The Bethlehem Steel Administration Building may be headed to the landfill officially as news sources report demolition was slated to begin yesterday. Owners have been reluctant to see the building reused, even after conversations that detailed multiple approaches to save the building in a profitable way.
Don't forget, this piece of our heritage didn't get this way overnight. The owners neglected this building for the better part of three decades since they have owned it. The building hasn't made any friends with Mayor Szymanski either, as he has been a proponent of its demise from the start.
In previous news reports Szymanski said, "Pittsburgh adjusted, Cleveland adjusted. Buffalo has not and if we don't start making moves and start getting rid of stuff that is unusable, than we are going to continue to stay where we're at, which is nowhere."
He must not have been aware of Bethlehem, PA "getting over it" as they reinvented their shuttered steel mills and created an incredibly successful tourist attraction that is the pride of the city. I have to assume he has never left Lackawanna to come to nearby Buffalo and see how we have leveraged our historic assets like the Hotel Lafayette, Larkin District, and so many more.
The degree of shortsightedness in Lackawanna is startling and considering what has been accomplished in Bethlehem, PA with their steel mills, serves as a great example of what could have been and still could be if the right path is taken.
Join those who have been fighting to save this architectural gem, which is National Register eligible. People will be on site today starting at noon with protest signs in hand in an attempt to make a final push to make the owners and the Mayor see past the deterioration and realize the irreplaceable building they have. There will be a fire to keep warm and to roast marshmallows and media will be present. Dana Saylor, one of the most vocal and active supporters of reuse, has said, "This is a protest/rally, not a funeral. We are fighting this one though until the end."
Can't wait for this demo to get done. What project currently under design and financed by a private owner will these obstructionists try to stop next? Guess we'll have to do what they do, wait for an application to be placed on a Planning Board agenda, find the year the building was built, rally similarly bored, misdirected, and self-anointed spokespersons for all of WNY and try to stop progress.
What PLANS?
Thank you for your outstanding contribution.
So PROGRESSIVES, NON-OBSTRUCTIONISTS... There was a preservation conference here last year, I imagine there should be a demolition conference as well? Needlessly knocking shit down isn't going to do shit for Buffalo. Take a look at Sedita in the '60's. You're telling me we should perpetuate that mentality?
Curious; the decision to demolish this building, which is an island unto itself and not in the way of any proposed development, has been slated for demolition by whom?
It almost seems as if a panel of patients from Buffalo Psychiatric was arranged to make this determination but with all due respect to those suffering from mental illness, I suspect they would have convened on a more positive decision than total demolition.
I have never seen this type of copper ornamentation on a building except in Paris so what is the reasoning for the planned demise of this building?
The only other significant building in Lackawanna is the Basilica….and demolishing the Bethlehem Building is not altogether unlike demolishing Father Baker’s masterpiece.
Buf_Res>"is not altogether unlike demolishing Father Baker’s masterpiece"
In an aspect that's apparently very impactful for how long a building continues to stand, the Bethlehem is very unlike the Basilica -
The Basilica has a private sector owner (the Catholic Diocese) who is willing to continuously fund it for ongoing uses.
This http://www.ourladyofvictory.org/Parish/Welcome.html
says they hold 20 masses per week in it (3 per weekday, 5 on weekends). That's over 1,000 masses per year.
It also says in addition to masses, they regularly use it for confessionals, baptisms, weddings, rosary events, and other purposes.
So for the Basilica, there's both a willing private sector owner and evidently a very practical ongoing daily use beyond hypothetical ideas.
For the Bethlehem, there's tons of hypothetical reuse ideas suggested in theory, but still no sign of any willing owner.
What plan are you referring to??? There is no plan other than the removal of the building. Do you just make crap up just to stir the pot? You should try adding a productive comment once in a while.
Apparently they are building a corrugated metal shed building for storage. That's the last I heard of it.
Not at this location though.
I heard they are turning it into a parking lot [deleted].