4/04/2006

Woodlawn Row Houses - April 2006

For those of you who are new to FixBuffalo, I take pictures of the Woodlawn Row Houses on regular monthly basis. Here's the archive. What started as local neighborhood blog documenting the "demolition by neglect" of the City owned Woodlawn Row Houses has morphed into a blog visited by 250-300 visitors and 134 subscribers everyday. Mostly local and dozens of ex-pats living miles away from Buffalo. Most posts as you will see deal with various opportunities, persistant problems and the the successes of this neighbor on the City's near East side, just behind Midtown, Buffalo's rapidly emerging new arts hotspot.
Woodlawn Row Houses - April 2006 Woodlawn Row Houses - April 2006 Woodlawn Row Houses - April 2006
click to enlarge
The Woodlawn Row Houses were designated a 'local-landmark' by the Preservation Board in 1981. As you can see they have entered the next phase of "demolition by neglect" in the past few months. They are owned by the City of Buffalo and part of our architectural heritage. This map will help orient you to the site and the proximity to the future new home of Performing Arts High School.
Woodlawn Row Houses - April 2006 Woodlawn Row Houses - April 2006
click to enlarge
I've done my best to board and re-board the Woodlawn Row Houses. I live one block away and have been mowing the grass and picking up around the place for the last three years. Mayor Byron Brown lives a few blocks away in Hamlin Park knows about the condition of the property and Masten District Councilman Antoine Thompson is aware of the rapidly deteriorating condition of the property, too. Last summer, I lead his assistant, Mark Boyd, around the neighborhood.

Aside from the fact that you wouldn't even know the Woodlawn Row Houses are for sale the concern for the safety of students attending the school across the street continues to go unheeded...I mean the place is still wide open...

It's been two years of phone calls, Buffalo News article, Artvoice article and cyber-activism. Nothing. Any suggestions? Leave a comment or e-mail me. Thanks.
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Artspace ArchiveAnnals of NeglectBAVPAWhere is Perrysburg?Broken Promises...
Writing the CityWoodlawn Row HousesTour dé Neglect - 2006faq

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm using this site for an arch project at UB. Can you tell me anything about the back of the building-- What's original and what might be an addition?

fixBuffalo said...

Please email me. davidtorke@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

I know someone that lives around the corner on Emerson so I pass here all the time. I was wondering what happened. Are the row houses on Emerson a landmark? We are looking into making an investment in housing to rehab and also for income. We want it to help better the living standards in the city.