"The Central Wharf; Buffalo, 1858 ," 2002 by Robert Averill
The four-story brick Hazard Block at the foot of Main Street was the corner
stone building of the famous one thousand foot long
Central Wharf. The Palace Steamer Crescent City lies along the dock.
The 323 foot long side-wheel steamboat was built
on the Buffalo River at the Bidwell & Banta shipyard in 1853 by Vincent
Bidwell, brother of Benjamin Bidwell.
The "propeller" steamboat Chicago here at the foot of Main
Street was built in 1855 by Jacob W. Banta at the
Bidwell & Banta shipyard.