Buffalo Snapshots: An Urban Micro Park

Hint: It's on the West Side, and it's named for an artist

I get a kick out of micro parks. Biking downtown the other day, I stopped to take a closer look at a fine micro park.

It is Sisti Park!

Dedicated in 1981, Sisti Park is named for the artist Anthony Sisti, better known as Tony Sisti. This tiny tribute to this Buffalo master is at the corner of Franklin and North streets.

My heart leapt because I thought at first I spotted a Conversation Pit. My brother George gave me an admiration for Conversation Pits, popular some decades ago. No one has ever had a conversation in a conversation pit! George pointed that out to me, quoting preservationist Tim Tielman.

These were not conversation pits, as it turned out. However it is similar concrete infrastructure. And modern sculptures. This is by Duayne Hatchett.

Sisti Park offers a great vantage point on the old Episcopal church across the street. What was the name of this church? Could someone chime in and tell me?

There is also this cool old house. I wish it were mine!

This magnificent old place is now, surprise surprise, a law office. I checked.

The flowers were mighty pretty and give a softer look to that brutalist concrete infrastructure. Terrific job, gardeners!

This photo would make a cool collage.

Buffalo historian Chuck LaChiusa will give you more details on Sisti Park here.

And Wikipedia can fill you in on Tony Sisti here.

As for me, I plan on returning to Sisti Park with a sketchpad. It offers such great views. It would be a wonderful place to sit and draw, as Tony Sisti looks down approvingly.

Mary Kunz Goldman is known in Buffalo for her long career on staff at The Buffalo News, writing about classical music and about the quirks of our town, which she continues to chronicle in her Thursday “Buzz” column. She is the author of “Sketches of Buffalo,” a book of drawings of her hometown. The Buffalo News’ classical music critic for 15 years, Mary is also the author of the bittersweet memoir “Pennario,” about her friendship with the great American piano virtuoso Leonard Pennario in the last year of his life. Keep up with her adventures through her independent online publication at MaryKunzGoldman.Substack.Com.