Yesterday morning I had a meeting down at City Hall and while I was waiting for people to arrive I noticed this photo hanging in the office. The image is of the Larkin District - you can see Larkin @ Exchange to the right and the Seneca Industrial Building to the left. The building that is seen engulfed by fire is now, of course, a parking lot.
Fortunately the vast majority of factories in the image still remain and are being renovated, although the renowned Larkin Administration Building was demolished.
When looking at the image below, you can see the intact factory building (before it burned to the ground) as it stood in relation to the rest of the complex. As an aside, the blue text bubble next to the smallest red structure reads, "The first Larkin Factory 1875, contained two floors, 25'x60' each, total area 3000' feet." That tiny factory building was where Larkinville got its start. It's amazing that this dream all began with Larkin selling one simple product - soap.
Image: WNY Heritage Press - Click to enlarge
Actually, the designers of that postcard exercised some artistic license - the original Larkin factory was not on that corner. It was on Chicago St. The card shown on the bottom has the correct color of the Larkin Administration Building. Incidently, there are no known color photographs of the Larkin Administration Building.