After selling its High Street building to an affiliate of Ciminelli Development, the Langston Hughes Center has set its sights on a new home. The arts and cultural organization will temporarily move to the Elsinghorst Building at 136 Broadway while it finalizes a deal to purchase a nearby property. 136 Broadway reopened in 2007 after owner Jean Elsinghorst painstakingly renovated the circa-1866 building into three contemporary loft apartments and first floor commercial space.
According to The Buffalo News, the Institute is looking to purchase the circa-1884 building at 163 Broadway, southeast corner of Michigan Avenue. The Dellenbaugh Block includes 525 Michigan Avenue, 163-173 Broadway and 60 Nash Street. The buildings, which could use some TLC, include 39,104 sq.ft. of space.
The move to Broadway and Michigan is a boost to The Michigan Street African American Heritage Project. An effort is underway to create a management plan required for the neighborhood to become the 20th Heritage Area in New York State.
The Heritage Area will commemorate the African American experience in Buffalo. The proposed district is bounded by Broadway, Elm, Eagle and Nash Street. It encompasses the expanding Colored Musician’s Club, the Michigan Street Baptist Church and the Edward Nash House Museum which includes 50 years of Pastor Nash’s letters, sermons and a collection of local memorabilia.
The Langston Hughes Institute Center for Cultural History and Arts Education has been a catalyst for the development, preservation and promotion of African American heritage in the City of Buffalo since 1968.