Larkin Power House - Demolition or Preservation?

A battle to save the Larkin Power House, 635 Seneca St., may be next on the preservation community's agenda. On the heels of the successful bid to save Trico Plant No. 1, the scuttlebutt now is that the Larkin Co.'s iconic power house is slated for demolition.

                                                                     Saved ! - 7/22/14

I confirmed these rumors on Tuesday afternoon, when contractors who were removing hundreds of bricks from the facade of the building told me that the building would be "imploded in about a month."

Does this mean that plans by Seneca Holdings LLC to reuse the building for loft apartments are off? No demolition permit has been filed, according to the Department of Permit and Inspection Services, but activity at the site does not bode well.

The Larkin Power House is one of Buffalo's industrial icons. It cannot be lost. Stay tuned for details. I suspect this will be the next big fight.

Update - The Campaign for Greater Buffalo is on this and will be submitting a landmark application to the City's Preservation Board, possibly tomorrow. 

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Photo of the Day: 45

Roehrer Avenue and Riley Street (google map).



One block from the Kensington Expressway the urban prairie is expanding, house by house, block by block.  This is neighborhood collapse.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Photo of the Day: 44

Jefferson Avenue and Riley Street (google map).



Jefferson Avenue's brick vernacular architecture is mostly abandoned, collapsed or demolished. Its replacement is punctuated by bad design, planning and missed opportunity. Hope is not a plan.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Photo of the Day: 43

Roehrer Avenue and Riley Street (google map).



Neighborhoods near the Kensington Expressway continue to unravel, house by house.  This former densely settled and compact neighborhood is frayed, fragmented and lacks the resources necessary for a vibrant public life.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Photo of the Day: 42

Landon Street and Roehrer Street (google map).

Neighborhood collapse is a result of the Kensington Expressway Effect. Who would want to sit at a cafe or develop a small business in a neighborhood ripped apart by demolitions left in the Kensington's wake?

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Photo of the Day: 41

Sidney Street and Lark Street (google map).



The Kensington has only served to erode a formerly compact and densely settled neighborhood. The destruction continues, one block away. First the boards, then the bulldozers.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Photo of the Day: 40

North Fillmore and Inter Park Avenue (google map).



The Buffalo Foundry and Machine Co., founded in 1902, made steel castings and machinery. The 18-acre complex is located on the Belt Line, is still in use for manufacturing, and was recently declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Buffalo's Preservation Ready Survey - Part II

Earlier this week the Brown Administration released a preservation report, Buffalo's Preservation Ready Survey. It was made available in PDF format only. I've mapped the 84 properties in the report that have been determined to be National Register eligible.



I've also compiled the data from the original report and provided an easily searchable and shareable spreadsheet to help better understand the City's efforts. Here's the link.

A more detailed analysis and commentary about this project will be forthcoming.

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Photo of the Day: 39

Humboldt Parkway and Girard Place (google map).



The Kensington Expressway Effect ripples through the neighborhood, the houses fall like dominos. First the corner house then the next one is sent to the landfill.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Photo of the Day: 38

Carlton Street and Peach Street (google map).



One of the East Side's most notorious zombie properties is located in the Fruit Belt directly across the street from the city's Futures Academy.  On this day the front door was wide open, again.  

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Buffalo's Preservation Ready Survey

Mayor Byron W. Brown today released a Preservation Ready Survey, which reveals properties in downtown Buffalo and along the Belt Line that are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Why is this important? Tax credits. With recent success stories like the Lafayette Hotel, Apartments at the Hub, and Tishman Building, it is becoming clear that New York State's Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit is getting results.

What's more important is that the Brown administration appears eager to extend these benefits to beyond downtown, into the industrial heartland of the East Side. At Brown's insistence, the historic survey included two industrial loft clusters along the Belt Line, which includes some of Buffalo's best, under-appreciated buildings. Most are vacant, awaiting savvy investors.

The Preservation Ready Survey was completed with an $80,000 grant from SHPO and National Grid. From the looks of the 348-page report (download here), the consultants appear to have been paid by the page. I'll publish a Google map in a few days that makes the report's content accessible to the average person.

Part II

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Photo of the Day: 37

Humboldt Parkway and Sidney Street (google map).



The Kensington Expressway's deleterious effects on the neighborhood are best viewed directly on Humboldt Parkway's sidewalks.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Photo of the Day: 36

Jefferson Avenue and Carlton Street (google map).



Traffic to and from the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus will become more efficient (i.e., faster) once this new Carlton Street connector to the Kensington Expressway entrance on Jefferson Avenue is completed.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Photo of the Day: 35

Humboldt Parkway and Girard Place (google map).



The neighborhood continues to absorb the cost of the Kensington Expressway. There have been a number of demolitions along this section in the last few years.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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Photo of the Day: 34

Sycamore Street and Johnson Street (google map).



A former livery with second floor living space serves today as reminder of the neighborhood's former density.  In the past 50 years there's been an 80% population decline.

Photos from this series are cross-posted on fixBuffalo's facebook page and archived here - Photo of the Day. 

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