A Saturday Visit To Main Street and The Commons
This morning I decided to take my dog for a walk down Main Street. We started over at the Pearl Street Brewery and walked up to Main... It was there that I ran into Mark Byrnes who runs a cool urban development blog called All Things Buffalo. He was on his way to take some photos of Rocco Temini's Ellicott Commons (top photo), so the three of us walked, and two of us talked, about downtown Buffalo happenings on a sunny Saturday. We snapped photos along the way, and discussed everything from Minoru Yamasaki's One M&T Plaza (bottom photo) to the Chinese restaurant that patched its broken window months earlier never to replace it. When we arrived at The Commons, Mark snapped some shots (as did I), and then we headed off back to Main Street to see if there were any skaters taking advantage of the open rink at Fountain Plaza.
Yes, there were a bunch of skaters zooming around the rink, and the ones that I captured were not at all shy about having their photos taken. Fountain Plaza was a bustle of activity. We ran into another family of Canadian skaters who were on their way (via Light Rail) to the HSBC Arena where they had some sort of youth hockey tournament to attend.
What really got me going was not just the fact that kids were taking full advantage of the ice skate rental, there was a roaring fireplace to sit by and warm up the body. Not like it was even that cold today, but the smell of the outdoor fire was very nice.
We talked to the kids for a brief time about the dog, and then they were back off to race around the rink. Mark told me that he was heading over to New Era to see how the store was progressing and I decided to head back towards One HSBC Center to snap a couple shots of the gigantic holiday ornaments that dot the perimeter of the building. Before heading back home I paid a visit to the Sabres' store, which was not only open on a Saturday, but also reaping the rewards of a sweet hockey season - there were shoppers with bags full of Sabres' merchandise walking back to their cars in all directions. Jump on the Light Rail and you're there in a flash.
If you and your family have been looking for something out of the ordinary to do on an Saturday during the holidays, a walk along Main Street could be your ticket if you're into hockey/skating... try parking near the Washington Market where you can eat a good lunch and warm up with a cup of coffee (top photo far right).
We noticed the giant public art ornaments in front of the HSBC building on our way to dropping a donation off at the News for the News Neediest Fund. I had no idea these things existed. They are totally awesome and make for a great family photo backdrop. What a great day for a walk around B-lo!
Cute story. I like taking walks around downtown. Also, for anyone who loves history and architecture. Grab a "Walk Buffalo" Guide from the Buffalo Visitor Center inside the Market Arcade Building, 617 Main St. and or go online to: www.WalkBuffalo.com for a self-guided tour of Downtown Buffalo.
Termini's Ellicott Commons are the best new-builds we've gotten downtown in all of my lifetime. Multi-story, right up to the sidewalk, ground floor retail, fenestration and cornices that honor their neighbors, authentic materials instead of Dry-Vit, no additional surface parking. Who's the architect? He or she deserves an award.
These buildings are Exhibit A for everyone who thinks there is something fake and architecturally incorrect about sympathetic, contextual design.
Termini has almost single handedly transformed the Flower district. These new builds on Ellicott are of the proper scale, mixed-use and architectually context-sensitive. Cheers!
Now we need about 200 more. Smart or form-based codes will ensure more successful projects like these from less-enlightened developers.
i drool everyday at the construction from my patio at IS.
the views from the huge rooftop patio is spectacular, overlooking ellicott st. and the skyline.
its very encouraging to our city if you ask me.
happy holidays all.
Now, if we can only build over the large surface lots across the street from this...that would be even better - more density, more action, fill in....