I’ve been waiting for this art event to start my family Christmas shopping. If you don’t have a guide and map to the event you can pick one up at any of the locations participating. Though we have talked about it, my extended family still hasn’t converted to a draw-one-name-out-of-a-hat for presents program. The kids of the family are still at the young-adult-but-not-just-a-card stage, which means I am in the market for lots of interesting small presents. Luckily, I live in Buffalo! Friday night I made it to: 190 Bryant St. – 9 artists – Purchased 2 snowmen mugs for…
Author: Laura Chestnut
Thursday marked the next step in The Michigan Street African American Heritage Project. A Commission has been put together and held its first meeting to talk about creating the management plan required to become the 20th Heritage Area in New York State. The august commission will begin by solidifying their vision for the area which will commemorate the African American experience in Buffalo through the Underground Railroad, the Civil Rights Movement, and the rich culture the Colored Musician’s Club brought in shaping that experience. The targeted East Side area is a swath that lies roughly between Broadway, Eagle, Elm and…
I deliberately held this Elmwood house from inclusion in my recent Elmwood mansion piece because it is one of my favorite buildings and because it was an early pioneer in the back to the city trend. This building on Elmwood, just south of Bryant, is home to Benjamin’s Art Gallery. It went through an extensive renovation and conversion to retail-use way back in the 70s when any kind of investment in Buffalo’s neighborhoods was very rare. It was in the 1970’s that people started to take a second look at American cities and the valuable treasures that they contained. Though…
As we all know Buffalo was once chock full of Millionaires who left behind an amazing legacy of streets filled with mansions in a wide swath from downtown to Hertel Avenue. Some streets such as Delaware of course, along with Linwood and Richmond, are famous for their mansions. These streets conjure instant images of big elegant houses. Less well known for its history of high end living is Elmwood Avenue. Today we think of Elmwood for its shops and restaurants but give little thought to the mansions that still line the street at many places. Before it was a commercial…
There is a small block on Franklin Street that separates the Theater District from Allentown from Chippewa. It acts as a gateway, a buffer zone, an unclaimed frontier. As I walk down this cantle of land, few buildings catch my eye. There are some parking lots, Darcy McGee’s, and a small but pronounced brownstone. As I approach the well-appointed building, the drapes dressing the front columns tell me I have arrived at an alluring, progressive Italian restaurant. Duo bridges the gap, not only between some of Buffalo’s favorite neighborhoods, but also its sophisticated and familiar pallets. As I entered Duo…
So what does one do when one has exerted no self control at the farmer’s market? My best and no-fail solution to this problem is a mélange of roasted vegetables. I have not yet found a vegetable that is not best when roasted, and it has become my favorite method of preparing vegetables. The vegetables seem to have more taste roasted than when boiled or steamed, and I don’t feel the need for butter or other toppings. I like the vegetables drier, and in the case of potatoes and Brussels sprouts, the crispy outside roasting creates. I also like that…
These simple row houses at 174-182 North Pearl in the north east corner of Allentown were one of the city’s first renovation projects. They were built in the 1880’s following a design by architect Frederick Fischer. As commonly happened in this part of town, the five once elegant, single-family houses gradually slid downward until they had become decrepit rooming houses. Thankfully, architect Bruce Garver, with rare early appreciation for the city’s architectural treasures, saw great potential and completed a very fine restoration of the buildings in 1973. His work brought back the beauty of their historic details while adding some…
A few weeks ago there was a story in The News about how some magazine (I forget which one) lowered the UB Law School’s raking a few notches. The school tossed off the ranking as unscientific and of little merit. Later in the article Law School officials did acknowledge that rankings of this type do have an effect on the school and that it is important to have a good national reputation. They then used the ranking (ironically) as a springboard to lobby for a new Law School building. They noted that the building, O’Brian Hall on the Amherst campus,…
A few weeks ago a very interesting book caught my attention, The World Without Us by Allen Weisman. The book explores a world in which humans suddenly cease to exist on our planet. How long would our legacy endure? What would remain and what would quickly disappear? Though I spend much of my life as an architect, building up that human legacy I have also always been interested in the processes of its destruction. I find ruins to be supremely interesting. Touching the withered product of past civilizations evokes strong emotion. To know that a long past group of people…
So starts the mini-documentary film The Waterfront: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow directed by Kameron Wood. Kameron is a film student at Squeaky Wheel, a student at Oracle Charter School and one of the most impressive young men that I have had a chance to meet. Kameron is one of twelve high school students who competed to participate in the Buffalo Youth Media Institute program for young film makers. The Buffalo Youth Media Institute selects students each year to produce a short film on a common subject of historical and community interest. Last year, the inaugural year, the theme of the…