A Grand conclusion: Staircase renovations completed in Delaware Park

And now it’s OK to walk on it again.

After being closed for almost two years for a restoration project, the Grand Staircase that rises from Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park to a view of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and dates to the time of the Pan-American Exposition, is open again.

The project, started in late 2021, marks the first time that the stairs have undergone major renovations since their initial construction in the early 1900s. The staircase is among the oldest remaining features of Delaware Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

As the foundation underneath the staircase began to erode, the need for repairs became evident to the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, which oversees the park. Over the last decade, the stairs began to reach a “critical point of deterioration,” according to a statement from the conservancy on its website.

The conservancy worked to preserve parts of the original staircase while restoring others. They kept many of the original granite stones, while reconstructing the foundation of the stairs and sourcing replacement stones for the ones that could not be restored.

The estimated $700,000 restoration was projected to be completed last year. The conservancy plans to publicly announce the official completion of the stairs after receiving approval from the City of Buffalo. An unveiling ceremony is likely to be held in September, said Beth Downing, the conservancy’s interim executive director.

The conservancy hopes that the stairs will continue to serve as a centerpiece and focal point of the park.

“With the new construction and improvements to the renamed Buffalo AKG Art Museum … the staircase restoration provides a tremendous opportunity to enhance this beautiful viewshed once again,” the conservancy said in a statement on its website. “Across the entire community, people access these steps for weddings and…