To
Michael Miller and the Central Terminal Restoration Committee: Thank you. You’ve been doing such good work for so
long on the Central Terminal, that it just seems natural. That’s what you do, and we accept that
you do it.
It
isn’t until we see something like the proposed demolition of an equally
beautiful terminal in Detroit, Michigan, that we realize that without the hard
work and dedication of people like you, and all of the community who pitches
in, we could be – almost were – in the same position.
We’ve
lost some iconic buildings through the years, but the losses eventually gave
birth to an army of preservationists who keep a vigilant watch over our local
architectural treasures in an effort to stop their destruction. Buildings like the Central Terminal are
monuments to an historic greatness Buffalo enjoyed that will never be matched
again in quite the same way.
Thank
you, too, to Howard Zemsky for the LCo Building, to the Martin House
Restoration Committee and to those working on a plan for the H.H. Richardson
Complex.
Last
year, the Livery was saved; thank you, Sam Savarino, Kitty Herrick, Paul Morgan
and all, including pro bono attorney Theresa Quinn. On the other hand,
unfortunately, we lost McBride’s Tavern.
This
year, there’s a Blacksmith’s Shop and several attached buildings, all owned by the same man, crumbling in the Cobblestone District on Illinois St. Here’s last year’s shot along with today’s:
These buildings are a short way from the newly developed
and developing inner harbor. The owner of the building has allegedly told
people he’ll wait until there’s a demo order, take it down on a weekend and
eventually build a high-rise hotel.
We made calls about this going all the way back to Richard Tobe’s watch
as commissioner of Economic Development, Inspections and Licenses. Every time Tobe was told about the demolition of the Blacksmith’s Shop or “shed” (gutted – see last image), he would call a halt, but the equipment would come back at the end of the day or on weekends to continue work. Now, it all happens in broad daylight, and we’re still waiting for word from the city on what is happening.
Last
year we were told by a city inspector that something would be done. He also said that writing about it would start an uproar that might impede the city’s ability to get the building owner on track. From what we can see, the only thing on track seems to be the continued demolition, bit by bit.
The
National Trust for Historic Preservation is holding their convention in Buffalo
in 2011, with more than 2,000 members attending. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the Blacksmith Shop was gone by
then?
The top image is at the corner of Illinois and South Park, formerly Elk.