Another Hidden Gem That Is Here In Buffalo

Have you ever passed something so many times and then one day something says to stop and take notice?

This happened to me over the weekend. I was walking past Lucky Day, I walk past their building almost every day when all of a sudden I noticed a  huge portrait on the wall that faces the All-Pro parking lot right on the corner of West Huron and Franklin (across from The Curtis).

I noticed a man starring at me. Not just starring though, it was as if he was looking directly into my soul. I started getting chills, it was creepy and eerie. The man's name is James Joyce.

Who is James Joyce? I felt like I should know him and I do after I clicked here. James Joyce was an Irish novelist, short story writer, teacher, poet, and literary critic who passed away in 1841. Similar to America's Mark Twain, James contributed some of the greatest novels of our time. Ulysses and Homer's Odyssey. And similar to Mark Twain who has an amazing room dedicated to all of his works and writings located in Buffalo's downtown public library, Joyce's works now call University at Buffalo home.

Now it is easy to focus on all the great bars, restaurants, concerts, festivals, and things going on along the waterfront but it really blows my mind that we have the complete original works of two of the greatest writers of the 20th century. Not bad for a city that has been the brunt of a lot of jokes and city shaming from outsiders.