GreaterBuffaloBlog

The Open-Air Autobus, the Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture's vehicle for spreading the gospel of, well, Buffalo history, architecture, and culture, hits the road this year on Saturday May 26. The season continues through September.

This marks the fifth season of the Autobus, and several improvements to the retro vehicle have been made, including very cool snow leopard upholstery (left) and a roll-down, see-through rain fly that will have passengers laugh at the threat of rain.

Also new is a season ticket six-pack. All six tours, when purchased at once, cost only $100. Reserve for any available date throughout the summer of Buffalo love!

The innovation continues with payment possibilities. The Open-Air Autobus now accepts Discover and American Express cards, in addition to Mastercard and Visa. Receipts can be emailed to you.

As always, you can charter the bus for a tour of any duration. Base price is $600 for the 43-seat bus and two hours of expert, entertaining, and insightful commentary. Many groups (we've done families, school groups from elementary to college, law firms, ad agencies, block clubs, book clubs, and social clubs. You name the group or the occassion—birthdays, funerals, bat mitzvahs, weddings—we've done it.)

Call us at 716-854-3749 for info or to make a reservation.

Download the schedule here:  Download 2012 Autobus Tours

The Open-Air Autobus with new roll-down rain fly, now the complete urban safari vehicle!

 

City, Medical Campus, propose demolition of Iconic Trico Plant No. 1. Campaign for Greater Buffalo to vigorously fight for preservation of landmark

The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, in concert with the Buffalo Urban Development Corporation, chaired by Mayor Byron Brown, is proposing a demolition schedule for the huge and iconic Trico Plant Number 1, which occupies almost two square blocks on the northern edge of downtown. BUDC and the BNMC propose to start demolition in mid-April, internal documents show. Public records show the building is owned by BUDC.  The Campaign for Greater Buffalo strenuously opposes any demolition of the National Register-listed building, and will pursue all means to preserve the landmark.

Trico Plant No. 1. has a great deal of meaning for thousands of Western New Yorkers, those who worked there and their children, many of whom owe their college educations and careers to the generosity of Trico founder John Oishei. It occupies a full city block and more at a strategic location between downtown, the Fruitbelt, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, (BNMC)  and Allentown. 

As such, the building could serve as a catalyst for physical and social renewal. Instead, while BUDC has been a terrible steward of the building. Rather than rehabilitate it like similar buildings across the street and across the city, BUDC and BNMC decided under the previous administration that, for their purposes, the building should be demolished and become a parking lot pending possible development. The building, where work had begun to transform it into a multi-use complex featuring condominiums, had several bidders at an auction upon the death of the previous owner. BUDC ended up with it, for the sole purpose of facilitating its demolishing . It has made no attempt to repair or maintain the building despite pre-purchase knowledge of conditions.

The proposal for demolition beginning on April 15th is absurd and illegal. No public notices have been issued, and no required communication, let alone an application for demolition, has been made to the Preservation Board, which would require a public hearing. We urge the mayor, Common Council, and all elected representatives to put a stop to this immediately and to put the building on the road to rehabilitation in a way that serves not only the BNMC, but the adjacent residential neighborhoods and downtown businesses. What the city needs is a building that integrates itself into the fabric of the community and strengthens it, not another gaping hole in that fabric.

The building is structurally sound and is in no danger of collapse.  It is a strong building that can endure.  The building could easily be converted to new uses that would benefit the community and the owners. Many similar factory buildings in Buffalo, and elsewhere, have been adapted for other purposes, like the Trico plant on Main Street that is now the Tri-Main Center, the Larkin at Exchange building, 79 Perry Street in the Cobblestone District, and, indeed, the M. Wile Building directly across Washington Street.

In addition, as the building is on the National Register and meets many criteria for local listing as well, any project the adversely effects the building would require a full Environmental Impact Statement under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Similarly, if there is any Federal funding or regulatory action involved, a demolition project would require review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. It would also have to be in compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act. Finally, if any state funding is involved, or any action by a state agency, a review by the State historic preservation officer, under the New York State Historic Preservation Act, is necessary.

 

City wants to demo old Broadway arsenal/armory/auditorium; Campaign has an alternative

The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency and the administration of Mayor Byron Brown are promoting the demolition of Buffalo’s oldest continuously occupied civic building, built as the New York State Arsenal in 1858. Today known as the Broadway Garage, it stretches from Broadway to William Street, one block east of the Michigan Avenue. BURA, Brown, and other civic leaders are painting the facility as an eyesore standing in the way of the renewal of the adjacent Michigna Aveenue heritage corridor. The corridor includes such landmarks as the Nash House, the Michigan Street Baptist Church, and the Colored Musician's Club. The Nash house is directly across Nash Street from the facility, used as the base for the city's garbage trucks and snow plows.

The New York State (Broadway) Arsenal as completed in 1858

The Arsenal was designed by the acclaimed Neo-Gothic architect Calvin Otis, and was home to the 65th and 74th regiments, which mustered in and out of the building during the Civil War.  The 65th was Buffalo’s oldest regiment, founded in 1818, seven years before the Erie Canal was completed. The 74th included Nelson H. Baker. After the war, Baker became one of the first students at Canisius College, and went on to seminary school at Niagara University. He was ordained a priest in 1876 and eventually was assigned to a settlement house run by the diocese on Ridge Road. He never left. He built that institution into a famous boys’ home and Our Lady of Victory Basicila. He became known simply as Father Baker, and is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church. 

Otis (1814-1883), was a prominent architect nationally, contributing many designs to Andrew Jackson Downing's influential  Rural Residences, and whose buildings, drawings, and essays helped shape the Gothic Revival in the United States.  Otis opened an office in Buffalo in 1846. He quit is practice to join the Union Army, probably mustering out of the Arsenal he designed. He returned to Buffalo in 1864 and partnered with Frederick Hampel for three years before once again becoming a sole practitioner until 1869.   That year he published Sacred and Constructive Art: Its Origin and Progress.  Sadly, none of his buildings, except for the Arsenal, survive in Buffalo. His most notable surviving structures are Grace Episcopal Church, Galena, Ill. (1847), and the Mariner's Church in Detroit, (1849). 

 

In 1884, the 65th Regiment added an enormous drill hall from the front wall of the old arsenal all the way to Broadway. The first hall that could accomodate an entire regiment, it was formally opened by Governor and  President-elect Grover Cleveland. The entrance was surmounted by a large golden eagle. 

 

Post card image of the Broadway Armory after its 1909 conversion into Buffalo's first civic arena, the Broadway Auditorium. The building hosted conventions, political rallies, six-day bicycle races, boxing matches, and professional and amateur ice hockey.

The 74th Regiment moved out of the Arsenal after to its own armory after the Civil War. The 65th responded by adding a huge drill hall to the Arsenal in 1884. The drill hall was 270 feet long and over 160 feet wide, a studendous space in those days, the largest gathering place in the city. Prior to its construction, no hall in the city was big enough to allow a full regiment to drill. New York Governor and President-elect Grover Cleveland formally opened the drill hall. Cleveland, of course, was also a former mayor of Buffalo.

The 74th did not want to be "showed up" by the glorious 65th drill hall. It took a while, but the 74th eventually built the even larger Connecticut St. Armory of 1899. The 65th did not take this laying down, and by 1902 had begun building what was colossal armory on Masten Avenue. Its footprint was almost four acres in area, and its drill hall was said by the architect to be the world's largest. It lorded over the 74th and the whole city when it opened in 1907.   

 

The 65th’s old armory was, after much debate, converted into Buffalo’s first civic auditorium. Known as the Broadway Auditorium, it opened in 1909 and was the site of major political speeches, six-day bicycle races, boxing matches, conventions, and hockey games. It was vacated in 1940 with the opening of Memorial Auditorium. In 1948, a fire destroyed most of the original arsenal except for the portal and battlemented towers embedded in the drill hall addition. The building became the central garage for city's Streets Department that year, with Stalinist additions obscuring its grandeur and value. Walk inside, and walls and  magnificent span of the drill hall reveal themselves, intact wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. And, its limestone contrasting with the surrounding brick, the only remaining work of Calvin Otis in Buffalo, and the oldest fragment of a major public building left in the city, is the portal of the 1858 Arsenal.

 

Since 1948, the "Broadway Garage" has housed the Buffalo Department of Public Works's snow plows and garbage trucks.The splendors of the 1858 Arsenal and 1884 Armory are hidden by the Stalinist additions of 1948.

 

 

The massive 270' by 160' drill hall's roof and walls are intact, as is Calvin Otis's 1858 Arsenal portal, embedded in the rear wall

 

The Campaign for Greater Buffalo proposes that the 1940's additions be removed, and that the building be reoriented toward William Street and contain a world-class indoor track and other recreational and civic activities. Goal is to revitalize historic stretch of Michigan Avenue adjacent to downtown, which includes the landmark Michigan St. Baptist Church and the Nash House, across the street from the armory.

Now DPW wants to move to new quarters, and forces are fomenting demolition of the armory. Preservation and renewal of the armory is one of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo’s major initiatives. The Campaign has recommended peeling back most of the unsympathetic additions, and renovating it as “The Nash Street Armory,” a world-class indoor track venue and place for civic events and recreation, bringing visitors, attention, and reinvestment to a fascinating neighborhood.

 

 

The "Armory on the Hudson" in New York is run by foundation, and is worth emulating both for restoration and operations. In addition, a "Nash St. Armory" in Buffalo could feature outdoor markets and other activities on a broad, sunny courtyard.

Examples of renewed armories abound. Perhaps the most relavant would be the Hudson Armory in northern Manhattan, reborn as   a center for indoor track. It just hosted the famed Millrose Games for the first time.

 

See http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/nyregion/25armorytrack.html?scp=1&sq=armory%20track&st=cse. Also http://www.armoryonthehudson.org/aboutus.html.

Further, http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/03/24/nyregion/20110325-armorytrack.html.

Finally,  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/sports/othersports/05vecsey.html?scp=1&sq=armory%20track&st=cse

The  Park Slope Armory in Brooklyn  has a mind-blowing array of programs between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. M-F, and 7am-6pm weekends. Here is a great video of it: http://www.thirteen.org/thecityconcealed/2010/12/14/park-slope-armory-2/

The Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan. is undergoing a spectacular renovation, the armory has long been the home of antique shows and is now poised to become a mecca for giant art shows and theatrical spectacles as well: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/arts/the-park-avenue-armory-indisputably-big.html?scp=2&sq=park%20avenue%20armory&st=cseOne of the best examples of an Armory lending its form to an entire neighborhood is the new/old Armory Square in Syracuse, a model of urban infill and renovation. 

 

 

 

City official bringing back "Friday Afternoon Special" demo permits

Paladino eyes site for Rite-Aid, parking

By Tim Tielman

Commissioner James Comerford of the Buffalo Department of Inspections and Licenses is displaying a fondness for issuing potentially controversial demolition permits on Friday afternoons—thereby facilitating demolitions on weekends, when fewer people and media are out and about—that is bringing to mind the days of the Masiello-era  commissioner Ray McGurn. McGurn issued the infamous Friday afternoon demo order on the historic Harbor Inn, owned by developer and speculator Carl Paladino. 

That demo led to a new city law requiring demo applications to be reviewed by the Preservation Board, lest an important, but not yet designated, building “fall through the cracks.” Now another building Paladino had long wanted demolished, the Riverside Men’s Shop has fallen. The Art Moderne gem—the face of Riverside to generations of Buffalonians—was the victim of a hit issued by Comerford despite the knowledge that the Preservation Board, as it is charged to do in the public interest, was working on a landmark nomination form. Add Riverside Man’s Shop to the Wheeler Elevator (its 125-foot-tall marine tower infamously felled into the Buffalo River in December, during a baseless demo) and St. Mary’s on the Hill church (an "emergency," that the city, if anything, was responsible for, through improper mitigation) and it is dissappointingly evident that the Brown Administration, far from taking an enlightened approach to preservation matters, often falls back on the Inspection department's ingrained way of doing things—public, ordinances, spirit-of-the-law be damned.

The building had been bought by Paladino friend Charles Faso (Paladino owns three properties near the corner and it is generally known  wants to develop a Rite -Aid). Faso testified before the Preservation Board in February 2011 that he bought it, sight unseen, at public auction for $30,000. County records indicate a private sale. To his dismay, Faso said,  the basement was flooded and the building so damaged he didn’t want to renovate. Inspection by Preservation Board members revealed no evidence of flooding in any the three buildings that comprised the shop (the Art Moderne section being the newest), with the only damage a roof leak and crumbled parapet in the farthest extremity of the oldest building, without danger to the public. 

Nonetheless, Comerford, in a letter dated Friday May 6th, 2011,  authorized the “immediate release of a demolition permit” for the building, based on a visit he made the day before with a building inspector from his office and the demolition contractor retained by the owner. No attempt was made to contact the Preservation Board to participate in the inspection, no opportunity was given to challenge the assertions made in the authorizations (which included the chestnut about mold present, but did not indicate if the species—there are 400,000, fewer than 80 of which cause any human reaction at all, and only a few of which are considered toxic), nor was the Preservation Board given due notice of an impending demo order, as required. Instead, a copy of the order was sent via interoffice mail and not received by the Preservation Board until the next week, after the demolition of the Art Moderne building was completed.

As is typical with many politicized demos, there was great hurry to inflict irredeemable damage, after which the building and equipment sat idle for weeks. In this case, the iconic, structurally sound part of the complex was destroyed, while the dilapidated building with the damaged parapet was left standing. 

 

Trico Plant No. 1 endangered

Historic “daylight factory” target of city agency, med campus

“Let it rot” is the apparent strategy of the Buffalo Urban Development Corporation, the two-man city agency that has owned Trico Plant No. 1, downtown Buffalo’s iconic industrial landmark,  since 2007. The plant, visible from Lafayette Square to Allentown and the Fruitbelt, occupies the better part of two city blocks between Washington, Goodell, Ellicott, and Virginia streets. Trico was founded by windshield-wiper visionary John Oishei, who established the company as one of the world’s largest wiper companies.

The cultural impact of Oishei is hard to overstate: Thousands of Buffalonians worked at three local Trico plants over 70 years, and thousands of their children had their college tuitions paid by Trico. The John R. Oishei Foundation has for decades been the Buffalo area’s largest. Trico moved manufacturing to Mexico in stages beginning in the 1990’s. By 1998 it closed Plant No. 1. It was bought the next year by Stephen McGarvey, who hoped to convert it into offices and condos. The plant was placed on the National Register in 2000, clearing the way for significant incentives. Work had begun, including a roof tear-off, when McGarvey’s health and financial problems brought things to a halt.

McGarvey died in 2005, and his estate auctioned his properties. BNMC commissioned a conditions report completed in 2006, prior to the auction.The complex was bought by BNMC for $12.4 million, it was reported. Apparently by prior arrangement, BNMC transferred its rights to BUDC immediately, save for 640 Ellicott St., a 1954 structure that BNMC would use for an “Innovation Center.”

Twice, most recently in January 2010, BUDC came before the City of Buffalo Preservation Board to express the desire to demolish the plant, at a public cost of over $4 million. It admitted that it had spent nothing to address any problems noted in the conditions report, and wanted to demolish the plant for future development. In the meantime, it would be a parking lot. Twice, Preservation Board members offered to do their own site inspection, and twice BUDC did not respond.In late 2010, the Medical Campus issued an updated masterplan showing the Trico plant demolished, the site available for development. Last month the BNMC hosted Senator Charles Schumer, and announced that the Innovation Center was full and looking to expand. An optimist would see a restored Trico No. 1 as option no. 1. The realist would say the rationale is being lined up for a demo.  This one’s worth fighting for.

Open-Air Autobus Stars at National Trust Conference

The Campaign for Greater Buffalo's Open-Air Autobus drew crowds and smiles at the National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual conference in Buffalo. 2011 was the Autobus's most successful season ever, topped off by the Trust tours. We received grants for bus improvements including new seats and a roll-down transparent rain fly, and got them installed in time for the conference. Good thing, too. It drizzled on one tour and the weather was chilly on another. Packed preservationists stayed warm and dry. Check it out: While waiting for a tour to start, we spotted a Trust member who matched are new seating and asked her to pose for a shot: 

Susan McCartney Receives 'Preservationist of Century Award.' Esmonde, Franczyk, Healy, Zemsky, Wendt Foundation also honored

 

The Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture, whose members have been at the forefront of historic preservation in Buffalo for 25 years, honored Susan McCartney as the Buffalo “Preservationist of the Century”  at the Buffalo Preservation Awards on October 18, 2011. McCartney was recognized as the founder of the popular preservation movement in Buffalo. She played the leading role in saving the Connecticut St. Armory, the New York Telephone Building, the Genessee Building, St. Mary of Sorrows Church, the Allendale Theater, the Great Northern grain elevator,  the Plymouth Methodist Church, and more. In addition, she led the efforts to designate numerous structures and historic districts as local landmarks. These include the Joseph Ellicott and Hamlin Park historic districts, St. Vincent’s Orphan Asylum,  and the Buffalo Savings Bank building.   Left to right, Buffalo Preservation Award honorees for Lifetime Achievement Howard Zemsky, Donn Esmonde, Susan McCartney, Ed Healy, and David Franczyk. The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation also received an award at The Campaign for Greater Buffalo ceremony. Also recognized at the event for impact on historic preservation in Buffalo were columnist Donn Esmonde of the Buffalo News (Lifetime Award for Public Commentary); Fillmore District Council member and Buffalo Common Council President David Franczyk (Grover Cleveland Award for Lifetime Public Service); Edward Healy of Visit Buffalo Niagara (Lifetime Award for National Civic Promotion); the Margaret Wendt Foundation (Lifetime Award for Philanthropy); and Howard Zemsky, president of the Richard-Olmsted Corporation, past president of the Martin House Restoration Corporation, and developer of the Larkin District (William Dorsheimer Award for Civic Leadership). The honorees received framed Maxwell Tielman photographs of the landmarks they helped save save or promote. McCartney received an image of the Connecticut Armory, Esmonde a picture of the Commercial Slip in the Canal District, Healy a print of the Great Northern Grain Elevator, Zemsky a picture of H.H. Richardson's Buffalo State Hospital, Franczyk a photograph of the concourse of the Central Terminal, and the Wendt Foundation a detail of St. Mary of Sorrows church, now the King Urban Life Center. The event was held on the eve of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual meeting in Buffalo. The headquarters hotel of the National Trust, the Hyatt, was saved from demolition by McCartney and company. Developer Paul Snyder had originally wanted to demolish the Genesee Building for a new hotel, but, after a landmarking- and community-organizing campaign led by McCartney, was persuaded to do the largest adaptive reuse project effort yet undertaken in Buffalo. He even named the hotel's steakhouse after the building's architect, E. B. Green. The awards were presented before a packed house at the Western New York Book Arts Center at Washington and Mohawk streets.

 

City to present Draft of New Land Use Plan

On Saturday at ECC City Campus (9am - 3pm) the City of Buffalo is revealing the draft of its new land use plan. Public input is being sought. There is a good framework for enhancement of neighborhoods through historic preservation and infill. But there is always room for improvement! 

This plan hopes to advance a policy of walkable, dense, mixed-use neighborhoods, contrary to the suburban-style, 1953 zoning code the city is operating under. It is hoped that this land use code will influence the effort to rewrite the superannuated zoning code. The new plan will make it easier to maintain and enhance Buffalo's traditional urban fabric when new development occurs

If you miss Saturday's event, you can download the draft plan and send in comments until the end of November.

http://thegoodneighborhood.com/2011/10/26/city-to-unveil-buffalo-green-code-draft-future-development-plan-on-saturday/

www.buffalogreencode.com

 

Tielman tells National Trust Audience 'What it Means to be a Preservationist,' Hawley & Radle do a Duet on Hope

Campaign for Greater Buffalo executive director Tim Tielman told a packed house at the Market Arcade Theater what beign a preservationist means to The Campaign. Tielman introduced a segment of the documentary film Buffalo Unscripted, created for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The movie had its premier on Friday, Oct. 21. Campaign board members Chris Hawley and Bernice Radle closed the show with a meditation on hope. You can check out the movie info here:http://buffalounscripted.tumblr.com/

Tielman said, "Let me tell you what preservation means to us at the Campaign. Preservation implies action. Not merely celebrating those things of the past that have managed to survive, but actively working to make sure worthy buildings, parks, and neighborhoods do survive. 

"Preservation implies a willingness for front-line action when behind-the-scenes discussion isn't working. a willingness for the drudgery of research to uncover the story — that is surely there—that attests to worthiness of our action. 

"Preservation is a willingness to bring forth alternatives to destruction grounded in common sense, cultural respect, and value to our community— to do the public good. 

"Preservation is endurance. To fight vigorously, to tirelessly inform, to endlessly educate, to cajole, and when necessary, confront. Because, serendipity happens. The faded house and foresaken building may be so today, but with compassion, care, and understanding, they can shine tomorrow. In order to shine tomorrow, they must be saved today.

"Preservation is the knowledge that we are all in the same boat. We'd rather that boat be a well crafted sail boat or canal boat. Or an arc, with a place for everyone and everything, a bit cluttered and bearing the marks and character of time, but ever bobbing on the surface, calm or rough, being able to breathe fresh Cheerios-scented air. Not a sleek, cold, climate-controlled nuclear-powered submarine headed to the bottom.

"Lastly, to be a preservationist is to demand a role in creating the rooted, nurturing, sustainable history, architecture, and culture of tomorrow. To insure that our city does not have its humanity sacrificed to the machine, the whims of fashion, and maximum return on minimal investment. To fight to insure that our city reflects the warmth, depth, complexity and contradiction of us, it’s citizens."

 

Recognition for Campaign for Greater Buffalo co-founders

Donn Esmonde of the Buffalo News wrote an informative column on the achievements Campain for Greater Buffalo co-founders Susan Mccartney and Tim Tielman on the occassion of The National Trust for Historic Preservation convention in Buffalo. Worthwhile for the record and to pass on! http://www.buffalonews.com/city/columns/donn-esmonde/article602212.ece