East Lovejoy, Buffalo
The Lovejoy District is a neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. Lovejoy is the easternmost portion of the city, running along the city's border with Cheektowaga.The councilman of the area is Richard Fontana.
Lovejoy is named after Sarah Lovejoy, the victim of an Indian massacre during Niagara Frontier warfare during the War of 1812.[1]
Ethnicity
The main group of ethnicity in Lovejoy are Italian Americans. Many Italian immigrants came to Lovejoy after emigrating to Buffalo. Italian Americans are not the only group in Lovejoy, Polish Americans and German Americans are runners-up, however there are many other ethnicities in the area. The approximate ethnic breakdown is as follows: 75% European-Americans, 10% for both African-Americans and Latino-Americans, and 5% Asian-Americans.
The German and Polish started the Lovejoy neighborhood, the Italian immigrants did not start coming in until 1910 or so.
Schools
PS #43 is the primary school in the East Lovejoy area and many living in the area attend. It has architectural and significant history. Started in 1831 by Joseph Churchyard, the man who owned the land, the school created an annex on East Lovejoy and Benzinger Streets. This school is the current school #43. Built to accommodate 600 German children living in the area, the school had 49 classrooms, two gymnasiums, a cafeteria, and other features. In 1926, the amount of students attending was 1,662. Recently, the school underwent a 56 million dollar construction project that created another building connected to the old one, in place of the old parking lot. PS 43 is now one of the Buffalo Public Community Schools.
Another school that was located in Lovejoy before its close in 2009, is St. Agnes. It did not have enough money to pay for the school and thus closed down. It was in Lovejoy for over 100 years. It opened in the 1800s.
Churches
There are many churches in East Lovejoy, although many of the Catholic churches underwent closures. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo decided to close two of the churches due to economic issues, and rename the church they kept open, as well as getting a new pastor. The three churches, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Agnes, and Visitation, were closed, and the Saint Francis building is used under the new name Saint Kathrine Drexel with pastor Rev. James M. Monaco. There are many other non-Catholic churches, for example, the Evangelical Baptist Church, located on Longnecker and Ludington Streets, Immanual Evangelical Lutheran located on Lovejoy and Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church on Benzinger. The Trinity UCC closed in 2010 because of lack of parishioners. The Old German Evangelical Church built in 1883 under the name Trinity UCC on Gold St. has been purchased by Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry in 2010 to be its world headquarters at the East Lovejoy Campus on Gold St. It is now a diverse Apostolic Non-Denomination Church led by Senior Pastor Al Robinson. They are also responsible for the "Jesus on Blast" evangelical movement in western New York.
Parks
There are many parks in the Lovejoy area, including Hennipin Park, the main and largest park including a recently redone community center, Davey Park, and Moreland Field.
Iron Island
Iron Island is a popular nickname of Lovejoy, due to the fact it is entirely, or almost entirely, surrounded by train tracks (Tracks run along William Street, Broadway, many go through the Buffalo Central Terminal, and across William Street). The area also had a CSX building located on N. Ogden Street which was destroyed in a large fire in July of 2012
Notable people
- Carl Paladino, developer, Republican gubernatorial candidate in the 2010 New York State election, defeated by Andrew Cuomo. Originally from Lovejoy, he later relocated to South Buffalo.
References
See also
Coordinates: 42°53′22″N 78°48′46″W / 42.88944°N 78.81278°W
