Labor Day crowds on Main Street near Lafayette Square, 1905.
Image source: private collectionLabor Day crowds on Main Street near Lafayette Square, 1905.
Image source: private collection
The photo was taken from the second story of the
German- American Insurance Building. The building across from Court Street
(to the left of the
Western Savings Bank) was the
German-American Bank which would be renamed Liberty Bank during World War I.
In the middlle of that block
was Adam, Meldrum & Anderson's
department store (dark structure with peaked roof). Most of the stores
on
that block were demolished in the
1960's
to
make way for the Main Place Mall.
Labor Day 1905, the 11th celebration of the national holiday, was celebrated in Buffalo with the energy that a new century and
burgeoning population created. Of the 358,236 souls living in the city, 32.2% were foreign-born, and another 30% were childiren of
one foreign-born parent. Only 23.3% of the city's population were American-born of American parents; from that group came the
business
ownership class of the city.
And they were builders. The Brisbane Building, barely visible above left, was nine years old; the Ellicott Square was ten years old.
Just opened were the Albright Art Gallery, the Weed Wholesale Building, Shea's Court Street Theater. And under construction
were the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Darwin D. Martin residential complex
and Larkin Administration Building.
Buffalo's heavy industry was growing, as well. The new Lackawanna Steel Plant was producing steel rails and pilings. The
Buffalo Electric Carriage Company was producing electric automobiles. Only 11% of private sector workers in the U.S. were
unionized (compared to 39% in 1958 and 7.4% in 2006.)
The average annual salary of a working class white man in 1905 was $440 - $490 ($9,520 - $10,600 in 2006 dollars) if he were
employed
all year,
which was generally not the case. A white woman could expect to make $273 if employed all year.
Despite having less than 1% of the population of the city, Buffalo's African-Americans organized in 1905 the first meeting of what
would be called the Niagara Movement, the predecessor to the NAACP.