The Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center is a civic and social club located at 562 Genesee Street in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

History

''Dnipro'' was built in 1914, designed by the Buffalo architect duo of August Esenwein and James Johnson. Originally constructed to be the headquarters of the Fraternal Order Orioles, the building was purchased by the

Ukrainian American Ukrainian Americans are Americans who are of full or partial Ukrainians, Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent representing 0.3% of the American population. The Ukr ...

s community from the City of Buffalo in 1955. It was founded by immigrants that came to America as they had been displaced by World War II.Dnipro Treasurer Emil Bandriwsy
/ref> ''Dnipro'' was naturally named after the largest river in Ukraine, which flows past the capital of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

south to

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

, and splashes into the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. At ''Dnipro'', the Ukrainian community of Buffalo sought to establish a center where Ukrainians could socialize, maintain their cultural identity, pass their heritage onto their children, and organize political structures that would promote its independence from the USSR, and now protect its sovereignty. Hundreds of life changing events have been hosted at ''Dnipro'', such as weddings, musical concerts, theater, movie recordings, dance recitals, birthday celebrations, christenings, and anniversaries. ''Dnipro'' hosts annual events like "Malanka" New Years ballroom dance, and the Ukrainian Independence Day Festival in August. ''Dnipro'' is the home of the Ukrainian Federal Credit Union, Buffalo branch, which serves its members in Ukrainian, English, Russian and Polish 6 days of the week, every week since 1995. Since 2013, ''Dnipro'' has provided "Ridna Shkola" Ukrainian Saturday School with 5 classrooms, and has hosted its biannual performances at the second floor "Velika Zalya" Great Hall. Ukrainian American Youth Association "CYM" and women's choir "Mriya" meet at ''Dnipro'' regularly. In 2014, the building turned 100 years old, and in 2015, Ukrainians celebrated their 60th year of it's ownership. ''Dnipro'' is a part of the Ukrainian American Freedom Foundation, which is an IRS recognized “article 501(c)3

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

”. All donations are tax deductible.

References

{{coord, 42.895670, -78.855486, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title Ukrainian-American culture in New York (state) Cultural centers in the United States 1914 establishments in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York Buildings and structures completed in 1914