Buildings Catalog

3 St. John's Place (formerly Dr. H. A. Forster Residence (Late 19th Century)

H. H. Little

H. H. Little was a prominent architect in Buffalo from 1874 until his death in 1917, and many of his works helped define the essential character of the city.  Of the numerous projects that this architect realized in the city, 3 St. John’s Place (or the Dr. H. A. Forster Residence, as it is also known), was one of his personal favorites, and appeared frequently in the literature produced by his firm documenting his designs.  The house has two principal entrances, a South entrance, facing St. John’s Place, which serves as the residential entrance, and an East entrance, on Wadsworth Street, which once opened into the doctor’s offices.

878 Main Street (c. 1890)

Long abandoned, this Allentown residence was purchased by ZeptoMetrix in 2007, and converted into the company’s headquarters.  After extensive renovation of the property, the company moved into their new headquarters in 2011.  The stunning interior woodwork was done by Block Industries, which is based in nearby Rochester, and includes some of the original dark-stained cherry that was salvaged from the original interior of the mansion.

918 Main Street (formerly the Summit Building) (1891)

Cyrus K. Porter

Like neighboring 878 Main Street, 918 Main is a late 19thcentury structure, consisting of four floors, located directly adjacent to the Red Jacket Building.  The series of buildings that cover the corner of Main and Allen Streets is a nice of example of late 19thcentury architecture, with some spectacular detailing, especially on building at the corner of Allen and Main Streets.  

Albright Knox Museum (1900-1905)

Green and Wicks

Designed by E. B. Green, who was not only one of Buffalo’s most famous architects at the time, but who was also a close friend of John J. Albright, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery harkens back to the Erectheum of the Athenian Acropolis for its main symbolic imagery.  Seventy-four freestanding columns circumvent the structure, forming the porticoes, hemicycle and loggia of the building, which also includes two Erectheum porches, containing scaled-down duplicates of the original Greek buildings iconic columns.  When completed, the building contained more than 5,000 tons of marble and had more columns than any other building in the United States, except for the Capitol Building in Washington D. C.  

Alling and Cory (1910-1911)

R. J. Reidpath and Son

The Alling and Cory Building is an early example of exposed concrete construction, common in many of Buffalo’s daylight factories, and like many of these buildings, it is elegantly proportioned and detailed.  Georgian detailing surmounts the entrance, while a classical vernacular has been chosen for its cornice.  Walter Gropius, who published numerous anonymous photographs of Buffalo’s grain elevators and daylight factories in the 1913 installment of the Jarhbuch, included an image of a similar Alling and Cory building in Cincinnati as an example for European architects to follow.  

Art Space (formerly Buffalo Vehicle Company) (1910)

Formerly the Buffalo Electric Vehicle Company, ArtSpace is an early example of daylight factory design.  The reinforced concrete and steel structure allow for ample fenestration, admitting profuse amounts of natural light to enter the interior of the building.  The exposed structural language of daylight factories, like this one, attracted the eyes of European modernist architects, like Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, seeking sincerity in design, and promoting a functional aesthetic over one based in historical styles.  

Babeville (formerly Asbury United Methodist Church (1876)

John H. Selkirk

Asbury was the last, and perhaps most important, commission realized by John H. Selkirk.  The imposing Medina sandstone church is designed in a Gothic Revival style, and includes side galleries, something that had been abandoned by many Gothic Revival architects of the time as uncharacteristic of medieval interiors.  The original stained-glass windows were designed by the Buffalo firm of Booth and Reister, and the building also boasts a system of basement catacombs.  

Birge Mansion (1896-1897)

Little and Browne

The Birge Mansion was commissioned by George Kingsley Birge, the successful son of Martin H. Birge, a local wallpaper manufacturer.  In addition to becoming a partner in his father’s wallpaper company, George Birge was also a controlling interest in the Pierce-Arrow company, from which he retired in 1917.  Birge Mansion is modeled off of a villa that George Birge had seen while in the Riviera.  It consists of two corner pavilions, flanking a central section, which incorporates three arched windows supported and separated by two tiers of Tuscan columns, and fronted by faux balustrades at the second floor.  

Blue Sky Mausoleum (2004)

Frank Lloyd Wright

Originally designed for Darwin Martin between 1925 and 1928, the Blue Sky Mausoleum was built on the site for which it was originally intended in 2004.  Its construction was based on the drawings prepared by Wright for Mr. Martin before his death in 1935.  It is one of three designs planned for construction in Buffalo in the 21stcentury, and is the fourth design prepared by the architect for Darwin Martin, including Greycliff, the Darwin Martin Complex and the Larkin Administrative Building, which was tragically demolished in 1950.

Buffalo City Hall (1929-1930)

George J. Dietel and John J. Wade, with Sullivan W. Jones

Inspired by the theatrical, futuristic renderings of Hugh Ferriss, Buffalo City Hall presents a dramatic profile to visitors of the city’s downtown.  This Art Deco building also expresses Buffalo’s status as one of the most modern cities of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while referencing the rich history of the site in the figures of its frieze, its decorative detailing and its numerous murals.