Tag: Buffalo

Recap of the 2026 Preservation Awards at the Richardson!

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Thank you all for joining us at the 2026 Preservation Awards! Your contribution to our cause is greatly appreciated and crucial to our ongoing efforts to protect and celebrate the rich architectural and cultural heritage of Western New York.

All awardees have demonstrated their dedication to historic preservation throughout Buffalo and Niagara Falls, and we offer our most sincere congratulations on your well-deserved recognition. Your inspirational work actively makes our region better and highlights the history and heritage that make our community unique.

Curious to see the behind the scenes photos and information of the 2026 Preservation Awards? Click here for the program:  https://simplebooklet.com/2026presawardprogram#page=1

To our sponsors, your support is the foundation for the work we do. Your generosity ensures that we can continue to protect, renovate, and advocate for the heritage of Western New York, and we are endlessly appreciative of this commitment and trust you have given us.

Robert T. Coles Sponsors
  • Bond, Schoenek & King
  • Lawley Insurance
  • Hodgson Russ
  • Carmina Wood Design
Louise Bethune Sponsors
  • KTA Preservation Specialists
  • Hadley Exhibits
  • Abraxas
  • Nottingham Advisors
E.B. Green Sponsors
  • Lumsden McCormick
  • Dyno Group
  • Young + Wright Architectural
  • Preservation Studios
  • Upstate Strategic Advisors LLC

Additionally, thank you to all our guests for your continued support in our efforts to uplift the historic legacy of our region! The energy and enthusiasm you bring to our organization—whether through the Preservation Awards 2026, past events and projects, or future endeavors—is crucial to our success.

  • Preservation Craft: 800 W. Ferry Gargoyle Reconstruction
  • Neighborhood Preservation: McKinley Parkway Historic District
  • Preservation Leadership: East Side Parkways Coalition
  • Legacy Business: Alden State Bank
  • Unique Preservation Project (Erie): USS The Sullivans
  • Unique Preservation Project (Niagara): Forsyth-Warren Tavern
  • Residential Project: The Adams-Albright-Archibald Tudor Mansion
  • Commercial Project (Erie): The American Lofts at Silo City
  • Commercial Project (Niagara): The Lockport Post Office
  • Preservation Heroes: Buffalo Fire Department

As we continue working towards our mission, we encourage you to continue finding ways to engage with our area’s historic legacy! Whether through volunteering, financial contributions, or learning on your own about our region’s heritage, your involvement is crucial to ensuring that Buffalo and Niagara’s rich cultural heritage is preserved for future generations.

The 2026 Preservation Awards was made a success by all of you, thank you for sharing this beautiful night with us! We are hugely grateful for your involvement and support of historic preservation throughout our community.

The Vaux Barn Is A Local Landmark!

We have great news in our local landmark making efforts!

As of 2:37pm today on April 15th, 2025, the Vaux Barn Local Landmark has been APPROVED!!!! Thank you to the Buffalo Common Council for moving this forward. We are thrilled! You can read about our multi-year effort to complete this local landmark application here. 

Local landmarking is a special preservation tool because it ensures the Buffalo Preservation Board will oversee any exterior changes made therefore adding an important layer of protection to our most historic sites across Buffalo.

Buffalo has a long history of great architects coming to Buffalo and showing off their best work. Calvert Vaux came to Buffalo with Frederick Law Olmsted, and together, they designed the Olmsted Parks and Parkway System that we cherish today. Vaux has one remaining structure he designed left – this barn. We are thankful to the Buffalo Common Council for agreeing with us that it is indeed local landmark worthy. We are excited to see what the future holds for the Vaux Barn!

Bernice Radle, Executive Director of Preservation Buffalo Niagara.

Save Our Sacred Sites Update: Two Local Landmarks Move Forward in Buffalo

Great News! 🎉

Today, the local landmark status for St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church (651 Washington St.) and All Saints Roman Catholic Church (205 Esser Ave.) was approved at the Legislative Council meeting!

We are so grateful for continued support from the City of Buffalo Common Council. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Councilman Joseph Golombek and Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope for their support in making this happen. Most importantly, we want to thank the parishioners of both churches for their dedication, passion, and commitment to preserving the history and legacy of these beloved landmarks.

As a reminder to our church goers and owners, achieving the City of Buffalo local landmark status means means you are eligible to apply for grant funding for repairs and renovation needs via the New York Landmarks Conversancy for Sacred Sites funding and the Fund for Sacred Spaces.

The research and status also helps to pave the way to getting the churches on the National Register of Historic Places, which has brought larger funding to churches throughout our region as we have recently seen with the Universal Unitarian Church on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.

If you know or work within a church that is looking to submit a local landmark application, please reach out. We would love to help. As a non profit, we can research and apply at a reasonable cost to you and that helps keep our organization going, too!

St. Michael’s Church

Next Up on the Local Landmark Effort – Saint Martin of Tours at 1140 Abbott Rd. in South Buffalo. The City of Buffalo public hearing is March 11th at 1pm in the City of Buffalo Common Council Chambers. If you want to show your support, email info@pbnsaves.org and we will be happy to share those with the Council.

All Saints Church

SOSS Update: Four Local Landmark Hearings on 12/19 at the City of Buffalo Preservation Board!

On Thursday, December 19, the Preservation Board will consider local landmark status for three remarkable churches—All Saints Roman Catholic Church, St. Martin of Tours, and St. Michael’s Church—as well as the Brewers Hill Historic District. These sites reflect the architectural beauty, cultural significance, and historical depth of Buffalo, and this public hearing offers a chance to support their recognition and protection.

Each local landmark application was researched, drafted, and submitted through our Save of Sacred Sites initiative launched in June 2024 as a result of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo closing 78 churches in WNY. The City of Buffalo Preservation Board is meeting Thursday, December 19th at 3 pm in Room 901. You can read through the meeting agenda here. 

Brewers Hill Historic District

PBN has submitted the Brewers Hill Historic District for local historic designation as part of the Save Our Sacred Sites initiative! This nomination was inspired by the closing of the St. Jude Center, now listed for sale by the Catholic Diocese. You can find the application data here. 

Located just north of downtown Buffalo near the medical campus, the Brewers Hill district features eight historic buildings on Washington and Ellicott Streets. These structures, dating back to the mid-19th century, are the last remnants of a once-thriving residential neighborhood. The proposed district showcases a variety of architectural styles, including Italianate, Second Empire, and Queen Anne. Read about all about the proposed local historic district here. 

Brewers Hill Local Historic District

St. Michael’s Church

651 Washington Street, Buffalo, NY, 14203

Nestled in the heart of downtown Buffalo, St. Michael’s Church stands not just as a place of worship, but as a symbol of historic preservation. Designed by architect Patrick C. Keeley, this Romanesque Revival masterpiece showcases 19th-century craftsmanship through its use of indigenous materials like Buffalo limestone, Lockport silver limestone, and Albion sandstone. Keeley, whose prolific career included over 600 churches nationwide, left an indelible mark on American religious architecture, with St. Michael’s exemplifying his visionary skill.

The church’s resilience is further highlighted by its reconstruction after a devastating fire caused by a lightning storm in 1962. Under the guidance of architect Roswell E. Pfohl, the restoration preserved the historic exterior while incorporating innovative elements such as steel trusses and a concrete roof deck. The integration of 19th-century stained-glass windows, alongside new duplicates crafted by Franz Mayer’s studio, underscores the church’s blend of historical preservation and modern restoration techniques.

St. Michael’s Church at 651 Washington Street.

All Saints Roman Catholic Church

205 Esser Avenue Buffalo, NY 

Located at 205 Esser Avenue, All Saints Roman Catholic Church is a multi-building complex constructed between 1911 and 1959. Founded by Bishop Charles H. Colton, the parish began with a small frame church built in 1911 that tragically burned down just two years later. The parish quickly rebuilt, erecting a Collegiate Gothic-style school and church designed by Esenwein & Johnson, which became a cornerstone of the Riverside community. In 1938, a new Colonial Revival-style church, featuring a stunning Wurlitzer Pipe Organ from the Hotel Statler ballroom, was added to accommodate a growing population. A Colonial Revival-style convent, designed in 1951 by George A. Dietel and Edward A. Pauly, served as a residence for 18 nuns and later became the parish rectory. Over the decades, additional structures, including a two-story school expansion in 1958, further solidified their role as a community hub for worship, education, and fellowship.

All Saints Roman Catholic Church

St. Martin of Tours Roman Catholic Church

1112 Abbott Road Buffalo, NY

St. Martin of Tours, located at 1112 Abbott Road, was designed in the Mid-Century Modern architectural style. Built between 1949 and 1959 by Backus, Crane, and Love, the church features a front-gabled roof, brick exterior, and an exposed frame bell tower housing bells salvaged from St. Patrick’s Church after its demolition in 1982. The parish was established in 1926 to meet the spiritual needs of the rapidly growing community, with land donated by the Kinsey Real Estate Company. The original frame church, designed by George Dietel, was replaced in 1959 with the current structure to accommodate the burgeoning parish of 1,800 families.

St. Martin of Tours