ModernWNY 2022 Events

Ongoing self-guided tours

PBN’s annual Drive Yourself MODern is a 14-stop self-guided driving tour that highlights some of the many fine examples of modern-era architecture throughout Western New York, featuring a different set of sites each year. From Minoru Yamasaki’s One M&T Plaza in Buffalo to Sebastian Tauriello’s Archbishop Walsh High School in Olean, experience a vast range of delightfully modern architecture. Don’t hesitate. Get your travelogue here and let PBN take the wheel. Click here to get your copy!

Originally marketed as the “new Delaware Avenue,” LeBrun Road attracted many wealthy Buffalonians during the first era of suburban development in the Town of Amherst. While earlier waves of development focused on “traditional” architectural styles, the post-WWII homes of LeBrun were decidedly more modern. The Rambling Ranches of LeBrun walking tour guides you on a 2.5-mile stroll exploring the palatial Ranch-type estates along the serpentine path of LeBrun Road. Put on your walking shoes and get to steppin’. Click here to get your copy!

In-person & virtual events

Pushing Boundaries in Modern Historic Preservation | Monday September 12th @ 6pm | Virtual Lecture

Twenty-five years after its founding, Docomomo US is pushing boundaries to preserve modern architecture, landscapes, and design through principled advocacy, collaboration, and celebration. Join Executive Director Liz Waytkus to learn more about their work nationally and internationally, and to learn more about some of the landmarks from across the country (and even right here in Buffalo) which are included in their 11 most threatened modern sites list. Click here to register!

The History and Future of the Great Northern Grain Elevator  | Wednesday September 14th @ 6pm | Virtual Lecture

During the windstorm on December 11, 2021, Buffalo’s Great Northern Grain Elevator sustained significant damage to its north wall. In response to the damage, its owner, Archer Daniels Midland, has rushed to raze the landmark and erase its history. But what is its history? And, perhaps more importantly, how has it influenced the present? Hear from Gregory Delaney, professor in the University at Buffalo’s Architecture department, about the history of the Great Northern Grain Elevator (believed to be the only surviving example of a “brick box” elevator) and learn how Buffalo’s grain elevators influenced the likes of Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe in spurring the development of the modernist movement. Click here to register!

Artifacts of the Future: Design in the Space Age, 1957-1972 | Thursday September 15th @ 6pm | Virtual Lecture

Bridging the Atomic Age and the Information Age, the Space Age stands out as a revolutionary period of design history when science fiction became reality and designers made reality of imagination. In this lecture join Space Age design expert Martin McGee as he explores the myriad of prescient products that reflected the technology and materials driving the race to space, and how WNY-based Bell Aerospace’s “Bell Rocket Belt” was one of the most iconic symbols of the audacious time. Click here to register!

Modern Niagara Falls | Saturday September 17th @ 11am | In-person walking tour

While the long historical heritage of Niagara Falls cannot be denied, the city gained many examples of modern architecture during its period of urban renewal, including buildings like the Carborundum Office Complex and the former Native American Center for the Living Arts. On September 17, join PBN’s Director of Preservation Services Christiana Limniatis to explore modern design in downtown Niagara Falls. Click here to register!