How does a windswept parking lot with a soaring elevated highway recapture its former glory as the terminus of the Erie Canal? Through stakeholder engagement, historical research, urban development scenarios and detailed site design. And more stakeholder engagement. And then even more. And then, over a period of a few years, imaginations are stirred, cultural connections are re-established and history is revealed and reinterpreted. The result? A new civic destination in the city and a new real estate sub-market which attracts private investment and the re-birth of the city. The Buffalo Inner Harbor, once the lifeblood of one of America’s greatest cities, reasserts the power of the land meeting the lake.