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When the St. Lawrence Seaway began operation in 1957, it was met with a frosty reception from Buffalonians. Fearing the trade route would cause a steep decline in commercial traffic along the Erie Canal — which connected Lake Erie and Buffalo to the Hudson River and the Eastern Seaboard at New York City — local businesses and politicians rallied against the project from the start. Their predictions proved true. Ships now bypassed Buffalo entirely. The city's greatest asset — its waterways — were crippled. When the nationwide trends of deindustrialization and suburbanization hit Buffalo, they hit hard. Like most Rust Belt cities, Buffalo's manufacturing sector suffered, its heavy industries shut down, and the population plummeted. There are approximately half as many Buffalonians today as there were at the city's peak in 1950. Though the city has continued to decline in population, there are reasons to be optimistic about Buffalo's future. An economic shift towards financial services, technology, and education is birthing new developments in the core. Post-industrial waterfront land is becoming home to mixed-use developments and parks. All the while New York state's second largest city retains its impressive building stock.
Buffalo's architectural heritage is on full display from its City Hall, a 32-storey Art Deco building that has graced the west end of Niagara Square since 1931. Designed by Dietel, Wade & Jones, the 115-metre (378-foot) building is one of the tallest civic structures in the United States. For no charge, visitors can board an elevator to the 25th floor, take a short trip upstairs, and immerse themselves in Buffalo's dramatic panoramas.
The city's radial street pattern that was designed by planner Joseph Ellicott in 1804 is readily apparent from the top of the building. Niagara Square is the nexus of this plan, and at its centre is the McKinley Monument. The 29-metre-tall obelisk was dedicated in 1907 to memorialize President William McKinley, who was assassinated during the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo six years earlier. The east view along Court Street leads to another grand public space called Lafayette Square, which also boasts a monument, this time dedicated to the Civil War. The popular gathering place is the host of the summer concert series Thursday at the Square.
The red brick building north of the square was once a prominent member of the Statler Hotels chain. The majestic structure, built in 1923, now primarily serves as a banquet hall and event venue. Identified by its flat, snow-capped roof further to the east is the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. In the blocks behind are some of Buffalo's tallest and most historic buildings. The 1925-built Liberty Building is one of the finest examples of Neoclassical architecture. It was constructed for use by Liberty Bank, which was called German American Bank before the First World War, and was the largest office building in the city upon completion. Perhaps the most eye-catching design element is the two replicas of the Statue of Liberty adorning the roof. The unorthodox aesthetic choice was made to emphasize the bank's renewed identity and branding change following the war.
The Rand Building, currently the third tallest in Buffalo, claimed the height title when it was built in 1929. The 29-storey office tower is a broadcasting hub for the Townsquare Media cluster, which has studios within the building. Its Art Deco architecture and multiple setbacks have spawned suggestions that the structure may have inspired the iconic Empire State Building.
The diagonally bisecting Niagara Street, pictured above, terminates at the Edward A. Rath County Office Building, which contains space for a number of county departments. Finished in 1876, the Romanesque-style Old County Hall across the street continues to house government functions. The charcoal-coloured Main Place Tower and the International Style One M&T Plaza — which was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, architect of the original World Trade Center — are two of the 1960s office towers that propelled the skyline upwards. The tallest building in the city completed construction in 1982. The 40 floors of the Modernist One Seneca Tower climb to a height 161 metres and its hefty presence continues to anchor the cityscape.
To the south, Interstate 190 snakes through the waterfront lands that are currently subject to extensive regeneration. Another transportation corridor, the Buffalo Skyway, passes west of the 19,070-seat KeyBank Center, which is the home of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team. Lake Erie dominates the view to the southwest. The freshwater lake is the shallowest and smallest, by volume, of the five Great Lakes.
Directly to the north stands the Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse, which has occupied an entire city block since 2012. The sweeping glass facade, chimney-like pinnacle, and curved footprint of the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed building adds a touch of modernity to Niagara Square's historic surroundings. The Avant, a mixed-use tower with office space, an Embassy Suites hotel, and residential condominiums, stands a block north of the courthouse. The structure was originally built as the Thaddeus J. Dulski Federal Building in 1973 and completely gutted and retrofitted in 2009 to accommodate its current uses. In the far distance, a coal-fired power plant along Niagara River in Tonawanda, New York, will puff its last billow of smoke in the near future, as a decommission plan sets the stage for its closure.
In the distance, the Peace Bridge is visible. Opened in 1927 to commemorate 100 years of peace between Canada and the United States, the international crossing connects the two countries with five arched spans. The quaint community of Fort Erie, Ontario, lies on the west side of the Niagara River in the photo below, as the skyline of Niagara Falls, Ontario, looms in the background. Mist from the natural wonder partially obscures the hotels that comprise the cityscape, and just to the south is the Skylon Tower, an observation structure that was subject to a previous Views from... edition.
Today, Buffalo is a haven for cross-border shoppers looking to take advantage of the cheaper deals that American retail outlets have to offer. Canadians who venture into the city even further will find the rich history at its core, marked by century-old structures that have survived despite neglect and disuse. Rust Belt cities like Pittsburgh have proven that post-industrial landscapes can be repurposed into thriving neighbourhoods, that an economy based around manufacturing can shift and diversify. The assets that made Buffalo a powerhouse — particularly its waterways — still exist. If Buffalo's move towards waterfront regeneration is any indication, there are opportunities to return these assets to public use. A local icon of great stature, Buffalo's City Hall serves as a model for public engagement. Residents and visitors are free to explore the grandiose structure at their leisure. A testament to the region's endurance and a reminder of its history, the monumental Art Deco building could catalyze others of architectural merit — of which there are many in Buffalo — to open their doors and invite the curious. Promoting Buffalo's diverse scenery, often a clash between nature and industry, could be the key to unlocking its future.
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