Louis Zittel was born in Johnsonsburg, Wyoming County, New York in February 1836. His parents, Anna and Peter, came to the States from Germany shortly before Louis was born. Mr. Zittel was educated in the public schools. As a young man in the 1860s, Mr. Zittel moved to Buffalo and purchased a farm at the corner of Seneca and Cazenovia Streets. At the time, the area we know of as South Buffalo only consisted of four streets – Buffum, Seneca, Cazenovia and Indian Church. You could take a stagecoach to South Buffalo from Buffalo, and the trip was so long, it was generally only worth it if you were going to spend the night. Mr. Zittel established a post office in South Buffalo. Before 1891, the Post Office Department had no established policies regarding post office naming. Postmasters were allowed to name their post offices as they wished. Mr. Zittel named his post office “South Buffalo”, thereby creating the hamlet of South Buffalo and forever banishing “south side” from our city’s geography.
In 1887, Frederick Law Olmsted was commissioned to design a new park for the southern portion of the City (at this point, he had already designed what we know as Delaware, Front and Martin Luther King Parks). Olmsted’s original vision for the South Buffalo park consisted of a large waterfront park along the Lake Erie shore south of what is now Tifft Street, east to the railroad corridor. The original design was rejected as it was too costly, too likely to be damaged by storms coming off the lake and too far away from the residential areas of South Buffalo. In 1888, Park Commissioners began looking for another site suitable for park use. Three sites were identified to be used – the 76-acre Hart Farm which was being promoted for residential development along Cazenovia Creek, the grove at Mineral Springs, and a 156-acre just outside the southern boundary of the City limits. The Parks Commissioners ended up approving two parks, that we now know as South Park and Cazenovia Park.
Olmsted’s Cazenovia Park Plan
Louis Zittel was a strong proponent for creating the park at the Cazenovia Creek site. Serving as a Park Commissioner, Mr. Zittel worked hard to get the unused Hart Farm tract used as a park. The park is a monument to Mr. Zittel’s perseverance and interest in benefiting his section of the City. After the park was laid out, he moved to 150 Cazenovia Street, where he could view the park from his front windows. The property where his house stood is now the American Legion.
After his move, he subdivided his farmland and developed the streets surrounding the street that bears his name.
Mr. Zittel died on April 22, 1921 at his home on Cazenovia Street at the age of 87 years. He is buried in Forest Lawn.
To read about other streets, check out the Street Index.
Sources:
- “Proceedings of the Society”, Volume 26. Edited by Frank H. Severance. Buffalo Historical Society Publications, 1922.
- “Named after Park Commissioner”. Courier Express, March 12 1939, sec 5, p 12.
Discovering Buffalo, One Street at a Time 
Love this so much. I still wonder about Herman St. and whether it once had a canal or stream there.
Regards, Mary Ann
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The 76-acre Hart Farm belonged to my ancestors. My 2nd-great-grandfather, Henry Hart gave that tract of land to his son, Godfrey.
Love all this History. I grew up on Unger.
how cool this is to know!…so I live very close if not on the Hart Farm land on Buffum St!…c
Love the South Buffalo history.Grew up off Indian Church Rd. Regards Sally
How timely to see this post! My mom grew up on Zittel St in a house we only sold about 5 years ago, and her father also lived on Zittel St. as a child. This week my mom is in Buffalo visiting family. I could not make the trip with her, but now I have a little piece of Buffalo with me for the day. Another funny thing is that a post here by Cheryl says she grew up on Unger Ave. I also have had family live on Unger for decades and spent a lot of time there as a child. Small and interesting world.
Anonymous how long ago did your family live on Unger? My parents sold their house in 84.
I also grew up at 73 Zittel and moved across the street to 66 Zittel when I got married! We moved in 1984….This is so neat!
I grew up in a duplex on the corner of Zittel and Parkview ave. My grandmother bought it about 1925. I moved from it 1966. Bob Johnston
Hi Bob,
I lived across the street from you and next to McMorrows going towards Seneca. 46 Zittel….now in Lakeview,NY…those were some good times we shared. My bother and I sold the house after the death of my mother…about 17 yrs ago.
Ed Johnson
This is a reply to Ed Johnson who sent an email about living at 46 Zittel. What years did you live there. You mentioned the McMorrows and I knew them. Actually I talked on the phone a few years ago to Tom that is about my same age. He was in Albany. I know the house you lived in very well. Tell me more.
Bob Johnston
Daniel Zimmerman
I grew up at 38 Zittel. My grandfather, Dan, hauled paving bricks as a kid for several streets in the neighborhood (I think you can still see some on Junior). He and my father, Chet, worked as engineers on the Lehigh Valley RR. South Buffalo in the 1950s had branches of most downtown stores, beautiful Cazenovia Park with a casino and swimming pools, and steel dust on the porch every morning. The St. Lawrence Seaway destroyed all that, and it has not yet recovered.
[…] the sulpherated water. PB: Which posts have been your most popular? AK: My most popular post is Zittel Street – he’s the guy who decided the post office should be called “South Buffalo” […]
I grew up on Zittel street. My parents were there for 48 years. Great street.
Frank Sandor, what address on Zittel did you live? I delivered the Buffalo Evening News on Zittel, Fields, etc. for 5 years (1960 to 1965). Jerry Olati, lived on Zittel and delivered for 5 years before me. I knew Dan Zimmerman who posted above. I lived at 4 Parkview. grandparents at 6 Parkview, the duplex on the corner of Zittel and Parkview.
The anonymous message above was from Bob Johnston. I didn’t mean for it to be Anon.
Where is HAMMERSCHMIDT Ave? My Xmas cards would take 4ever when putting on my return address
How about Hammerschmidt Ave. Family lived over 40 yrs at 54. Near McCools and Breens who were living at 60 for 70yrs.
Proud to be born and praised in South Buffalo. Still live here.j
Loved on zittel st from 1933 to 1938 .