He was not alone in this venture, which became, “world famous in the annals of the race-course.” The Driving Park was a popular attraction and at its height was able to draw over 40,000 people in a single weekend, earning it the nickname, “The Kentucky Derby of the North.” Hamlin’s Driving Park, which later was home to the Expo of 1888-1889 Hamlin purchased the land in 1868 and built the Driving Park as a harness racing track and polo grounds in the same year. One of Hamlin’s crowning achievements was establishing the Driving Park on Buffalo’s east side. The building is currently used as a restaurant and banquet facilities called the Hamlin House. Hamlin’s East Aurora farm was used to breed over 500 cattle per year and was quite the attraction. Hamlin built many other buildings in the area between 18, including a house for his family at 432 Franklin Street, which remains intact as an example of Italianate residential architecture. Although it has been altered over the years, the building is still extant. At the time it was built, it was “the largest store in the city and one of Buffalo’s most noteworthy buildings.” The building was dubbed, “The Hamlin Block” and was built for Barnes, Hengerer, & Co. Hamlin built a new building at 256-268 Main in 1888 that was designed by noted architect Cyrus K. He retired from the dry-goods business in 1871, but he continued to lease the Main Street building. This proved to be another successful venture for Hamlin, who enlarged the business and reorganized it under the name of Hamlin & Mendsen during the same year. He established himself as a key employee in the carpet and home furnishings company of Mendsen and Co. The partnership was dissolved the following year and Hamlin carried on alone until 1852. HamlinĬicero Hamlin moved to Buffalo in 1846 and established a dry-goods business under the name of Wattles & Hamlin, which was located at 252 Main Street. By 1839 he had established a general store in the village that was relatively successful. Hamlin moved to the Western New York region in 1836 and settled in East Aurora, a village to the southeast of Buffalo. His family was born in New England and his father was a Methodist preacher. Cicero Jabez Hamlin was born on November 1819 on a mountain farm in Columbia County, NY and was the youngest of ten children. The other component of the Hamlin Park district was originally home of Cicero J. Stay up to date with all things Hamlin Park by liking the hamlin park historic district on facebook.
#CARDINAL LAND 1382 HAMLIN PARK CIRCLE SERIES#
This series originally appeared on the preservation exchange and views of buffalo. Check back for additional installations in the series in the coming weeks. This information comes directly from the National Register nomination that Preservation Studios completed. Now that Hamlin Park has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places I’ve decided to do a short series of the history of the neighborhood.
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