Western New York Heritage

Elk Street Series: Elk Street Business Area

Image from the turn of the 20th century shows a busy Elk Street (now South Park Avenue in this area) at the intersection of Louisiana Street. The peaked building midway along the right side is Public School 4. 

An earlier view of the same area. Note that the telephone poles carry fewer lines in this 1890 photo.

The same intersection in 2004. At right is School 4 (425 South Park Avenue), built in 1930 to replace the earlier structure, and closed within the last 4 years due to declining enrollment and district financial difficulties.

A 1902 map showing the view along Elk Street pictured above. Note the proximity to these images of St. Brigid's Catholic Church (destroyed by fire 1968) at 399 Louisiana St. It was the earliest (1859) of what would be three Catholic churches in this neighborhood (St. Stephens, c. 1875, at 193 Elk; and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 1897, at O'Connell and Vandalia).