Thearchitecture ofBuffalo, New York, particularly the buildings constructed between theAmerican Civil War and theGreat Depression, is said to have created a new, distinctly American form of architecture and to have influenced design throughout the world.[1]
Buffalo's original plan from the early 19th century was loosely based onPierre Charles L'Enfant's1791 plan forWashington, an Americanized version ofParis's system of radiating boulevards. Buffalo's radial street grid was designed byJoseph Ellicott and complemented by a system of parks and parkways designed byFrederick Law Olmsted. Buffalo was the first city for which Olmsted designed an interconnected park and parkway system rather than stand-alone parks.
During theCentennial Exposition of 1876 inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania,Frederick Law Olmsted declared Buffalo to be "the best planned city, as to its streets, public places, and grounds, in the United States, if not in the world."[2]
According toThe New York Times architecture writer Nicolai Ourousoff:
Buffalo was founded on a rich tradition of architectural experimentation. The architects who worked here were among the first to break with European traditions to create an aesthetic of their own, rooted in American ideals about individualism, commerce and social mobility.[1]
The city contains buildings designed by American architecture masters likeFrank Lloyd Wright,Louis Sullivan, andHenry Hobson Richardson, making Buffalo one of the most architecturally significant cities in America. It also contains many buildings designed by modern architects includingMinoru Yamasaki,Toshiko Mori,Marcel Breuer[3] andHarrison & Abramovitz.
| Rank | Building | Height feet/meters | Floors | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01.01 | Seneca One Tower | 01.0529 / 161 | 40 | 1972 |
| 02.02 | Buffalo City Hall | 02.0398 / 121 | 32 | 1931 |
| 03.03 | Rand Building | 03.0391 / 119 | 29 | 1929 |
| 04.04 | Main Place Tower | 04.0350 / 107 | 26 | 1969 |
| 05.05 | Liberty Building | 05.0345 / 105 | 23 | 1945 |
| 06.06 | One M&T Plaza | 06.0317 / 97 | 21 | 1966 |
| 07.07 | Electric Tower | 07.0294 / 90 | 14 | 1912 |
| 07.08 | St. Paul's Cathedral | 07.0275 / 84 | N/A | 1851 |
| 09.09 | 50 Fountain Plaza | 09.0275 / 84 | 17 | 1990 |
| 10.010 | Buffalo Central Terminal | 10.0271 / 83 | 20 | 1929 |
Numerousarchitects andlandscape architects have constructed landmark buildings and park systems of varying styles inBuffalo. They include:
TheAlbright–Knox Art Gallery was designed in 1890 architectEdward Brodhead Green and funded by Buffalo entrepreneur and philanthropist,John J. Albright, a wealthyBuffalo industrialist. It was originally intended to be used as the Fine Arts Pavilion for thePan-American Exposition in 1901, but delays in its construction caused it to remain uncompleted until 1905. In 1962, a new addition was made to the gallery through the contributions ofSeymour H. Knox II and his family, and many other donors. At this time the museum was renamed the Albright–Knox Art Gallery. The new building was designed bySkidmore, Owings and Merrill architectGordon Bunshaft, who is noted for theLever House in New York City. The Albright–Knox Art Gallery is listed in theNational Register of Historic Places.
TheBuffalo Central Terminal is a 17-storyArt Deco style station designed by architectsFellheimer & Wagner and built in 1929 for theNew York Central Railroad. The terminal "was built to handle over 200 trains and 10,000 passengers daily, as well as 1,500 New York Central employees. It included shops, a restaurant, soda fountain, parking garage and all other services required for daily passenger operations."[4] It was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on September 7, 1984.
TheBuffalo City Court Building is namedFrank A. Sedita City Court (for Buffalo mayorFrank A. Sedita), and designed byPfohl, Roberts and Biggie. It is a 10-story court house built in 1974 and located inNiagara Square and adjacent toBuffalo City Hall. The structure is a classic example ofBrutalist architecture; its façade is dominated by largePrecast concrete panels with narrow windows. The design was conceived with limited windows in order to keep the courtrooms and judges' chambers free from outside distraction.[5]
Buffalo City Hall is a 32-storyArt Deco building and was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones. Its walls are faced with Ohio sandstone and gray Minnesota limestone, above a base of gray granite. The exterior and interior are adorned with symbolic figures and decorations representing Buffalo's history, including theIroquois Indians, the steel industry, law and education, electrical energy, and the waterfront community. In the lobby, there are four statues, "each which represent the characteristic of good citizenship, Virtue, Diligence, Service, and Fidelity."[6] It was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on January 15, 1999.
TheBuffalo History Museum was constructed in 1901 as theNew York State pavilion for thePan-American Exposition of 1901 and is the sole surviving permanent structure from the exposition. It was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1980, and designated aNational Historic Landmark on February 27, 1987.
TheBuffalo Main Light, also known asThe Buffalo Lighthouse, is Buffalo's oldest building. It was built in 1833 and deactivated in 1914. It appears on the city seal at the mouth of the Buffalo River. It is also one of the oldest lighthouses on the Great Lakes. The walls of the tapered, unpainted octagonal limestone tower are four feet thick at the base and rise to 44 feet in height. The foundation material was stone molehead and the lighthouse was constructed out oflimestone andcast iron. The shape of the tower was octagonal and was 60 feet (18 m) high. The lens installed in 1857 was a third orderFresnel lens.[7] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
TheDelaware Park System is a historicpark system and nationalhistoric district located in the northern and western sections ofBuffalo. The park system was designed byFrederick Law Olmsted andCalvert Vaux and developed between 1868 and 1876. The Park System comprises many parks, Delaware Park being the largest (encompassing 376 acres). There are also Gates Circle, Chapin Parkway, Soldier's Place, Lincoln Parkway, Bidwell Parkway, and Front Park, among others. The park system was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1982.
TheLarkin Administration Building wasFrank Lloyd Wright's first commission in Buffalo. Larkin executiveDarwin D. Martin hired Wright to design a building that would house the large number of clerks needed to operate the mail-order business for theLarkin Soap Company. Because the building would be located in an industrial part of town, it was necessary to make the building as attractive as possible to women, who made up the bulk of thewhite collar work force.[8]
The Larkin building was Wright's first commercial commission[9] and he designed not just the building, but also the furniture, light fixtures and the china for the workers' cafeteria. Where possible, files and furniture were built into the structure, and he created desks with attached chairs that could swivel to save room. Wright included a pipe organ for lunchtime entertainment, a lending library and aconservatory to allow employees to rest and commune with nature. TheLarkin Administration Building is significant for its comprehensive design, where every element performed a specific task, as well as being the first modern office building that separatedblue-collar andwhite-collar workers.
The Larkin Company went out of business in 1937, and the building was sold. Eventually, the City of Buffalo took it over for back taxes planning to demolish it for a trucking plaza. Despite community outcry, the building was torn down in 1950.
TheOld Post Office is a historicpost office building located at 121 Ellicott Street inBuffalo inErie County, New York. It was designed by the thenOffice of the Supervising Architect,Jeremiah O'Rourke, when construction started in 1897. The $1.5 million (equivalent to $56,694,000 in 2024) building opened in 1901 during the tenure ofJames Knox Taylor and operated as Buffalo's central post office until 1963 and was the tallest building in the city from 1901 to 1912. The highly ornamentedGothic Revival style four-story building features a 244-foot tower over the central entrance and a roofed courtyard. It was subsequently occupied by federal offices.[10] Since 1981, it has been home to the city campus ofErie Community College. Its tower is 74.4 meters tall.[11][12]
ThePrudential (Guaranty) Building was completed in 1896 and was designed by Chicago architect'sLouis Sullivan andDankmar Adler. It remains one of the firstskyscrapers ever built with a steel structure and is embellished withterra cotta blocks. It was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on March 20, 1973, and designated aNational Historic Landmark on May 15, 1975.
TheRichardson Olmsted Complex is a grouping of Medina red sandstone and brick hospital buildings designed in 1870 in theKirkbride Plan by architectHenry Hobson Richardson with grounds by landscape architectFrederick Law Olmsted. The complex was the largest commission of Richardson's career and marks the beginning of his characteristic "Romanesque Revival" style known as "Richardsonian Romanesque." It was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on January 12, 1973, and designated aNational Historic Landmark on June 24, 1986.
There are several sculptures and monuments located throughout the city, including:
TheBirge-Horton House was designed in 1895 by the Buffalo architectural firm ofGreen and Wicks and is aGeorgian Revival style row house in "The Midway" section of Delaware Avenue. It is a four-story brick house with stone trim. The house is situated within the boundaries of theAllentown Historic District.[25] The Birge-Horton House was the last of the thirteen luxury row houses built from 1893–1895. All were four-story houses, and each house is the work of varying architects and of different designs; however, they give an overall appearance of unified composition because of similarities in height, width, and construction materials.
TheCharles W. Goodyear House was designed byBuffalo architectEdward Green, of theBuffalo architecture firm Green & Wicks, and was completed in 1903 at a cost of $500,000 (equivalent to $17,498,000 in 2024). The home was built forCharles and Ella Goodyear. The house is located in theDelaware Avenue Historic District, a federally designatedhistoric district listed on theNational Register of Historic Places since 1974. The exterior of the2+1⁄2-story house is brick trimmed with stone. Themansard roof includes a row ofdormers withpedimented tops with afestooned motif that runs along the roofline above a dentilled cornice. The principal entrance is on the north (right) side of the house denoted by a large arched doorway, bordered on each side by stoneurns. The east façade facing Delaware Avenue has a one-story porch with columns, that was later bricked in.[26]
TheDarwin D. Martin House was designed byFrank Lloyd Wright and built between 1903 and 1905 forDarwin D. Martin, an executive of theLarkin Soap Company. Martin chose Wright to design his own house because he was so impressed with Wright and his design for theLarkin Administration Building.[27] The Martin House is considered to be one of the most important projects from Wright'sPrairie School era. Compared to other Prairie Houses, the Martin House is unusually large and has an open plan containing 15 distinctive patterns of nearly 400art glass windows, designed by Wright, some of which contain over 750 individual pieces of iridescent glass, that act as light screens to connect exterior views to the spaces within. More patterns of art glass were designed for the house than for any other of Wright's Prairie Houses. It was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on February 24, 1986, and designated aNational Historic Landmark, also on February 24, 1986.
TheTheodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, also known as theAnsley Wilcox House, at 641 Delaware Avenue was built in 1840 by George Cary (U.S. Army) originally intended as the Barrack's officer's quarters. After the post was disbanded in 1845, the home reverted to a private residence. Subsequent owners continued to modify the structure adding and demolishing out structures and additions. In the late 19th century, Dexter Rumsey gave the property to his son-in-lawAnsley Wilcox and his wife Mary Grace Rumsey. The newest inhabitants made extensive renovations to the structure.
In 1901, while attending thePan-American Exposition, anarchistLeon Czolgosz shot PresidentWilliam McKinley.Vice-PresidentTheodore Roosevelt rushed back to Buffalo, but arrived only after McKinley had died. Due to the tragic and politically charged circumstances of the President's death, the inauguration was held immediately, and the most appropriate site was determined to be the Wilcox home. Approximately 50 dignitaries, family members and cabinet officials gathered in the front library for the inauguration and Federal JudgeJohn R. Hazel administered the oath. The Wilcoxes continued to live in the home until their deaths in the 1930s. TheNational Historic Site was authorized on November 2, 1966. As a historic area administered by theNational Park Service, it was automatically listed on theNational Register of Historic Places the same day.
TheWilliam Dorsheimer House was designed and built in 1868 byHenry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886) forWilliam Dorsheimer (1832–1888), a prominent local lawyer andLieutenant Governor of New York. It is located on Delaware Avenue inBuffalo and is a2+1⁄2-story brick dwelling. It represents the profound influence of French ideas on the arts in the postCivil War period.[28] It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1980.
TheWilliam R. Heath House was designed byFrank Lloyd Wright, built in 1904–1905, and is located at 76Soldiers Place inBuffalo, New York. It is built in thePrairie School architectural style. William Heath was a lawyer who served as office manager, and eventually vice-president, of theLarkin Company in Buffalo.[29] Heath's wife Mary was a sister ofElbert Hubbard, a former Larkin executive.[29][30] The property was a deep and narrow corner lot, facing a largetraffic circle. This presented Wright with the problem of situating a substantial Prairie house, with its characteristically open structure, in a confined space with twice the street exposure. The house was placed with its long axis right up against the Bird Ave. sidewalk with sections of the traffic circle acting as the grounds that a house of this standing would normally possess.[31]
Before 1900:
1900–1920:
1920–1939:
1940 to the present:
Buffalo architects used many design styles and belonged to a variety of architectural schools. Below is a sample of some of the styles and schools and schools found in Buffalo architecture:
