The Elmwood Village neighborhood of Buffalo covers a large swath of the city, much of which is densely packed with gorgeous Victorian houses within easy walking distance of shops, restaurants, and city treasures such as the Albright Knox. It is truly a perfect setting for the discerning urban explorer and not to bad an option for those traveling on business or coming home to see family. While hotel rooms in the neighborhood are in very short supply there are many many options at all price points in the Airbnb market. Here is a brief sample of what you can find…
Author: David Steele
You cannot get inside St Ann’s Church on Buffalo’s East Side anymore. But, this panoramic image will give you a bit of a sense for why this building must be saved. The Catholic Church has closed the church and rumor has it they plan to strip the interior and ready the building for demolition and eventual sale of the property. Click on the image below and take a look at this panorama. Make sure it is in full screen mode to get the full impact. How can we throw this away? How can we send this to landfill? Click the…
I Wrote this story 10 years ago as St. Ann’s Church celebrated its 150th birthday under the cloud of a threat by the Catholic Church to close the church. Their excuse for the closure has been the high costs of making repairs to the massive old building, which they say cannot be justified by a dwindling congregation membership. Parishioners and concerned citizens took their fight to keep the church open all the way to the Pope but came up short. Recently the Church has indicated that they intend to strip artifacts from the interior and potentially have the building demolished.…
I started writing this post to highlight the range of spectacular houses and apartments in Buffalo which, are available for short-term rental on Airbnb. As I combed through the offerings on the popular vacation rental site it quickly became clear that there was way too much material for just one story. So, consider this the first installment in a series showing off some of Buffalo’s great architecture the way vacationers from across the world see it. This post will start the series in Allentown. Airbnb lists hundreds of available residences in the city, suburbs, and nearby Canada. Allentown possibly has the highest…
When you are out and about leading your busy life, do you “see” your surroundings? What I mean by this question is, do you really notice what is around you or do you take it for granted? Do you see the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral on the M&T building, or the spiky edges of the Court House curtain wall? Do you ever notice the incredible beauty of nature’s abstract ice patterns in the harbor? Buffalo is made up some very special stuff and if you take some time and really look, really pay attention, really notice what is around you the…
This unique modernist house at 321 Humboldt Parkway was design by Buffalo Architect Robert T Coles for his own residence. It was constructed in 1961 at a time when very few new private houses were being built. It was also built at a time when its Hamlin Park neighborhood was being assaulted by the destruction of Humboldt Parkway for construction of the Scajaquada and Kensington Expressways. As a result of this and white flight the neighborhood experienced substantial disinvestment but remained a pleasant neighborhood and is sure to see a lot of new interest as the popularity of city living gains…
One of Buffalo’s most spectacular residences has popped up on Zillow under the “Make Me Move” heading. This is a category designed to ask a high price and see if anyone bites. In the case of this house the $985,000 ask seems like a bargain (although Zillow pegs its fair rice at just over $736,000). This is a truly spectacular house that has been renovated and kept in like new condition. It is big and filled with fire places and tons of intricate woodwork. It also comes with big lush backyard sporting a gazebos and a little babbling brook. The…
Nine years ago I published a book of my own photographs heralding the incredible architectural heritage of Buffalo. My goal was to shine a light on a legacy of important design that is too often lost in the fog of America’s flyover-country myopia. I had been planning the book for decades, but could never pull the trigger on publishing because I feared leaving out a deserving building. It finally dawned on me that the book could include more than one volume. It could be a series, hence the title Buffalo: Architecture in the American Forgotten Land, Volume One was coined. You…
After seeing a number of interesting modern Buffalo infill housing projects (new and proposed) popping up on the internet social media scene, my interest was piqued. Who is doing this work? Turns out they were all coming from the same young Buffalo architecture firm, Abstract Architecture, PC. You likely know Abstract Architecture through their sprawling Buffalo RiverWorks complex. The industrially-inspired architectural form can hold as many as 5,000 people for various events including roller derby, ice skating, and concerts. It has been a transformative project on the Buffalo River. Buffalo RiverWorks The firm is currently completing work on a wonderful…
Back in the mid seventies I was just old enough to become aware of Buffalo’s gorgeous urban forest. Kids take their surroundings for granted and that is what I had done until I was a teen. Unfortunately, my new-found awareness was honed just as 3 giant elms were being cut down in front of my house. The city quickly replanted my street, Lancaster Avenue, with chestnut trees. They have grown large and full in the decades since Dutch Elm Disease wiped out a large majority of the city’s street trees. This is not the norm however, as most of the…