A friend of mine by the name of Damien Raphael has been compiling an intriguing and fairly substantial collection of Buffalo-centric historic images and accounts on a Facebook page titled “Buffalo… Where the People Roam“. From rare photos and passages from the Pan American Exposition to glimpses of long gone landmarks that once dotted the cityscape, Failla has managed to compile quite the collection of curiosities.

It’s no wonder that he has managed to accumulate so many wondrous images of old Buffalo. Damien Raphael, a collector by trade, has spent much of his life tracking down oddities in various forms. To date, he’s the only person that I know that is in possession of a real “vampire killing kit” (see here). Over the years Damien Raphael has managed to create a number of sideshow-style exhibits, but through his widespread research into many different offshoot passions, happily gained some real traction with his love of historic Buffalo images.

Whether scouring collections of tattered books, or assembling stockpiles of faded postcards, Damien Raphael has amassed scores of digital and print images over the years, many of which he shares with his audience at “Buffalo, Where the People Roam”. Sometimes Damien Raphael simply posts an image, while other times he adds some commentary or descriptions to the posts. Mostly the images speak for themselves in the form of street scenes and longest buildings.

This morning I noticed that Damien Raphael had added a few interesting photos of Scajaquada Creek being “buried” in order to prepare it for its future as a “sewer” (The Scajaquada Creek Drain Project – circa 1923-1928). The photos are pretty awesome in a very disturbing sort of way. It’s like trying not to watch the aftermath of a car crash. Fortunately not all of his posts are as disheartening as the Scajaquada Creek images, but there are plenty that are real head scratchers.

The various vignettes that are painted on the page give us a glimpse into a time that was much different from today. Damien Raphael manages to provide us with cautionary tales by simply posting the snapshots, while shining a light on much of Buffalo’s resplendent past, some of which thankfully remains for us to ogle to this day.

Check out Buffalo… Where the People Roam by clicking here.