Buffalo to Rename Columbus Park

After a unanimous vote by the City of Buffalo Common Council; Christopher Columbus Park, which is located on Buffalo's waterfront, is going to have a new name.

WKBW is reporting that this park is going back to the original name it had as part of the master park system plan that was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, Prospect Park.

According to the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, when the Columbus statue was installed in the 50's, there was a request to rename the park after the statue.

The common council credited the Italian-American community for the name change to Prospect Park, which is the original name of the park.
-WKBW

MORE: Christopher Columbus Statue Removed from Buffalo’s Columbus Park

There has been a fair amount of discussion and controversy surrounding the legacy of Christopher Columbus. Many local activists have argued for this park to be renamed, in addition to a number of communities across the country changing the name of the Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous People’s Day. This change in Buffalo is also the latest in a series of park name changes we have seen in recent years.

A new statue will be erected in Prospect Park that will portray a immigrant Italian family arriving in Buffalo.