Prior to being scarred by construction of the NY-198, Scajaquada Creek was a prominent landmark of the Black Rock neighborhood. Here, in a 1952 photograph by Robert J. Koch, is the intersection of Niagara and Tonawanda streets where the Scajaquada Creek, the bridge visible in the background, meets the waters of the Black Rock Channel. A healthy neighborhood enfronts the banks of the creek, not yet narrowed and placed in shadow by concrete viaducts. Visible in the foreground are two buildings that would be deleted by the expressway—on the left, the Black Rock Branch of the Marine Trust Company constructed in 1916, and on the right, a handsome substation of the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation. In the background, a Deco Diner and the Bowl-Away bowling alley are visible. Prior to its 1962 extension west to the Niagara Thruway, the NY-198 concluded at Grant Street. It is difficult to imagine repairing the environmental and economic harm of the expressway except by its complete removal.

Image courtesy of The Buffalo History Museum. Used by permission.