“A room and bath for a dollar and a half” – E.M. Statler
If you’ve been rooting for the rebirth of The Statler in Buffalo NY, there is an article in The Atlantic Cities that you might find interesting. As metros around the country continue to witness the demolition of the iconic structures, with little fanfare, there are only a handful of original Statler buildings left to admire – with Buffalo’s appearing to be one of the grandest around. Statler buildings as a whole are not being revered as they should – in a day and age when a new modern skyscraper can easily trump a “tired old work horse”, Buffalo is attempting to do the exact opposite. Our city’s bumpy history is one of the reasons that Statler City is being given another chance to reinvent itself. And if a developer suddenly decides that Buffalo is in need of a skyscraper, then there are a few prime parking lots screaming for infill.
It’s apropos that Buffalo’s Statler is at the center of attention these days. Mainly because the hotel chain was born here, rising out of the ashes of the temporarily constructed Pan-American Exposition. E.M. Statler was hoisted upon this city’s shoulders, and if he could have lived to see what would eventually transpire, I bet that he would be proud of this city’s desire to honor the roots of the once luxurious hotel enterprise.
As for recent updates on The Statler, word on the street is that the Dormitory Authority, the State agency that was coming up with the $5,000,000 (promised by the City), has apparently stated that it can’t give money to a for-profit cause. That is where the hold-up is. You would think that the City would have access to an equal sum of money from another source, since it originally planned on allocating the $5,000,000 without checking to see if it was entirely possible.