The business Eyes Downtown is expanding into a second space next door to its existing storefront on Main Street. Over the weekend Dr. Bob Hornberger was busy removing the old Goodfellas barber sign and discovered that there were intact transom windows in place – the interior has drop ceilings, which made it impossible to tell what was behind the sign.
When I spoke with Dr. Bob, he was getting ready to paint the transom windows black, but the more that we talked about the antiquated looking storefront, the more he began to lean towards leaving the windows as they were. He then made the decision to only cover the middle window with his optometrist sign, while leaving the bookend windows clear. Then we discussed how beautiful the old Eric O. Dean lettering was, and before I knew it Dr. Bob decided that that too should stay and that he was going to get an attractive sign that would hang over the doorway, thus leaving the integrity of the facade just as it was. He would even light the glass up at night.
Unfortunately, the windows had been broken on the sister-side of the storefront, leaving Dr. Bob (who only leases the storefront) the job of replacing the transoms with a wide beadboard (painted black). Maybe someday, those windows could also be replaced, leaving the entire facade looking as it did back when the building was built. Considering that many buildings on Main Street have been torn down to build plop-architecture, it’s nice to see that we can salvage some of the remaining storefronts in order to showcase the original look of the district. We should also continue to plant as many trees as possible to green the street, until additional business and building owners begin to see the light – or The City begins to reinforce the codes.
Eyes Downtown
902 Main Street
Buffalo NY 14202
716-883-9550