THE BASICS: This sweet, memoir-like, devised-for-staged-reading play by A. R. Gurney is at last getting its WNY premiere, thanks to the Road Less Traveled Productions, who have been championing Gurney with a multi-year retrospective. The production, directed the by RLT’s Scott Behrend, runs weekends at the Market Arcade Centre through May 13th. The play runs about 90 minutes; there is no intermission.THUMBNAIL SKETCH: Buffalo and environs. Late 30’s into the war years. Young Eddie (read A. R. Gurney) finds his safe, privileged world rocked by the unexpected split-up of his grandparents. And he’s not alone. When grandpa’s oldest friend horns…
Author: diddlebock
In a bold move, TRICO Plant No. 1 decided to take matters into its own wiper blades and SAVE ITSELF! Last night TRICO called me on my preservation hotline and said that come morning it was going to leave Buffalo. So this morning I went downtown to bid adieu to a piece of Buffalo’s future history. After a huge bear hug goodbye my friend “Trike” lifted itself off the ground with thousands of multi-colored balloons and a rocket booster engine just in case. What a sight! When asked why it needed a rocket booster engine TRICO said, “I am not…
THE BASICS: This three character domestic drama by Gillian Grattan was a finalist in the ICTC’s Maguire Playwriting Competition (for new works by Irish citizens). Directed by Fortunato Pezzimenti, and starring Christian Brandjes, Beth Donohue and Diane Curley, this world premiere production runs weekends at the Andrews Theatre through March 25th. A short full-length play, it runs a little under 90 minutes. There is no intermission.THUMBNAIL SKETCH: A rural village in the southeast of Ireland, present day. When Lydia, a beautiful, unhappy “flower child” from the city, moves into her deceased grandmother’s house, she disturbs the equilibrium between her unhappily…
An historic West Village church has a new owner. The Evergreen Foundation, a subsidiary of the Evergreen Association, has purchased the Prospect Avenue Baptist Church at the northeast corner of Georgia Street and Prospect Avenue. The sanctuary at 262 Georgia Street and adjoining properties at 71 and 73 Prospect Avenue were purchased for $115,000 from the Prospect Avenue Baptist Society in late December. The not-for-profit Evergreen Association oversees four affiliated agencies including the Foundation, Evergreen Health Services (formerly AIDS Community Services), PRIDE Center of WNY and Alianza Latina. A multi-million dollar renovation of the church property will provide meeting and…
The number of churches that have been forced to close their doors in recent years has been staggering. However, there have been some rare cases where churches have been able to reinvest in their historic properties and find a new life. Holy Angels Church at 348 Porter Avenue is one of those rare examples. Built in 1856, the Roman Catholic Church has been in constant use since it was completed. The congregation was founded in 1851 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. They began as a seminary with humble beginnings in a converted barn located on the Terrace in…
Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Group of Western New York (YLG) is hosting a 100 Year Anniversary presentation at the historic Electric Tower. The party is taking place on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. Pre-registration and the presentation will be located across the street at newly renovated retail space at 5 East Huron Street. The building is owned and operated by Iskalo Development Corporation and has worked tirelessly returning the downtown landmark to its original grandeur including a comprehensive restoration of the building lobby, common areas, and a full building mechanical system replacement featuring many “Green” upgrades. Attendees will…
Ellicott Development isn’t wasting any time diving right into their latest residential conversion, 14 North Street. It was built as a Baptist Church in 1899 and retains much of its original architectural features, inside and out. The building will house eleven residential units, ranging from one to three bedrooms as well as a commercial space occupying about 1000 square feet. Although Ellicott Development is not utilizing historic tax credits, the adaptive reuse of the church is extremely sensitive to the history of the building. Many projects cannot utilize the historic tax credits because most often times the reuse calls for…
Anyone who has walked by the Hotel Lafayette in recent weeks has been sure to notice the massive improvements being made on the exterior. New windows have been installed in the upper floors and the original windows of the first floor have been restored. Gone is the big blue wall and covered windows which once dominated the ground floor spaces. Beautiful, natural light now floods the ballrooms, which look astounding after months of hard work. Rocco Termini is still very much on schedule for his official opening of the building later this year on May 1st. Although there have been…
Come out and join preservationists, urban planners, architects, and laymen for a great drinks and even better conversation about historic preservation in Buffalo. Buffalo’s Young Preservationists (BYP) are hosting their monthly happy hour at the Essex Street Pub (530 Rhode Island Street) tonight from 6pm to 9pm. It’s a casual event with great opportunities for networking and discussing future BYP projects and events. Buffalo’s Young Preservationists is an inclusive group that welcomes interested young people from all related fields to join in celebrating our region’s built history through preservation-related events as well as innovative new partnerships to specifically engage this generation in…
This is the second part of a two part seriesThe halls of St. Matthew’s School were once filled with the sounds of students rushing to their classes, but now the building serves as a temporary home for refugees awaiting a new life. Vive La Casa (50 Wyoming Avenue) is housed in the former school building for the St. Matthew’s parish and has been active there for nearly 20 years. Vive La Casa is a non-profit organization and the largest refugee shelter in the country. Refugees come from over 100 different countries and Vive has served over 80,000 refugees seeking asylum…