on its current site might not be possible, development of both commercial and residential structures around the market will return street vitality back to the neighborhood and enhance the visitor's experience.

The Market Bar located at the corner of Gibson and Sienkiewicz Place

Sienkiewicz Place connects Fillmore Avenue to Gibson Street near the west side of the Broadway Public Market. Originally named Stettenbenz Street after one of Buffalo pioneer German citizens and master baker Anton Stettenbenz. Its name was changed during WWI to honor Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916). The establishment of a Save-A-Lot store in the 90s on the Market’s Gibson side has transformed the secondary doorway at Gibson & Sienkiewicz into the Market’s most used entrance way. Although no longer a tenant at the Market, Redlinski Meats still owns and operates a production facility at 19 Sienkiewicz. Redlinski also owns the famous Market Bar at the corner. On the north side of Sienkiewicz is surface parking.