With the opening of the Commercial Slip and other developments on the waterfront, there's been a renewed interest in Buffalo's rich harbor history. Now you have a chance to get up front and personal with the true behemoths of the of Buffalo: the massive grain elevators. The Industrial Heritage Committee's 23rd Anniversary Historic Buffalo River Tour kicks off tomorrow July 4th 12:30pm - 2:30pm with the first of three summer boat tours of the Buffalo River.
Joseph Dart perfected the grain elevator in Buffalo in the 1842, first constructed of wood and steel but plagued by fire and explosions, steel reinforced concrete was introduced by the end of the century. Over one hundred years later many of these mammoth monoliths, a tribute to Buffalo's heyday as a transportation hub, remain mostly unused. Some argue they should be demolished and the land reclaimed for other use; but tearing down one of these is a very expensive proposition. The Buffalo History Works website describes their construction and function: "These structures required special skills and design, as a 1,000,000 bushel capacity elevator contains about 30,000 tons of grain. This creates an average load on the foundation of about 10,000 pounds per square foot....In 1907 the American Elevator was built of reinforced concrete, a method of taking steel rods and embedding them in the concrete to provide the reinforcement. This method was used to keep the bins from bursting open due to the outward pressure of the grain while at the same time directing the massive load of the grain down to the foundation." They were also built to contain the explosions which occurred from an extremely volatile mixture of grain dust and the atmosphere.
Urban Explorers have been venturing through these structures for decades, something definitely not for the faint of heart or inexperienced. But now by boat you can get a unique perspective of these gargantuan grain monoliths and a learn of their history and functions. The Industrial Heritage Committee is a non-profit organization interested in documenting Buffalo's significant industrial and commercial history. The long range goals of the Committee focus on development plans for the Buffalo Waterfront, including an Industrial Heritage Trail with designated markers of important historic sites with noe of the major sites serving as a working meseum of industry and commerce. In 2006 a Seaway Trail Marker was dedicated and Trail implementation began.
Tour dates:
Friday, July 4th
Saturday July 19th
Sunday August 17th
All Tours 12:30-2:30 pm
Adults: $14 Children 6-12: $9 Children 5 & Under Free
For reservations call 716-856-6696 | All boats depart from the Miss Buffalo dock at Erie Basin Marina | Website