A few days ago I posted this story about some wonderful North Pearl Street row houses. In that story I alluded to some other treasures in this small corner of the city. The building seen here sits at the top of North Pearl, almost directly across the street from those row houses. It may rank as Buffalo's most underrated and least known masterpieces. It was built in 1899 as the home of the First Baptist Church. Its address is actually 14 North Street and now serves as the worship space for the New Life Assembly of God.
I could not find any information about this building. It is not in the Buffalo architecture guide book, It is not listed on Buffalo as an Architectural Museum, and I could find no useful links using Google. Yet here sits this gorgeous building at a prominent location - what gives? The fact that this building is so little known speaks volumes about how extensive the scope of high quality buildings in Buffalo is.
If I were to guess, I would say that this church was designed by Buffalo architect Green and Wicks. The rich use of color, wonderfully balanced composition, and perfect classical detailing are all hallmarks of that talented design firm. The best features, or many delights, on this building are the incredible stained glass windows punching through the beautiful texture of the golden Roman brick walls. This church is unusual in that it is designed in an auditorium style. Being a protestant congregation, the Baptists often shunned the more common and ceremonial cross shaped church plans favored by Catholics. Because of this you might pass this building without realizing that it is a church. I will try to get a peek inside in the near future. Stay tuned for more on the North Pearl area and hopefully more on this building as well.