Elevators, a pool... and a jazz club?
Last Friday I stopped into The Statler Hotel to take a look at the newly renovated and functioning elevator system. I also snuck a peek at the work that has been done to the building's swimming pool. When I saw the restored elevators, it was the first time that I realized how jacked-up they had previously been. Now the golden colors literally sparkle when you approach them. And when the doors slide open you can gaze upon the temporary inlaid wood floor - it's temporary because the custom engraved marble is still being fashioned.
Though the pool has not been fixed up exactly, the initial stages to uncover its beauty have been completed. The bizarre platform that once converted the ornamental pool into a storage container has been removed, much to the pleasure of Bashar Issa, who said, "We were pleasantly surprised to find that it looks much bigger than we originally thought. And there are two sets of steps that descend from either end. We're fortunate that the room has been preserved... it could have fared much worse."
From the basement we traveled back up to the first floor where I was shown the old jazz club. It's funny... I never knew that The Statler even had a jazz club. And there it sat - mothballed for all these years. The former jazz club is being totally redone. Bashar is keeping all of the original fixtures in place, and wants to showcase the historical aspects of the club. "There were some very special performers who graced this room," Bashar said. "Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe have walked through the doors... that's interesting to think about. Now we want to show people what it was like back in the day."
The club used to have a series of banquets on a raised platform where the patrons would sit. There was a dance floor with an elevated stage for the band. The serpentine bar wraps around one corner of the room, and there are art deco light fixtures that are in need of a good cleaning (and light bulbs) before they can be switched on again. But once these things are cared for again, Buffalo will see another piece of its history brought to life - in the form of a hot new downtown jazz club.
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Perry
Awesome photos...I've recently had two friends tell me stories about the Statler (they worked there in the 80's) and how much of the building is still intact. Your photos prove it. I heard all about the swimming pool. They also mentioned a tunnel that went under Delaware Avenue (to a parking garage, I believe). Anyways, this is a great project for Buffalo.
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NathanFarnsworth
This place is going to be sharp. A jazz club, a pool like that...i wonder what else
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chris69
so thats the jazz club that everyone keeps reminiscing about.....oh how they used to brag....that Buffalo was the place to be when that club was open......people used to drive all the way from Toronto for entertainment and nightlife. Yes, only a few short years ago Buffalo was bigger than Toronto and Atlanta!
Our citizens stood tall among the nation and the world....how far we have fallen! How far we have to go to climb back to regain even the smallest bit of what we once had.
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al-alo
i heard the tunnel was actually acess to a Minuteman III missle silo. apparently, Ellsworth Milton (E. M.) Statler's heirs had been early officers in the OSS (the predecessor to the CIA). As WWII transitioned to the cold war, Statler's heirs volunteers the hotel chain sites to the cause in what ever the government had seen fit.
But the chain wasnt utilized until the mid 1960's, when the Johnson administration used the entire chain as a covert network for counter espionage efforts (as the hotels were located in major metro areas).
Later, as Atlas missles were being decommisioned nationally and the new missles were brought online, the federal government sought out sites that would not be easily visible from spy planes or by land based operatives. The Statler hotels were selected due to their locations across the country and the camouflage in plain sight.
Each hotel was fitted with control rooms complete with bomb blast doors and silos. I believe the 3rd elevator on the Statler's south side acessed this level. However, each location's projectile was configured differently due to the obvious need for secrecy and the geography limitations of each site. In 1969, the Hotel's heat systems was replaced. While the system was actually replaced, hidden within the boiler materials were the complex controls and parts of the missle, which were then assembled on site.
The Salt II Treaty effectively ended the Statlers use as a military facility. the control room was removed under the guise of a remodeling project. the silo itself was sealed.
Unfortunately the evidence of the silo cannot be seen, as it was originally housed within the basement below the tower of the Balcom / Chandler House directly east of the hotel. In order to completely destroy all evidence of the silo, the new federal courthouse will be built upon the old site. the demolition of the home has already eleminated almost all of the evidence of the once proud cog of our national defense.
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sayvanderlay
More pictures please!
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NBJOHN
God this could possibly signify the rebirth of Buffalo??? I hope so. Now I wish the population decline would reverse and well paying job growth could occur.
Oh and Hotel Layette be renovated. I will stop there with my wish list
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AuburnAve
High end ($+400k) and mid priced ($150-200k) condos in the Statler PLEASE!!!
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Andrew
I went in the statler recently to look at the progress going on and i already see a huge improvement. the elevators are indeed very nice. but the hallways and offices on many of the floors are class "B" indeed. But with all thats going on this is going to be a beautiful building again. In fact with all the proposed development in this part of downtown its going to be a beautiful and wealthy area.
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urbanboarder
Great article! Pittsburgh's Statler has been kept up very nicely, I have a feeling this might easily surpass it.
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sally
urbanboarder - Pittsburgh does not have a Statler you are probably thinking of the William Penn which was never a Statler Hotel.
alo-alo - Are you joking with your post? It has no basis in reality. In the first place the Statler family got out of the Hotel business in the early 1950's. The tunnel was in actuality built prior to WWII before the advent of the minuteman missles which were never located anywhere in downtown Buffalo.
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al-alo
silly sally!
that is what they want you to think. . .lol.
of course im kidding. what sort of crazy person do u think i am. :)
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chrish
The pool, the jazz club... it reminds me of The Shining. I expect hundreds of gallons of blood to start rushing out of those elevators and skeletons to fill the seats in the lounge!
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tommyBluez
It looks fantastic so far-----
Pardon my ignorance, but basically before Mr. Issa purchased it, they were using the building but apparently very little of it? I remember going to a Bartender/Service appreciation thing at the Ballroom there...
How are some of you getting in to see it? Just knowing people or are they allowing people in to see.....
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chris69
The improvements at the Statler do not suprise me now that Issa has taken charge but what is becoming incredably suprising is the lack of interest and progress in the Greystone, LaFayette and Touraine. One would think that a developer would look at the progress at the Statler and snap up these three historic properties following the trend.
But as with much in Buffalo....even when someone shows the way to redevelopment with class and quality....locals still remain clueless.
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Biniszkiewicz
Issa is impressing me. It's wonderful to get a buyer with vision and pockets. He's the best buyer I can imagine (based on his actions so far) for that building. I'm optimistic that his polishing of that gem will reap rewards for him and though I have in previous threads pooh-poohed the general enthusiasm for his oroposed new building (I suggested it will never happen), I am getting more optimistic that he will eventually undertake the project.
What he is doing for the Statler is just right. He's respecting the grandness and history of the structure (which is a way of respecting all of the vision and love its creators invested in it while in their hands) while he reinterprets the building's incarnation. It was a grand place and he seems capable and motivated to return it so. Three cheers!
I'll say this about his proposed tower, if I haven't already: The site is very well chosen, as is the orientation of the building. The views will be west to the river, the lake and Canada, all of which look great. And to the east, the view will be probably the best of downtown anywhere in the city, because from that view downtown will actually look like a big city downtown:
Main Street is the spine of buffalo. We don't have a very square downtown, it's more stretched out and thin. But from Issa's site, all of the buidlings downtown will be stretched out in front of you. It will look like you're in the middle of a big thriving metropolis (a little like a fake western facade on a hollywood set, sort of, no disrespect to Buffalo intended, I'm just saying you'll look out the windows and see nothing but big builidngs and skyscrapers, not realizing there's not much beyond it. But that illusion may fail somewhat if he builds significantly taller than other buildings; this hurts the top floors of the HSBC building, I think. Go to the 38th floor and Buffalo looks a little less impressive than from some of the lower floors because from the top floor, everything else downtown looks a little small and weak. The idea of a tall building is that you'll feel like you're on the Empire State Building. But if Buffalo is around you instead of Manhattan, the vista is a little less impressive).
From my office window on the 19h floor of the Rand building I look out to the east side. It's not a very impressive looking downtown looking east from Washington Street. The views are much better the other three directions, looking at more big buildings and the lake, but from the Rand there are fewer of those views.
Chris69: With regard to the greystone, my understanding is that someone responsible does have control and is moving forward. Not Paladino (who did own it) nor Termini (who more recently was going to take a stab) but someone else (forget who, but trust the person who told me). And the Touraine is still under section 8 covenents. When those section 8 requirements expire, developers will eye that one. The Lafayette is an expensive redo, but someone will. The current owners are long time owners. They have been unmotivated to sell. I hear they're really going to start upgrading. There are challenges to significant upgrades (rooms and baths too small for today's standards, hallways don't conform; a real redo to make the product competitive in today's world will take imagination and bucks). But it's a great looking gem, isn't it?
I see the glass half full. I'm thankful for the Guarantee Building and City Hall and the Ellicott Square Building and ECC and fountain plaza and lots of others. We're getting there. The direction is good. Downtown is getting healthier.
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Hospitable
This has got to be the most fascinating project going on outside of New York City.... by the look of things we're finally going to have a large first class hotel, this is going to be an excellant way to show off what Buffalo has to offer.
The jazz club looks really cool.. there aren't too many buildings left in Downtown that can say Frank Sinatra walked through its doors. I hope they keep the bar.. can't wait till its open.
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chris69
It kinda shows me how ridiculously stupid snyder is regarding the downtown Hyatt!
I really think Snyder should have followed the Dulski and Statler into a mixture of office, residential and hotel for the Hyatt! The Hyatt is far to dependent on a single business model and he isnt going to be able to fight off the eventual relocation of a new Convention/Conference Center into the Cobblestone forever! Changing his business model would have made him more flexible to the future needs of downtown.
The best thing that Snyder could do would be to get rid of the atrium and reopen Genessee Street!
Restoring our street grid...and creating multi-use business models for our downtown buildngs is going to make them much easier to market and remain viable so we can continue to grow.
PS: Im shocked that people actually know the Touraine! LOL! Its kinda below the radar for most Buffalonians.
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MJWorthington
Its amazing how much of that used building was left unused. A nicely perserved urbex dream.
It feels great to see the core seeing public and private investment. Lots of surface lots for us to fill!
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Hospitable
The best thing Snyder could have done with the Hyatt was sell it to someone competent after the 10th year it didn't make a profit
Nearly 20 years later its only been profitable for 2, new high quality competion like this is only going to put more pressure on poorer managed third rate properties like the Hyatt, Adams Mark, and the Comfort Inn to upgrade, downsize or close.
Aside from the fact that I throughly enjoy the actual Gennesse Office Building, but it will be interesting to see what happens to the Hyatt when the convention center does move ( 10 years or less) and we have increased competition from other better maintained and managed properties.
1. Statler 2. Buffalo City Tower Hotel 3. Dulski Building Hotel 4. Bass Pro Hotel?
This is going to be one of the most exciting moments of my life.. being a Buffaloanian active in the Hotel Industry.. O man can't wait!! In the hospitality industry renovating a Statler is like ressurecting a God.. lol
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Change
Very interesting... it is refreshing to see what outside ideas and money can do.
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Sal
Was the Jazz Club called the Rendezvous Room or is that just another ballroom in the lower level? Cool pics!
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queenseyes
Sal, it was The Downtowner. I am waiting on some more info about the history of the club for another post.
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othello
another thing to remember: the statler is the home to the only known peregrine falcons in the city...they nest there, and the audubon society keeps a webcam by their nest to watch the progress of the fledglings (http://www.buffaloaudubon.com/falconcam.htm). this building is not only part of our cultural heritage, but our natural heritage as well
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VictrolaMan
"another thing to remember: the statler is the home to the only known peregrine falcons in the city..."
True, although the city also has (or had) sharp shinned & red-tailed hawks.... sadly, since the no-environmental-impact-study-needed BP, they have disappeared from the outer West Side. After the stand of old cottonwood trees was hacked down for the ugly watertank & parking lot, both hawks disappeared and the rats are returning to the Forest Ave area. Thanks, Buff State.
ps : That dump (new BP "art center" has been sitting for over a month with no work apparent. What's going on? Can't find enough galvanized garbage-can metal to side it ?
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VictrolaMan
As part of the orchestra of Richard (Americo) Bono & His Silver Trumpet, my grandfather played in the Statler clubs, in Buffalo, Detroit, and Cleveland. They broadcast on network radio, from each location. I have a short record of excerpts from one broadcast; great music, very professional.
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