We had a blast at our Valentine’s for Vacant Buildings event this past weekend in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Here is our Buffalo recap!
Thank you to everyone who joined us in creating and delivering Valentines to some of Buffalo’s historic treasures. Some buildings need a little extra love, after all…
- We spread some love along Humboldt Parkway and the 33 Expressway, where the DOT is planning a major construction project to “cap” the highway. We, at PBN, have been advocating for a more community-oriented and preservation-friendly alternative that would reconnect the neighborhoods and restore the green space that was lost when the expressway was built. We hope that our Valentines will show the DOT and the public how much we care about this neighborhood and its history, and why it deserves to be protected and preserved.
We visited the Allied Mills Complex at 1 Buffalo River Place, a rare example of early 20th-century industrial architecture that served as a mill for animal feed. This complex is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and we are working to prevent its demolition by landmarking this structure and promoting its adaptive reuse.
We also stopped by the Vaux Barn at 1119 Genesee Street, the last remaining park structure designed by world-renowned landscape architect Calvert Vaux, who created Buffalo’s Park System with Frederick Law Olmsted. This barn is a unique example of Vaux’s “Stick-Style” architecture and we have nominated it as a local landmark to protect it from further deterioration and you can follow our progress here.
- We showed our appreciation for St. Francis de Sales Church on Humboldt Parkway which according to Preservation Ready sites, is vacant and partially stripped on the inside. This building is a contributing building in both the local and National Register in the Hamlin Park Historic District.
- We also delivered valentines to Matthew’s Catholic Church on East Ferry Street; a stunning Romanesque Revival church built in 1928. The Ohio sandstone structure located on the East Side was modeled after the Cathedral of Aachen in Germany. This church was closed by the Diocese in 1993 and has been largely vacant and decaying ever since. Preservation efforts go far back, including this Buffalorising post from 2011. If you are passionate about churches and want to get involved in the preservation efforts, please email info@pbnsaves.org for more details.
Our Valentine’s for Vacant Buildings event was not only fun and light-hearted, it was educational and meaningful. We spread some much-needed love to a few of Buffalo’s vacant buildings and we met some great people along the way! We hope that our Valentines will raise awareness and inspire people to take action to save these historic gems.
Here are additional photos from the event. Thank you for your love and support! 💕