Buffalo's Young Preservationists are holding their monthly happy hour tonight, but at a different venue to change things up a bit. Join them at Ulrich's Tavern on Ellicott Street tonight at 7pm in the heart of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. There's a lot on the discussion and action agenda for tonight, including the current events of the National Register listed Trico building just down the street.

Of course there will also be great discussion of Buffalo history and architecture, so come on out to talk about the City you love and see

A Nottingham mansion we wrote about over 2 years ago remains on the market. Then, the asking price was $2.15M. Today, it can be yours for $1.8M. The new listing agent is Ellen Daly at Hunt Real Estate. 

** Originally published on January 19th, 2010
We've covered some Buffalo mansion listings in the past, but today's listing may be the most remarkable. 

When I lived on North Pearl Street in Allentown, just over a decade ago, there were a lot of rooming houses and it was very apparent how they were adversely affecting the neighborhood. I remember clearly that this part of Allentown was in transition, and many of my neighbors were fed up with the conditions of the rooming houses as well as the illegal activities that were being conducted from within. The last time I visited my old neighborhood I was happy to see that most of the old problematic houses had been converted into singles and doubles. It's unimaginable just how disruptive one poorly run

The submission period for the juried portion of echo Art Fair, which will take place July 7-8 at the Larkin Center of Commerce, closed at Midnight last Friday. 
The fair organizers (more info) were thrilled with the response to the call for submissions, and ran some numbers - resulting in the following findings:
- Artist and gallery applications were up 60% from 2011; galleries represented 24% of all applicants

Recent house guests of ours introduced me to the world of Geocaching, an online treasure hunt and social media site that allows anyone to participate in finding trinkets, treasures, and messages in hidden places (sometimes in plain sight) throughout the world. A quick search reveals that there are over 20,000 Geocaches within 100 miles of Buffalo's 14214 zip code.  The caches come with clues and coordinates for their locations. You have likely walked or driven by them many times. They often times have themes and stories attached or even lessons

Redevelopment plans for the Tishman Building will bring 24/7 life to a strategic downtown corner. The 20-story building has struggled to attract office tenants since National Fuel moved out in 2003. The building's 9,000 sq.ft. floors, prime location, and sweeping views are ideal for the uses Hamister Group has in mind for the property. 

Carmina Wood Morris has designed the $35 million project that calls for a Hilton Garden Inn on the first 14 floors, three floors of apartments and three floors of office

What could be a better way to raise awareness about colon cancer than hosting a 5K race? At the same time, the race that I'm referring to is designed to raise money for the Colon Cancer Alliance. Already in 2012 participants for the run have raised over $8000 and the race is still over a month away. Never heard of the Buffalo Undy 5000? You soon will. Whether you dig it up on Facebook, or are planning on attending the kick-off party this Thursday at Artisan Kitchen and Baths (see

As covered by the Associated Press and picked up by a number of news agencies including the New York Times, Buffalo's industrial relics such as The Central Terminal are being shown in a positive light by the people who love them and want to see them restored to their original glory (see article). So what's the catch? What's the silver bullet solution... the almighty answer? Ultimately, the saving grace for these bohemoths might be as simple as a party. 
That's right. Do what the

A development group has purchased the Erie Freight House at 9 Ohio Street.  The new owners, FFZ Holdings of Buffalo and Savarino Companies as 441 Ohio Street LLC, do not have definite plans for the property but expect to begin to shore up the decaying structure in a few weeks.  441 Ohio Street LLC purchased the property for $200,000 on March 12 from Great Lakes Paper Fibres.   FFZ Holdings of Buffalo and Savarino Companies are also working together to redevelop

Brenday Mehaffy, Buffalo's head of strategic planning, will be providing an update on the re-write of the City's archaic zoning ordinance.  The event is sponsored by the Urban Land Institute's Young Leaders Group of Western New York (ULI YLG of WNY), a subsidiary of the global nonprofit research and education organization, the Urban Land Institute. 

The one hour presentation takes place on Thursday,

I guess I never really thought about it, but did you know that Buffalo has its own unique style when it comes to gardens? Garden Walker Jim Charlier has passed along a link to The Garden Guru (Allan Becker in Montreal) that he felt deserved some attention. While Jim often sends around links to online garden journals, he felt that this particular article did a nice job in summing up not just how beautiful Buffalo's gardens are, but how incredibly unique they are due to our architectural heritage and our climate. In Jim's own words, "A spectacular write-up about Buffalo's gardens by a garden writer

Expert architectural historian and preservationist Martin Wachadlo will be presenting a lecture on Buffalo's place in American architectural history on Tuesday, March 20 in the Kavinoky Theater at D'Youville College. The turn-of-the-century building is the perfect location for Wachadlo's discussion, which will take listeners on a chronological journey through Buffalo's architectural evolution. 
"Last fall, the lecture was featured at the National Trust Conference held in Buffalo inside of the Common Council chambers to a capacity crowd," said Kathy Mecca of

Submission by Edward Pinkel AKA Ward - Owner Urban Threads:
With the announcement of the 770 parking lot being developed into a 3-storey mixed use building, which is great news for Elmwood in my opinion, the car culture is asking, "Where are we going to park now?" Well, there is a simple solution in the works, but The City has been dragging its feet on the proposal for almost 5 years now. 
The plan would

If you're going to resurrect a historic hotel, you might as well go all out, right? That's what developer Rocco Termini is doing by partnering with the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (BECHS). The plan is to feature reproductions of historic images and items throughout the hotel, in a manner that will help to tell the story of downtown Buffalo - from the dessert plates and the wallpaper in the grill to the headboards in the hotel rooms. 
With the help of our friends from 'room' on Hertel and Carmina Wood Morris, visitors will be able to examine bits and

UB Associate Professor of Architecture Christopher Romano and his students give are giving a presentation about new and sustainable methods in the field of innovative construction. The free event is being held tomorrow night, March 20, at Hallwalls, 341 Delaware Avenue.

Professor Christopher Romano holds a B.P.S. in architecture as well as a professional M.Arch. degree, with a concentration in architectural theory and design, from the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 2005, he received the chair's award for consistent, high-caliber design work performed in the studios. His research

A collaborative effort by three major community pillars has produced badly needed funding for Western New York's tree re-planting charity.  The Green Goal campaign has recently concluded its five week campaign to raise donations for Re-Tree WNY, a program of Keep Western New York Beautiful.

"We are very pleased that Green Goal raised such a significant amount of money with the January/February campaign," said Michael Gilbert, Vice President of Public and Community Relations for the Buffalo Sabres.   "The Buffalo Sabres Foundation

If you've never been to the "Old Neighborhood" St. Patrick's Day Parade, then you really are missing out on one of the better events in the region. Why? Because the never-ending parade is all about community and tradition. It may not be as showy as the parade being held today, but there is no denying that the spirit is on par. For the 19th year in a row, residents of The Valley and the old First Ward... the Old Neighborhood, lined the streets to get a glimpse of the musicians, dancers and floats that made their way down South Park Avenue, then paraded down various residential side streets.

By Jessica Edwards:
Eating out is usually an enjoyable experience. However, one of the biggest hindrances can be poor service. There is nothing worse than getting an anxious, stressed out, or worst of all... grumpy server. Moods are contagious (especially, bad moods), and can often have a ripple effect that ultimately defeats the aim of having a relaxing time. 
So, wouldn't it be great if there were options for "waiter's temperament" on the menu? You could have your choice from "wildly amusing" to just simply "efficient". As

By Michael Hargrave:
Rehabbing old houses in not an easy task. Rehabbing houses that haven't been lived in for years is an even more daunting task. Just ask Dave Weitzel. His recent purchase of 458 Vermont Street represents yet another step towards clearing the streets of the West Side of vacant homes, but the process to fix up the old two-storey duplex and the additional house behind it is going to be arduous. Dave took me on a tour of his new property (both houses) in

You would think that in a neighborhood that is experiencing a bit of a comeback, a project like this one would be frowned upon. Not only did the owner of this storefront on Grant Street remove the original facade in order to replace it with a bland, generic store-bought model, now he or she has installed a rolling metal garage door to completely seal the deal. I noticed the installation taking place earlier in the week, but it was not until I passed by at 10am this morning that the iron clad addition revealed itself for what it really was - a slap in the face to the neighborhood.
The