Buffalo Rising Online

Sep 3rd, 8:13am By STEEL

From time to time I have highlighted urban vistas which define important urban experiences in Buffalo. The two best known urban vistas--the city hall view looking west on Court Street, and the southern view down Main Street to the HSBC tower--are very similar. They are each composed of large buildings which close a dramatic axis. Closed axis vistas are very prominent in architectural history. They have been used for thousands of years to focus attention on important buildings and monuments. These vistas convey tremendous influence, power and authority.

The first of these vistas was constructed at the height of Buffalo's wealth and influence, though ironically also at the edge of its precipitous fall from grace. Buffalo City Hall was the first project to break the city's original radial street plan. Before the addition of City Hall, Court Street ran west from the busiest corner in the heart of Buffalo's then vibrant commercial district to an old industrial area long past its prime. Though the city had two elegant public squares, it had no real civic focus point. The streets bled off in every direction. The location of City Hall on this axis was a perfect choice which created one of the most memorable urban vistas anywhere (helped along by the building's dramatic architecture of course). Even in a dramatically weakened city, the view down Court to City Hall conveys tremendous power and is still a point of pride people in the entire metro area.

The second vista was created in the 1970's when the massive Marine Midland Center (now HSBC) was erected over Main Street. Up to that time (as with Court Street) Main ran right through downtown and out the other side, just like main streets in any small town. Main Street and downtown in general did not provide a sense of a place so much as presenting itself as just a stop along the way. The addition of the axis ending tower completely transformed the spacial experience of Downtown. Main Street became more of a room than a pass though.

There has been much criticism of this tower over the years but, I think (as far as placement goes) it was a good move. Many claimed and complained that it cut the city off from the water. But in reality the city was cut off from the waterfront long before by railroads and the eventual addition of the throughway. In a way, the tower patched the city up a bit by hiding the throughway as it crossed the south end of Main. It is no accident that the powers that be chose this location for their new bank headquarters. This was meant to convey the power, wealth and influence of Buffalo's largest bank.

Not too many years earlier M&T bank made a big statement with their elegant white slab named, not so modestly "One M&T Plaza" (I believe that this was the first purposeful use of the number "one" in an address in Buffalo). Marine Midland had to make a big statement to keep up with the competition, and big is what they did. They put a major exclamation point in the most visible place in the city. In a way this tower was a second city hall. Much of the power and influence wielded back in the 70's in the metro area came from the halls of this building. Together these two vistas make for a wonderful urban experience from the corner of Court and Main. Now if we can just get the guts of downtown back again.

Something interesting to think about: At one time street traffic ran below the HSBC tower. When the transit mall was installed in the 1980's street traffic was ended in favor of light rail cars and two narrow service roads. With plans moving ahead for returning traffic to Main, it will be interesting to see what they do on this block. With today's security concerns it is unlikely that street traffic will ever be returned below the tower. Is there something more interesting that can be done with the tunnel at the base of the building?

For previous Urban Vistas go here http://www.buffalorising.com/story/urban_vistas_tunnel_vision