City September 19, 2012 1:00 PM

Preservation Plus Participants to Get Tour of Richardson Complex Work

Preservation Plus Participants to Get Tour of Richardson Complex Work
Buffalo Rising
Buffalo Rising 8
Attendees at the Preservation Plus conference next week will be able to tour the H. H. Richardson Complex and learn how the Richardson Center Corporation is stabilizing and preparing the complex and grounds for reuse.  Reactivating the Past: Sustainable Preservation at the Richardson Olmsted Complex will be presented by Barbara A. Campagna, FAIA, Principal of Barbara A. Campagna/Architecture + Planning and Monica Pellegrino Faix, Executive Director of the Richardson Center Corporation.

Reusing the H.H. Richardson buildings, creating a Buffalo Architecture Center, boutique hotel and event center, and reviving the Olmsted and Vaux landscape of the original Buffalo State Asylum, has been a project years in the making.  Reuse of the site is expected to facilitate and spur tourism, generating significant economic spin off to benefit Buffalo's economy.

This Preservation Plus session, combining a site visit, case study and hands-on workshop, will be held at the Richardson Complex Wednesday, September 26 from 6 to 8:30 PM.  It will take participants through the history of the site, provide an overview of current master planning and rehabilitation efforts, and demonstrate the practices being used to reactivate this long vacant site for the use of the community.  Conference registration is required.

Preservation Plus, a week long conference focused at fostering a greater understanding and appreciation for Western New York's historic built environment, is taking place on September 24-28, 2012.  Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) is coordinating the conference.

Preservation Plus builds on the momentum created by the National Preservation Conference that PBN hosted last October. The overwhelming success of that conference highlighted the need for regional preservation-related events and activities and brought much deserved attention to community revitalization efforts throughout Buffalo-Niagara. Preservation Plus aims to instill and reinforce a greater sense of community pride for our region's historic assets.

Only 300 Conference tickets are available for purchase, not including 50 scholarship tickets available to qualifying university students interested in volunteering at events during PresPlus.

 
Get Connected: Preservation Buffalo Niagara, 716.852.3300

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8 Comments Leave a comment
paulsobo
September 19, 2012 3:59 PM
paulsobo

The have to replace that copper roof with the original which I think was a tile roof.

This copper in the picture gives it a kind of frankenstein's castle appearance.

They have some really beautiful pictures ... wish they would use those

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elmdog
September 19, 2012 4:39 PM
elmdog

The top of this structure should be cameoed in horror films all of the time...The eerie look that its has is great to look at.....

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Irish Dave
September 19, 2012 5:37 PM
Irish Dave

An "Event" center is mentioned as part of the final re-use plan. Not sure how big this event center could be and this may be a crazy idea, but what if THIS was our convention center? How cool would it be to be one of the only (if not THE only) city with a convention center that is this old and this cool and Gothic looking? Other Cities' Big glass, modern convention centers are a dime a dozen and we can't compete with them really. We shouldn't try. Buffalo is (becoming) well known as an "old world" city - whose architecture is really amazing. So why not have this hulking impressive looking complex of buildings be our convention center. A CONVENTION VILLAGE. With the towers as the anchor and focal point. There might need to be some build outs and there probably would have to be some kind of super large open room built to house large conventions, but maybe it could work. A Gothic convention village. And you've got Elmwood Avenue on the doorstep to boot. Any takers?

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grad94
September 19, 2012 10:55 PM
grad94

exactly where in the richardson floor plan do you see the kind of big, clear span, two-story windowless box needed for banquets, concerts, conventions, trade shows, car shows, boat shows, home & garden shows, etc.?

the richardson is essentially a series of corridors with tiny bedrooms on each side. the walls separating each bedroom are load-bearing masonry and cannot be removed or rearranged as though they were just snap-together office partitions.

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DeanerPPX
September 21, 2012 9:08 PM
DeanerPPX

Actually, some REALLY LARGE events like Dragon-Con and Comic-Con use the smaller ballrooms and facilities of 4-6 hotel complexes rather than a single massive convention space.

The Richardson complex would be a GREAT backdrop for something like a Horror-Con, Paranormal-Con, Steampunk-Con or even Victorian-Con. Probably not enough to warrant conversion for a single or few events per year, but even Conventions like the Furry/Anime convention in Pittsburgh draw millions of dollars and thousands of visitors.

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DeanerPPX
September 19, 2012 6:27 PM
DeanerPPX

Has the Fillmore/Cleveland/McKinley/Roosevelt Presidential Library made any progress toward becoming a tangible reality? I seem to remember there being an interest in having a portion of the complex for them.

As an alternate, I could easily see the side wings being used by Buff State as dorms if there were ever a need for more, or as a replacement for the existing campus housing.

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Travelrrr
September 19, 2012 11:46 PM
Travelrrr

I heard about, and loved the thought of, senior housing on part of this site. What a great location for seniors--with proximity to the museums, Elmwood, etc.

The Museum of Architecture is, indeed, a fabulous idea--feels very authentic to/for Bflo. Just wish we hadn't torn down so many of our own gems......

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Buffalo Tours
September 20, 2012 10:37 AM
Buffalo Tours

Not to mention, all Conference attendees get a free ticket to Museums by Moonlight for Thursday the 27th. That gets you nighttime access to the Richardson, the Buffalo State Arts Conservation Lab, the BECHS Resource Center on Forest Ave., the Buffalo Museum of Science and every place in the Elmwood Museum District. Like the article says, call PBN and get connected--next week is a must for fans of the Richardson and Buffalo architecture in general!

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