To outsiders, Buffalo might be synonymous with Siberia, but those of us who live here know better. Winters here are mild compared to the plains states and Canada, and our summers are just about the sunniest, driest, and coolest in the Northeast, thanks to having one of the world’s largest natural air conditioners (Lake Erie) on our doorstep. When I moved here from Rochester, a city tied with Seattle for fewest hours of sunshine per year, my outlook on life improved dramatically. In case you think Buffalo gets unfairly singled out for climatological condescension, did you know that there’s a joke about Rochester’s grey skies?

Q. Why did George Eastman start the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester?
A. It’s the world’s largest natural darkroom.

But every sunny Buffalo summer has a stretch of hot, muggy weather, however mild compared to other North American cities, so this month’s column is devoted to Keeping Cool, in the temperature more than the hipness sense of the word.

http://subway.buffalonet.org/
Inside the Metro Rail Tunnels
One way to escape the heat: ride the rails. One of the great things about the subway is that it is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Buffalo was the first city in the US to build a light rail system in the automobile era and the last to expand it. Ever wondered what the subway looks like between stations? Thanks to an anonymous but plucky webmaster who apparently had access for surveying purposes, here’s a site with pictures of the Free Fare Zone, the tunnels, the stations, the crossovers, and the pump house. Our surveyor sarcastically recounts uncool attempts by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to censor the site out of fear that it would frighten riders away. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to promote ridership than by offering a really dank, dark & dirty behind-the-scenes tour.

http://bfn.org/preservationworks/bam/wat/cov.html
Buffalo’s Waterfront: A Guidebook
Another way to escape the heat: visit that large, outdoor air conditioner. Before our breezy harbor was desirable for recreational uses, it was a dense and complex workplace. Tim Tielman of the Preservation Coalition of Erie County edited this guidebook about the urban, industrial features of the Buffalo waterfront. Excerpts on the Americana, the Buffalo Lighthouse, the Swannie House, the Huron Grain Elevator, the Skyway, and the South Michigan Access Point are online. The book is still available in area bookstores and libraries.

http://www.iceboom.nypa.gov/
The Lake Erie-Niagara River Ice Boom
Last way escape the heat: visualize Lake Erie frozen over. Bet you had no idea that the famous ice boom, a barrier erected every winter to keep lake ice from clogging power stations on the Niagara River, had its own website. Both the ice boom and this website are brought to you by the New York Power Authority. This site has aerial and time-lapse video images, with links explaining the ice boom’s purpose, history, location, and more. Many are convinced that the unnaturally corralled ice pack on Lake Erie prolongs our winter weather, but the Power Authority denies this, explaining at the “Impacts” page that the 98% of the ice would have been stuck on the lake anyway. August the only time of the year when we miss the ice boom.