Buffalorising has been redesigned.

Now that is amazing, if we are looking for tourists let's turn bethlahem steel into something like that. accent lights and landscaping go a long way. though it must be difficult to make the whole property safe.

There are so many peopel passionate about redeveloping and preserving parts of Buffalo that I wonder if anyone every thought about starting an agency/non-profit to develope all these great ideas? I use to work wtih such an agency in Georgia:
http://augustatomorrow.com/livepages1/86.shtml

Better yet, the grain elevators and other industry around the mouth of the Buffalo River. Add to the new bike path and the Urban Canoe Trail with lighting, landscaping and open space. That would open up a lot of possibilities being so close to the water, when I explored that area of the first ward I was amazed by the site as it is, imagine if they added to it. I really want to take a canoe down there and see the elevators towering above the water. It’d probably be easier than reusing Bethlehem steel since there are much less toxins in grain than steel.

That is SO freekin' cool, I can't stand it!!!!! Maybe there's a concert promoter willing to take a risk on a single 1- or 2-day concert event and prove it out. Done right, there wouldn't have to be much more investment than a "normal" outdoor stage event. Anyone have a connection to Harvey (Weinstein) who cut his teeth as 1/2 of "Harvey & Corky Productions"? Maybe he's game to fund, if not produce, "one more" for the home town! My recommendation: stick with a format the baby-boomers will feel as "OK with" as the younger set. After the first one, let's start an annual JAZZ FEST!!!!! (Joan, you reading?)

See my post on San Antonio's Quarry Market to see another really cool use adaptive reuse that Buffalo just screams for.

Great post. Shows what could happen with some vision and an appreciation of our heritage.

There is simply not enough demand for more vacant parcels to justify demolishing historic structures for 'shovel-ready sites' on the waterfront, unique recreational opportunities would be a great draw. Development should be primarily focused on the re-emerging downtown core to increase density (critical mass) and avoid competing with ourselves.

That's my two cents for the day. Now have fun tearing it apart in the name of 'progress', kids.

As brilliant as it looks, and it does look brilliant, I don't think it's a matter of will or money (well, maybe they do play some part) in Buffalo. The biggest problem is the folks on all those billboards: the ambulance chasers. The threat of injury lawsuits makes insurance on such a facility prohibitive. And what's the first thing everyone, from the city on up to Albany and the Feds, wants on a re-use/construction project? And when you do finally get it into production? Insurance.

I've been in a number of the elevators and other abandoned industrials down in South Buffalo: Cargill-S, Concrete Central, St Lawrence Cement, etc. Concrete Central and Cargill could be turned into apartments/condos/whatever, but the locations are less than ideal. There are a lot of challenges, multi-million dollar challenges, that just don't warrant the effort. As beautiful as those structures are, and as "influential" as many seem to think they might be, this is far too litigious a society to allow creative reuse on that scale.

OK, building climbing is out. But if you pick the junk up off the ground, remove stairways, and stabilize the buildings, the only injury would occur if you walked into a wall. Delaware Park Lake would be more dangerous. Can we focus on the "how to" instead of the "impossible"?

Thanks for the euro-perspective westcoastperspective! Very inspiring indeed. With all the creative energy in Buffalo and WNY there's no reason for us NOT to do something wonderful with these monuments to our history. I, and I'm sure many others here, truly appreciate your positive attitude and enlightening articles - this kind of thinking and energy is will propel Buffalo forward!

I've been saying it for months now...paint them and light them up...

I appreciate (all of) your optimism. I love the buildings, think they're amazing. But let's take Concrete Central, for example. Assuming that reasonable access to it could be made (perhaps off Ohio St), there are just a few, minor, issues to address:
- the grain elevators have to go. There's enough material to stabilize one or two of them, maybe. So much crap has been cut out of them (in the interest of keeping people like me from getting into dangerous situations). But, as I said, there's enough material in the four (three? I forget exactly) elevators to stabilize and maybe restore one of them.
- The entire water side has to be stabilized and rehabbed.
- Just about everything attached to the outside should be torn off: most of it's in a pretty dangerous state. That includes the dust collectors (which are trying to jump off all by themselves), the train loading/unloading section, the former offices, etc.

You'd be left with the storage building itself (which also could use a lot of help at the ground level). Figure $25 million just to make the site suitable for reuse. Then what?

Allegedly, the Akron (Ohio) Hilton is a repurposed grain elevator. The photos on the Hilton site don't give any hint of that, so I don't know. There's a grain elevator in Texas that's been converted to a rock climbing facilty, but it's one of the much smaller wooden variety:
http://www.elevatorrock.com/home.htm

And I've seen references to grain elevators converted to homes but no hard evidence. Frankly, I think Concrete Central and Cargill-S would make an amazing living complex... a European market at the ground level (or perhaps something along the lines of Fanuel Hall in Boston) with businesses/workplaces and apartment/condos in the silos. Throw in a small movie venue, some artist spaces, etc and you'd have a little town. Tifft Farm is right there and since it's right on the water, lots of opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, etc. Because of it's semi-remote location, I think you'd really have to make it as self-contained as possible. Someone just needs to cough up the $150 mill.

Here's a project in Baltimore- condos and offices utilizing an elevator complex:

http://img331.imageshack.us/my.php?image=paramsplash6pp.jpg

It won't be easy, and not all of them should (or reailistically could) be saved. But, creative thinking can go a long way. Remember the plan to put a bridge at the mouth of the Buffalo River and carving it through the grain elevator down there? Now that would be a signature bridge.

I think this is an amazing idea and to get something like that started - yes indeed I believe a group/non-profit would have to form and really fight hard for this. Grant money and donations would be needed and the city would have to be backing you in some way/to some extent. To turn this area into a cultural venue would do a lot for Buffalo and yes we are seeing a lot of this sort of thing happening now in Baltimore (The Power Plant may have been one of the first I personally remember and it is AMAZING, lived there half my life and Buffalo has a bit of Baltimore charm to it for sure though Im happier here I must say). I know there is a group involved in historical preservation (http://preserve.bfn.org/) but I do not know much at all about them since I just moved here. Having an interest in architecture and preservation and being an artist/designer etc Id love to talk to more of you who like the idea of this conversion and see if we could form a group of some sort to talk more - meet at Spot coffee perhaps just to talk about the legistics. My fiance would be very interested in this as well and I am positive that through a little bit of networking we could get some people who are in the position to gear us in the correct direction involved. Im thinking about Scot Fischer here and his wife - the Righteous Babe Foundation - does anyone here have a contact with them to talk over such things? True they did just finish and to my knowledge are still completing The Church but that is sooo inspiring right? A HUGE project of epic proportions seeing COMPLETION in Buffalo and something that will draw people DOWNTOWN very often!!! Imagine the possibilities with the Grain elevators and the old steel yards - if the right group got behind that idea it could be turned into a HUGE attraction for Buffalo. I think it is worth more time and thought.

Thanks for the awe inspiring look at Germany's (and beyond) ability to recreate, reuse, and live a less disposable lifestyle! Change is needed and positive, intelligent, and efficient growth is needed in Buffalo and IS happening all around us now - we need to do more than just talk about it HERE though... GO FOR IT! Contact those in more influential situations and start spreading the word.

OK, I need coffee now... :)

Several years ago I went on a Miss Buffalo boat tour of the Buffalo River and the grain elevators. Regardless of whether you think they are hulking eyesores or grand structures from Buffalo's industrial past, you can't help but be awed by their immense presence. The docent on the tour told us that the Miss Buffalo tours were actually quite popular with German students, who traveled to Buffalo specifically to see the elevators. While it is ironic that foreign students should have a greater appreciation for these grand relics than (some of) our own citizens, it does lead us to some interesting prospects: What about adopting a "sister" German city to promote tourism and explore other re-use plans, such as Emscher Park? How about establishing a design and re-use competition for US architectural/art/urban planning institution grad students? (UB, RISD, Cooper Union are a few that come to mind). Anybody out there got some other ideas?

Thank you so much for this wonderful article. The picture of the people canoeing in the old buildings is amazing. I really hope that Buffalo can do something with a few of the buildings worth saving.

'German students who specifically traveled to Buffalo to see the grain elevators'....

that in itself is decisive.

I would be more than willing to pitch in with mundane clean up. It would be extremely gratifying. I would think quite a crew could be gathered who feel the same.

I do quite a bit of biking along the outer harbor, through the city's abandoned railroad rights-of-way, etc. and have often fantasized about this sort of "industrial park.” My half-baked concept was a sort of explorable industrial ruin site, or perhaps an industrial cemetery, but a genuine park along Emscher’s lines would be even better.

What a great fit for Buffalo! Such a park would be historically and culturally authentic, and a truly unique (even signature) addition to our already significant and recognized park/ parkway system. I can't help but wonder if such a thing could be a Big Idea in the serious greenway/ waterfront planning that should be coming our way soon.

So, while I don’t quite know what to do with this yet, I am with westcoastperspective, Larry, K.elly, Cynthia, phoenix, and others above who are ready to brainstorm a bit more. SPoT Coffee indeed, anyone?

Great idea K.elly! I was cheating on Bufflao a little while ago and found this interesting post on a Portland Blog:

"Members of the public are invited to a design charrette for the proposed redevelopment of the Ankeny Plaza / Skidmore Fountain Area. This area is within Portland's Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood, which is a nationally recognized historic area and a popular destination on weekends with Saturday Market visitors.
A design charrette is a collaborative work session in which a group of designers and interested citizens create a solution to a design problem. Charrettes are often used to generate a design solution while integrating the expertise and interests of a diverse group of stakeholders."

Perhaps BRO could sponser a Grain Elevator Charette - who knows what kind of great ideas could develop! Numerous posters here and on the "Did you Know" post have been enthusiastically offering up creative ways to reuse these historical structures. There's power in numbers...

Just wanted to pass along a few more links for those interested:

* Emscher Park has a great site of its own here http://www.landschaftspark.de/en/home/index.php

* Emscher's architects have a page on the Park here http://www.latzundpartner.de/L3/eng/e-4-du.htm

* C. Moseler has some wonderful photos here http://www.hochofenwerk.de/main/main.html?lang=en

Check them out; if you like this concept, you won't be disappointed. :)

Well worth checking out the Moseler pics...particularly stunning is the nite panorama...

there's peter's great idea with a twist...paint them with lights!

thanks jf for the link!