Each 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, the Center for the Study of Art, Architecture, History and Nature (C-SAAHN) holds lecture/discussion series at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library downtown at 1 Lafayette Square. The theme this year is "Imagining Buffalo Niagara in the 21st Century." Lectures are held in the Fables Café Conference Room at the library from 12:15PM-1PM.
This March, C-SAAHN is proud to present two qualified speakers: Ted Pietrzak and John Simpson. On March 9th, Pietrzak, the Director of the Burchfield Penney Art Center will present a lecture entitled "The Little Engine that Could." According to Pietrzak, the lecture will include a discussion of the Burchfield Penney in terms of "...a preliminary analysis of the facts required to complete a complex project." Then, on March 23rd, University at Buffalo President John Simpson will speak.
Those who attend the lecture/discussion series are encouraged to ask questions. All lectures are free. Food can be purchased at Fables Café.
C-SAAHN was founded by Dennis Galucki. After working as a tour guide for Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin D. Martin House Complex for over twelve years, he realized that appreciating and promoting art was extremely necessary and important for the future of Buffalo. Along with Chuck LuChiusa, also a tour guide with an interest in architecture, Galucki held a course at Chautauqua Institution called "Imagining Buffalo in the 21st Century - the Buffalo Chautauqua Idea."
Currently, Galucki is focused on the Buffalo-Niagara region. The main goal of the C-SAAHN is to help everyone value and recognize the 4 pillars of art, architecture, history and nature that the the region has to offer. According to Galucki, the number four is significant for several reasons. In Buffalo, the Old County Hall, which was finished in 1876, had four statues in each corner, which symbolize mechanical arts, agriculture, justice and commerce. Also, inside the gold dome at what used to be the Buffalo Savings Bank (now an M&T Bank) at 1 Fountain Plaza, there are 4 paintings that represent the arts, power, commerce and industry.
Galucki works tirelessly to emphasize art, or rather, the creativity, that exists in the Buffalo-Niagara region. After all, the area is comprised of many unique buildings, destinations, and more, such as Kleinhans Music Hall and the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. The center focuses specifically on residents, students and tourists.
The lecture series began in November 2009, with Galucki speaking about the C-SAAHN and its mission. So far, the series has been a huge success, with many prominent speakers that have already given lectures, and more that will continue the lecture series into the summer.
However, the lecture/discussion series is just one way the Galucki is working to promote the Buffalo-Niagara region. Last summer, the C-SAAHN sponsored the Miss Buffalo II "Landmark Cruise," which involved sightseeing some of Buffalo's history, specifically in architecture. The center will sponsor the same event this summer, with tours held on Wednesdays from 3PM-5PM in July and August.
For more information about upcoming speakers and summaries of past speakers, please visit the lecture series website.
Image: Courtesy of the C-SAAHN website
Hopefully they talk about 'Progress' and how we have been slaves to it for too long.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Original_Buffalo_Library.jpg
Why was the original torn down in the 1960s, and who decided on the design of the current building? What was torn down to make way for the rest of the library campus?
I can answer some of your questions, anyway. The Victorian-looking "castle" that was torn down was the old library building, the Grosvenor Library. The Grosvenor was torn down because it was condemned and unsafe, and not worth repairing. My brother worked in the Grosvenor when he was in college as a library page, and he can attest to the collapsing floors and deterioration of the old building.
I believe county government made the final decision on the design; there is or used to be a plaque at the Elmwood entrance, under the library overpass that I believe tells the architectural firm and the people responsible for building the building.
I worked in the new building also as a page from 1969-73 and can attest that it was state of the art for its time, with a pneumatic tube system for stack requests and dumbwaiters between the stack tiers and the departments requesting stack materials. I always liked the building, myself.
Wow what a loss! I always found it remarkable how sterile and utilitarian the current BPL building is. It's looks so out of place in the context of Lafayette Square.