In this installment of the Beautiful Buildings series I thought I would add a bit of explanation. These black and white photos are test layouts for Volume Two of my book. Buffalo: Architecture in the American Forgotten Land. Volume One was published in 2008. It has over 90 pages filled with similar black and white images of Buffalo buildings taken by me over a few decades. I published the book to spread the word about Buffalo’s rich collection of architecture. As part of America’s great “flyover” territory, little attention its paid to the treasure trove of architecture that Buffalo collected over the decades mostly spanning the early 20th century. The book was my little effort to send Buffalo out into the world and maybe, just maybe, someone far away would take note some day. The book is not a best seller but I do know that there are copies of it in places as far and wide as Germany and Australia.
When I started putting the first book together I realized that there was no way to show every building that needed to be shown so I included “Volume One” on the cover to make sure that I followed up with a second book. I had purposely left out buildings which I believed night be demolished. I did not want a book of buildings that Buffalo used to have. It was not meant as an exercise in nostalgia. For this reason Volume One features no industrial buildings since most were very much in danger of becoming land fill at the time. Fast forward to 2015 and Buffalo has become a radically different place. Developers are now searching the city over for industrial buildings to renovate. I am still developing the format of the second book. It will have similar chapters to Volume One, showcasing residential, commercial, civic, and religious architecture by chapter. But, Volume Two will also include a section covering Buffalo’s rich and architecturally influential industrial landmarks as well as many still endangered commercial structures. There may also be room for the slew of new buildings going up on Buffalo’s streets.
The publication date is still one to two years away as I continue to collect images. I even continue to find buildings that will be in the book that I have previously not known about. Those are my favorites. If you have a suggestion for a building that must be included let me know.
Volume One is still available at Blurb.com. You can also buy it at the Albright Knox Gallery shop. They have a handful of signed copies. It makes a perfect Christmas give so run don’t walk to get your copy.