Could you be one of the few, lucky urban dwellers to one day call 95 Perry ‘Home’? As Watts Engineers was busy cutting a ribbon this past Tuesday (see post), building owner and developer, Sam Savarino was busy putting the final details on his new Cobblestone residence. Just down Mississippi Street at BRO headquarters, I have many-a-time wondered what it would be like if our building had been converted to residential, rather than commercial. Yesterday I finally got my chance to see what that conversion might have looked like – Sam asked me if I wanted to check out his…
Author: Wudenbachs
This morning, as I was preparing to head off to record our WBFO weekly radio show, I received a frantic message from a Sugar City supporter pleading to shed a light on a troubling controversy. The Sugar City fan relayed to me that the art organization was having trouble maintaining the focus of the organization due to one neighbor who repeatedly calls the police whenever their is a show. “The police show up and the music is already over,” she expressed to me. “The shows hardly go past 10pm to avoid loud noise issues. On the other side of Sugar…
A BRO viewer just sent me this image of Ward Pinkel and Tyler Griffis installing a couple of steel buffalo silhouettes on Bidwell Parkway. Ward, Co-owner of Urban Threads, commissioned Tyler to make the works in lieu of putting up a fence between his driveway and Caffe Aroma. “I didn’t want to do it with a fence – I wanted to do something artistic and friendly. We also have a buffalo outside of Urban Clothing on Elmwood. They are made of steel, which I put textured sand paint on so that they would have some grit. The grit will hopefully…
The long awaited 18th Street Community Park totems are in the process of being installed at the Urban Roots garden location on the city’s West Side (see back story). The majority of the fence is in place with the exception of the two gates. Those final additions should be complete by Friday. I learned from a couple of the UB students that each totem takes about 10 minutes to level and about 20 minutes to weld into place. That’s a total time of half an hour give or take. Multiply that times 91 totems, and these students certainly have their…
A recent setback and potential tragedy for historic Amherst Street is turning out to be just the opposite. After a fire ripped through the back section of Nick’s Place, devoted customers wondered if they would ever be able to return to the revered diner. What would life on Amherst Street be like without Nick’s? The locals shuddered to even think about it.Thanks to the street’s resilience, it looks like Nick’s will indeed be back… with a vengeance. The community, being led by Project Director Mark Kubiniec (owner of Joe’s Station – Amherst Street neighbor), is rallying to fast track the…
Earlier this afternoon my girlfriend and I stopped over to Guercio’s Market on Grant Street to pick up some dinner supplies. As we walked around the market I could not help but notice a vibrant array of colors displayed across the street. I kept looking out the window wondering what (and who) had set up an outdoor stand. That’s the thing about Grant Street. Unlike other commercial districts that might be a bit more structured, there is an organic-ness about Grant that always keeps me guessing. One day a storefront might be empty – the next day a vendor might…
Once again, Brad Wales and his team of 10 independent and 15 studio UB students have set out to astound the residents of Buffalo. Remember the bus shelters in Allentown? Remember the spinning facade of the house on Putnam? This time Brad had set his eyes on the Five Corners area of the city. In fact, his latest Small Built Project will add to the growing grassroots momentum that has begun to take root. Back in December I detailed the project here. Since that time the students have been busy preparing the totems for the Urban Roots park. When I…
Regarding the status of Five Points Bakery’s soft opening this past Saturday, I must say that the massive community support has been nothing short of overwhelming. We stopped in for a loaf of bread on opening day (photo) and learned that they had sold out 50 loaves in an hour and a half. Then, after working through the night to prepare for Sunday sales, they still could not keep up with demand and sold out again (another 50 loaves). Needless to say, the bakery has become an overnight sensation (see original post).Five Points is now considering adding more walk-in hours…
So what do you do if the dream house you were eying suddenly falls out of reach when the economy tanks? The banks aren’t lending and you’ve already sold your house to put up collateral? To make it worse, your dream house is in jeopardy of being a victim of demolition by neglect. That’s the scenario that Scott Washburn and John Crawford were in when they made the leap of faith and moved forward with their plans to rescue and renovate a three-storey brick structure on Rhode Island (see story). “We decided to come up with a new plan,” Scott…
I love the new painted window murals that have appeared on the Artspace Café building. I call it that because the two-storey brick structure has been marketed as a suitable space for a coffee shop or eatery. At least that is how many within the group envision it. For years the building has been an eyesore, covered with all sorts of disjointed signage. Now that the vibrant hand-painted billboards have been added*, one can see more clearly the potential that this Coe and Main Street corner has.It is also befitting that the artistic touch has been added since the adjoining…