Ruben (Bud) Bakewell Ice Rink

Situated on 39 acres (16 ha) in the far northwest corner of the city, Riverside Park features facilities for every outdoor activity imaginable: baseball diamonds, football and soccer fields, basketball and tennis courts, a swimming pool, a playground, and the Ruben "Bud" Bakewell Ice Rink. Riverside Park was the last addition to Buffalo's Olmsted park system — it was not conceived and built until after Frederick Law Olmsted's death, commissioned by the city in 1898 and designed by his two sons. Riverside Park was intended to finally fulfill the elder Olmsted's dream of a true waterfront park for the city and included all the classic Olmsted elements — a meadow, footpaths, wooded thickets, and a carriage concourse — as well as pleasant minnow pools along its northern boundary. It was to have been connected to the rest of the park system by Roesch Avenue, a parkway leading north and west from Delaware Park which was never built. Sadly, Riverside Park is probably the least well-preserved of Buffalo's Olmsted parks today, owing to the construction of Interstate 190 along the canal bed and the removal of many of the historic Olmsted features. However, the scenic overlook still provides a stunning view over the Niagara River (with direct access to the shore provided by the Irene K. Gardner Pedestrian Bridge over the expressway), and the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy unveiled River Rock Gardens in 2014 on the former site of the minnow pools, now reinterpreted as a large chain of stone-bedded rain gardens peppered with greenery, traversed by footpaths, and centered on an elegant stone arch bridge.

It was scarcely possible to be a rock fan in Buffalo in the 1990s and early 2000s without having an intimate familiarity with the old Showplace — it was a linchpin of the local scene, with a list as long as your arm of punk, alternative and indie bands who graced the stage at this former silent movie palace just before reaching megastar status. Then in 2019, after a twelve-year hiatus, the marquee lights flickered back to life and the Showplace went back to doing what it does best. Nowadays, rather than up-and-comers, new owner Joe Roxbury has a penchant for booking 1980s and '90s throwback acts, especially in the glam-metal genre: recent shows as of this writing include Slaughter, Ratt, Bret Michaels, Aaron Carter, and the Ying Yang Twins.

The Black Rock Historical Society's small storefront exhibit space opened in 2015 in a building they share with the Black Rock Riverside Alliance, and its exhibits represent ten years of acquisition by museum curators from their personal collections and donations from neighborhood residents and businesses. Through a series of historic photographs, artifacts, and other exhibits, the 200-year story of the Black Rock, Riverside, Grant-Amherst, and West Hertel neighborhoods — one of the most historic areas of Buffalo — is recounted. The Black Rock Historical Society also offers brochures for several self-guided walking tours around the neighborhood, covering everything from historic sites from the War of 1812 to modern-day community gardens.

Located at the former St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in the heart of historic Black Rock, the mission of the Buffalo Religious Arts Center is to salvage and display some of the works of religious art contained in the many churches and other places of worship (particularly on the East Side) that have closed their doors in the wake of Buffalo's half-century of population loss. In addition to the priceless works from other churches that curator Mary Holland has collected, such as statuary from St. Mary of Sorrows, icons from SS. Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Church, and various items from Temple Beth El, St. Francis Xavier itself is a magnificent old building full of beautiful and uplifting art which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was a longtime cornerstone of the Black Rock community.

Operated by the same team of folks behind the Eleven Twenty Projects gallery on Main Street in Midtown, Black Rock's Argus Gallery launched in spring 2017 with a focus on supporting and nurturing emerging artists who come from communities that are underrepresented in the art world, through the exhibition of contemporary works in a variety of media that explore thought-provoking and sometimes controversial themes.

Owned and operated by the impresarios behind the Sportsmens Tavern (see below) yet about as far as you can get from the rowdy, raucous roadhouse vibe of that place, what the Imagine Event Center offers, in their own words, is "an intimate listening room, combined with wine, craft beers and topnotch acoustics for the best listening experience in Buffalo". What's to listen to? Local artists working in a wide diversity of genres, from rock to jazz to worship music to the "Bridging the Gap" live poetry/hip-hop series.