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90-676: The Larkin Building was an office building in Buffalo, New York , noted for innovations that included central air conditioning, built-in desk furniture, and suspended toilet partitions and bowls. Located at 680 Seneca Street, it was demolished in 1950. Designed in 1903 by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1904-1906 for the Larkin Soap Company , the five-story dark-red brick building used pink-tinted mortar and steel-frame construction. Sculptor Richard Bock provided ornamentation for

180-512: A humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfa ), and temperatures have been warming with the rest of the US. Lake-effect snow is characteristic of Buffalo winters, with snow bands (producing intense snowfall in the city and surrounding area) depending on wind direction off Lake Erie. However, Buffalo is rarely the snowiest city in the state . The Blizzard of 1977 resulted from a combination of high winds and snow which accumulated on land and on

270-633: A Dutch trader who arrived in 1789. As a result of the war, in which the Iroquois sided with the British Army , Iroquois territory was gradually reduced in the late 1700s by European settlers through successive statewide treaties which included the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) and the First Treaty of Buffalo Creek (1788). The Iroquois were moved onto reservations, including Buffalo Creek . By

360-500: A day (equivalent to $ 49 in 2023 ) in a six-day work week. Local inventor Joseph Dart and engineer Robert Dunbar created the grain elevator in 1843, adapting the steam-powered elevator. Dart's Elevator initially processed one thousand bushels per hour, speeding global distribution to consumers. Buffalo was the transshipment hub of the Great Lakes, and weather, maritime and political events in other Great Lakes cities had

450-830: A deal between fellow chief Cornplanter and the Dutch dummy corporation Holland Land Company . The Holland Land Purchase gave the Senecas three reservations, and the Holland Land Company received 4,000,000 acres (16,000 km ) for about thirty-three cents per acre. Permanent white settlers along the creek were prisoners captured during the Revolutionary War . Early landowners were Iroquois interpreter Captain William Johnston, former enslaved man Joseph "Black Joe" Hodges and Cornelius Winney,

540-427: A different purpose. Modern wrecking balls have had a slight re-shaping, with the metal sphere changed into a pear shape with a portion of the top cut off. This shape allows the ball to be more easily pulled back through a roof or concrete slab after it has broken through. Wrecking balls range from about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) to around 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg). The ball is made from forged steel, which means

630-581: A direct impact on the city's economy. In addition to grain, Buffalo's primary imports included agricultural products from the Midwest (meat, whiskey, lumber and tobacco), and its exports included leather, ships and iron products. The mid-19th century saw the rise of new manufacturing capabilities, particularly with iron. By the 1860s, many railroads terminated in Buffalo; they included the Buffalo, Bradford and Pittsburgh Railroad , Buffalo and Erie Railroad ,

720-458: A dozen railway terminals, as railroads remained a significant industry. The St. Lawrence Seaway was proposed in the 19th century as a faster shipping route to Europe, and later as part of a bi-national hydroelectric project with Canada. Its combination with an expanded Welland Canal led to a grim outlook for Buffalo's economy. After its 1959 opening, the city's port and barge canal became largely irrelevant. Shipbuilding in Buffalo wound down in

810-454: A loose ball (called a drop ball) onto large rocks to reduce them to manageable size. The advancement of technology led to the development and use of blasting charges, safer than dynamite and more efficient or practical than wrecking balls, to destroy buildings. The most common use of blasting charges is to collapse a building, thus limiting collateral damage; see demolition . Wrecking balls are more likely to cause collateral damage, because it

900-591: A small, active presence in the area, including the town of Amherst. A 2016 American Bible Society survey reported that Buffalo is the fifth-least "Bible-minded" city in the United States; 13 percent of its residents associate with the Bible . The Erie Canal was the impetus for Buffalo's economic growth as a transshipment hub for grain and other agricultural products headed east from the Midwest. Later, manufacturing of steel and automotive parts became central to

990-553: A supermarket. Health disparities exist compared to the rest of the state : Erie County's average 2019 lifespan was three years lower (78.4 years); its 17-percent smoking and 30-percent obesity rates were slightly higher than the state average. According to the Partnership for the Public Good, educational achievement in the city is lower than in the surrounding area; city residents are almost twice as likely as adults in

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1080-475: A total of thirty-five neighborhoods. Main Street divides Buffalo's east and west sides, and the west side was fully developed earlier. This division is seen in architectural styles, street names, neighborhood and district boundaries, demographics, and socioeconomic conditions; Buffalo's West Side is generally more affluent than its East Side. Several neighborhoods in Buffalo have had increased investment since

1170-474: A week; a trip from nearby Williamsville to Batavia could take over three days. British forces burned Buffalo and the northwestern village of Black Rock in 1813. The battle and subsequent fire was in response to the destruction of Niagara-on-the-Lake by American forces and other skirmishes during the War of 1812 . Rebuilding was swift, completed in 1815. As a remote outpost, village residents hoped that

1260-518: A year. No official recording of 100 °F (37.8 °C) or more has occurred to date, with a maximum temperature of 99 °F (37 °C) reached on August 27, 1948. Rainfall is moderate, typically falling at night, and cooler lake temperatures hinder storm development in July. August is usually rainier and muggier , as the warmer lake loses its temperature-controlling ability. Several hundred Seneca, Tuscarora and other Iroquois tribal peoples were

1350-407: Is allowed to free-fall onto the structure. To demolish walls the ball is suspended at the desired height from a crane boom and a secondary steel rope pulls the ball toward the crane cab. The lateral rope drum clutch is then released, and the ball swings as a pendulum to strike the structure. Another method for lateral demolition is to pivot the crane boom to accelerate the ball toward the target. This

1440-640: Is based at the 3,019-seat Shea's Performing Arts Center in the Buffalo Theatre District of downtown Buffalo. Shea's Performing Arts Center was designed by the well-known Chicago firm Rapp and Rapp . The opera house was modeled in the style of European operahouses and decorated in a combination of French and Spanish Baroque and Rococo styles. The interior design was designed by the world-renowned designer and artist Louis Comfort Tiffany , and many of its elements are still there today. Originally there were nearly 4,000 seats, but in

1530-870: Is on the Erie/Ontario Lake Plain of the Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands , a narrow plain extending east to Utica, New York . The city is generally flat, except for elevation changes in the University Heights and Fruit Belt neighborhoods. The Southtowns are hillier, leading to the Cattaraugus Hills in the Appalachian Upland . Several types of shale, limestone and lagerstätten are prevalent in Buffalo and its surrounding area, lining their stream beds . According to Fox Weather , Buffalo

1620-622: Is one of the top five snowiest large cities in the country, receiving, on average, 95 inches of snow annually. Although the city has not experienced any recent or significant earthquakes , Buffalo is in the Southern Great Lakes Seismic Zone (part of the Great Lakes tectonic zone ). Buffalo has four channels within its boundaries: the Niagara River, Buffalo River (and Creek), Scajaquada Creek , and

1710-424: Is repeated as needed until the structure is broken down into debris that can easily be loaded and hauled away. The demolition action is carried out entirely through the kinetic energy of the ball. Demolition work has been carried out using a 5,500-pound (2,500 kg) wrecking ball suspended from a Kaman K-MAX helicopter. The same mechanism is applied to quarrying rock where an excavator lifts and releases

1800-727: Is the region's largest employer. In the private sector, top employers include the Kaleida Health and Catholic Health hospital networks and M&T Bank , the sole Fortune 500 company headquartered in the city. Most have been the top employers in the region for several decades. Buffalo is home to the headquarters of Rich Products , Delaware North and New Era Cap Company ; the aerospace manufacturer Moog Inc. and toy maker Fisher-Price are based in nearby East Aurora . National Fuel Gas and Life Storage are headquartered in Williamsville, New York . Buffalo weathered

1890-564: Is today one of the leading operas in the United States and, with more than 3,000 seats, one of the largest opera houses in the world. Founded in 2004 by Valerian Ruminski , the Nickel City Opera has commissioned operas, and has staged world premieres of notable works. Matthias Manasi was music director and chief conductor of NCO from 2017 to 2021, his predecessor Michael Ching was music director and chief conductor of NCO from 2012 to 2017. The NCO collaborates with

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1980-530: Is tragic in the architecture community. Hopefully, in the future we will consider the value of a significant building such as this, and work to preserve it. A single brick pier along a railroad embankment was one of the few features of Wright's original building that remained after its demolition; the site became a parking lot with a marker and an illustrated educational panel. In 2002, the Larkin Development Group began to acquire properties in

2070-865: The 1930s the number of seats was reduced to the current number of 3,019 seats last but not least to increase the place for the orchestra by increasing the size of the orchestra pit . The NCO also performs at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda , at the Nichols Flickinger Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, at the Artpark Mainstage Theatre and the Artpark Amphitheatre at the Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park located on

2160-626: The 49th-largest metro area in the U.S. Before the 17th century, the region was inhabited by nomadic Paleo-Indians who were succeeded by the Neutral , Erie , and Iroquois nations. In the early 17th century, the French began to explore the region. In the 18th century, Iroquois land surrounding Buffalo Creek was ceded through the Holland Land Purchase , and a small village was established at its headwaters. In 1825, after its harbor

2250-545: The Black Rock Canal , adjacent to the Niagara River. The city's Bureau of Forestry maintains a database of over seventy thousand trees. According to the United States Census Bureau , Buffalo has an area of 52.5 sq mi (136 km ); 40.38 sq mi (104.6 km ) is land, and the rest is water. The city's total area is 22.66 percent water. In 2010, its population density

2340-802: The Buffalo Central Terminal was built in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood in 1929; the Richardson Olmsted Complex , built in 1881, was an insane asylum until its closure in the 1970s. Urban renewal from the 1950s to the 1970s spawned the Brutalist -style Buffalo City Court Building and Seneca One Tower , the city's tallest building. In the city's Parkside neighborhood, the Darwin D. Martin House

2430-548: The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra , producing a wide range of operas , from 18th-century Baroque and 19th-century Bel canto to the Minimalism of the 20th century and to contemporary operas of the 20th and 21st centuries. These operas are presented in staged productions that range in style from those with elaborate traditional decors to others that feature modern conceptual designs. The NCO

2520-606: The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2009. Wrecking ball In 1993, the wrecking ball was described as "one of the most common forms of large-scale coarse demolition." With the invention of hydraulic excavators and other machinery, the wrecking ball has become less common at demolition sites as its working efficiency is less than that of long reach excavators . Wrecking balls should be distinguished from overhaul hook balls , which although superficially similar looking, are different and serve

2610-586: The Great Recession of 2006–09 well in comparison with other U.S. cities, exemplified by increased home prices during this time. The region's economy began to improve in the early 2010s, adding over 25,000 jobs from 2009 to 2017. With state aid , Tesla, Inc.'s Giga New York plant opened in South Buffalo in 2017. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States , however, increased

2700-528: The Latin Church ) has a significant presence in the region, with 161 parishes and over 570,000 adherents in the Diocese of Buffalo . Major Protestant denominations in the area include Lutheran , Baptist , and Methodist . Pentecostals are also significant, and approximately 20,000 persons are non-denominational adherents. A Jewish community began developing in the city with immigrants from

2790-691: The New York Central Railroad , and the Lehigh Valley Railroad . During this time, Buffalo controlled one-quarter of all shipping traffic on Lake Erie. After the Civil War , canal traffic began to drop as railroads expanded into Buffalo. Unionization began to take hold in the late 19th century, highlighted by the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and 1892 Buffalo switchmen's strike . At the start of

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2880-502: The New York Herald-Tribune : As an architect, I share the concern of many others over the destruction of Frank Lloyd Wright's world-famous office building in Buffalo. It is not merely a matter of sentiment; from a practical standpoint this structure can function efficiently for centuries. Modern engineering has improved upon the lighting and ventilation systems Mr. Wright used, but that is hardly excuse enough to efface

2970-546: The Niagara Gorge in Lewiston . The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1935 and performs at Kleinhans Music Hall , whose acoustics have been praised. Although the orchestra nearly disbanded during the late 1990s due to a lack of funding, philanthropic contributions and state aid stabilized it. Under the direction of JoAnn Falletta , the orchestra has received a number of Grammy Award nominations and won

3060-571: The Province of New York —now a U.S. state—began westward expansion, looking for arable land by following the Iroquois. New York and Massachusetts were vying for the territory which included Buffalo, and Massachusetts had the right to purchase all but a one-mile-(1600-meter)-wide portion of land. The rights to the Massachusetts territories were sold to Robert Morris in 1791. Despite objections from Seneca chief Red Jacket , Morris brokered

3150-718: The University at Buffalo , Buffalo State University , Canisius University , and D'Youville University . Buffalo is also known for its winter weather , Buffalo wings , and three major-league sports teams : the National Football League's Buffalo Bills , the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres and the National Lacrosse League's Buffalo Bandits . Before the arrival of Europeans , nomadic Paleo-Indians inhabited

3240-499: The western New York region from the 8th millennium BCE . The Woodland period began around 1000 BC, marked by the rise of the Iroquois Confederacy and the spread of its tribes throughout the state. Seventeenth-century Jesuit missionaries were the first Europeans to visit the area. During French exploration of the region in 1620, the region was sparsely populated and occupied by the agrarian Erie people in

3330-603: The 1840s. Buffalo was a terminus of the Underground Railroad , with many free Black people crossing the Niagara River to Fort Erie, Ontario ; others remained in Buffalo. During this time, Buffalo's port continued to develop. Passenger and commercial traffic expanded, leading to the creation of feeder canals and the expansion of the city's harbor. Unloading grain in Buffalo was a laborious job, and grain handlers working on lake freighters would make $ 1.50

3420-548: The 1960s due to reduced waterfront activity, ending an industry which had been part of the city's economy since 1812. Downsizing of the steel mills was attributed to the threat of higher wages and unionization efforts. Racial tensions culminated in riots in 1967 . Suburbanization led to the selection of the town of Amherst for the new University at Buffalo campus by 1970. Unwilling to modernize its plant, Bethlehem Steel began cutting thousands of jobs in Lackawanna during

3510-614: The 1990s, beginning with the Elmwood Village . The 2002 redevelopment of the Larkin Terminal Warehouse led to the creation of Larkinville , home to several mixed-use projects and anchored by corporate offices. Downtown Buffalo and its central business district (CBD) had a 10.6-percent increase in residents from 2010 to 2017, as over 1,061 housing units became available; the Seneca One Tower

3600-402: The 200-foot-long (61 m) by 134-foot-wide (41 m) building were executed in red sandstone; the entrance doors, windows, and skylights were of glass. Floors, stairs, doors, window sills, partitions, desk tops and plumbing slabs were used with magnesite for sound absorption. For floors, cement was mixed with excelsior and poured, over a layer of felt to impart its resiliency. Magnesite

3690-616: The 20th century, Buffalo was the world's leading grain port and a national flour-milling hub. Local mills were among the first to benefit from hydroelectricity generated by the Niagara River. Buffalo hosted the 1901 Pan-American Exposition after the Spanish–American War , showcasing the nation's advances in art, architecture, and electricity. Its centerpiece was the Electric Tower, with over two million light bulbs, but some exhibits were jingoistic and racially charged. At

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3780-682: The Buffalo–Niagara Falls MSA was $ 53 billion (~$ 62.3 billion in 2023). The city's cultural landmarks include the oldest urban parks system in the United States, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum , the Buffalo History Museum , the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra , Shea's Performing Arts Center , the Buffalo Museum of Science , and several annual festivals . Its educational institutions include

3870-592: The East Side, who moved to newer housing; Italian immigrant families settled throughout the city, primarily on the lower West Side. During the 1830s, Buffalo residents were generally intolerant of the small groups of Black Americans who began settling on the city's East Side. In the 20th century, wartime and manufacturing jobs attracted Black Americans from the South during the First and Second Great Migrations . In

3960-541: The Larkin Company made interior modifications and moved retail operations into the building. In 1943, the firm's fortunes were in decline and it was forced to try to sell the building. The Larkin Administration Building was foreclosed upon for back taxes in 1945 by the city of Buffalo. The city tried to sell the building over the next five years and considered other uses. In 1949 the building

4050-542: The U.S. During the 1940s and 1950s, Puerto Rican migrants arrived en masse, also seeking industrial jobs, settling on the East Side and moving westward. In the 21st century, Buffalo is classified as a majority minority city , with a plurality of residents who are Black and Latino. Buffalo has experienced effects of urban decay since the 1970s, and also saw population loss to the suburbs and Sun Belt states, and experienced job losses from deindustrialization. The city's population peaked at 580,132 in 1950, when Buffalo

4140-513: The World War II and postwar years from 1940 to 1970, the city's Black population rose by 433 percent. They replaced most of the Polish community on the East Side, who were moving out to suburbs. However, the effects of redlining , steering, social inequality , blockbusting , white flight and other racial policies resulted in the city (and region) becoming one of the most segregated in

4230-511: The building. The Larkin Soap Company was founded in Buffalo in 1875 by John D. Larkin . Among the principals were Larkin, Elbert Hubbard , and Darwin D. Martin . By the early years of the twentieth century, the company expanded beyond soap manufacturing into groceries, dry goods, china, and furniture. Larkin became a pioneering, national mail-order house with branch stores in Buffalo, New York City and Chicago . Due to their growth,

4320-484: The building: It is interesting that I, an architect supposed to be concerned with the aesthetic sense of the building, should have invented the hung wall for the w.c. (easier to clean under), and adopted many other innovations like the glass door, steel furniture, air-conditioning and radiant or 'gravity heat'. Nearly every technological innovation used today was suggested in the Larkin Building in 1904. In 1939

4410-487: The city became a stronghold of labor unions and the Democratic Party . During World War II , Buffalo regained its manufacturing strength as military contracts enabled the city to manufacture steel, chemicals, aircraft, trucks and ammunition. The 15th-most-populous US city in 1950 , Buffalo's economy relied almost entirely on manufacturing; eighty percent of area jobs were in the sector. The city also had over

4500-403: The city's economy. When these industries downsized in the region, Buffalo's economy became service-based. Its primary sectors include health care, business services (banking, accounting, and insurance), retail, tourism and logistics , especially with Canada. Despite the loss of large-scale manufacturing, some manufacturing of metals, chemicals, machinery, food products, and electronics remains in

4590-438: The city's summers are drier and sunnier than other cities in the northeastern United States, its vegetation receives enough precipitation to remain hydrated. Buffalo summers are characterized by abundant sunshine, with moderate humidity and temperatures; the city benefits from cool, southwestern Lake Erie summer breezes which temper warmer temperatures. Temperatures rise above 90 °F (32.2 °C) an average of three times

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4680-417: The company decided to expand its complex in Buffalo, New York in 1902. At the time it commissioned its headquarters, Larkin was prosperous and the high price for a well-designed, innovative building was not a barrier. The company, known for its generous corporate culture, also commissioned Wright to design row houses for its workers, which were never built. The first floor plan was of lobby and mail grouping,

4770-445: The concrete and stone base of the original construction. Inside the glass pier a small section of off white brick is visible. These are reclaimed bricks from the interior of the building. The sidewalks on Seneca Street reflect the locations of the major features of the building including the width of the atrium, fence piers and main entry. Granite markers inlaid in the sidewalk mark these locations. Two additional interpretive markers flank

4860-540: The country's 49th-largest. Compared to other major US metropolitan areas, the number of foreign-born immigrants to Buffalo is low. New immigrants are primarily resettled refugees (especially from war- or disaster-affected nations) and refugees who had previously settled in other U.S. cities. During the early 2000s, most immigrants came from Canada and Yemen ; this shifted in the 2010s to Burmese ( Karen ) refugees and Bangladeshi immigrants. Between 2008 and 2016, Burmese, Somali , Bhutanese , and Iraqi Americans were

4950-621: The eastern end of Lake Erie , at the head of the Niagara River on the Canada–United States border . With a population of 278,349 according to the 2020 census, Buffalo is the second-most populous city in New York state after New York City , and the 81st-most populous city in the U.S. Buffalo is the primary city of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area , which had an estimated population of 1.2 million in 2020, making it

5040-433: The end of the 18th century, only 338 sq mi (216,000 acres; 880 km ; 88,000 ha) of reservations remained. After the Treaty of Big Tree removed Iroquois title to lands west of the Genesee River in 1797, Joseph Ellicott surveyed land at the mouth of Buffalo Creek. In the middle of the village was an intersection of eight streets at present-day Niagara Square . Originally named New Amsterdam, its name

5130-463: The exposition, President William McKinley was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz . When McKinley died, Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in at the Wilcox Mansion in Buffalo. Attorney John Milburn and local industrialists convinced the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company to relocate from Scranton, Pennsylvania to the town of West Seneca in 1904. Employment was competitive, with many Eastern Europeans and Scrantonians vying for jobs. From

5220-400: The four largest ethnic immigrant groups in Erie County. A 2008 report noted that although food deserts were seen in larger cities and not in Buffalo, the city's neighborhoods of color have access only to smaller grocery stores and lack the supermarkets more typical of newer, white neighborhoods. A 2018 report noted that over fifty city blocks on Buffalo's East Side lacked adequate access to

5310-478: The frozen Lake Erie . Although snow does not typically impair the city's operation, it can cause significant damage in autumn (as the October 2006 storm did). In November 2014 (called " Snowvember "), the region had a record-breaking storm which produced over 5 + 1 ⁄ 2  ft (66 in; 170 cm) of snow. Buffalo's lowest recorded temperature was −20 °F (−29 °C), which occurred twice: on February 9, 1934, and February 2, 1961. Although

5400-410: The ghost pier. Extensive Larkin Company records and photographs survive in the library collection of the Buffalo History Museum . 42°52′38″N 78°51′07″W  /  42.877237°N 78.851898°W  / 42.877237; -78.851898 Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Erie County . It lies in Western New York at

5490-492: The horizontal planes of the office floors are kept back from their edges, so that they seem, once more, to be woven through them. ... At the same time, the stiff verticals of the interior of the Larkin Building continued to recall the challenge of the exterior, so that the occupant could not feel himself to be simply inside a shell. The sequence was an emotional one and a progress: challenge, bafflement, compression, search, and finally, surprise, release, transformation, and recall. It

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5580-435: The late 19th century to the 1920s, mergers and acquisitions led to distant ownership of local companies; this had a negative effect on the city's economy. Examples include the acquisition of Lackawanna Steel by Bethlehem Steel and, later, the relocation of Curtiss-Wright in the 1940s. The Great Depression saw severe unemployment, especially among the working class. New Deal relief programs operated in full force, and

5670-407: The local unemployment rate to 7.5 percent by December 2020. The local unemployment rate had been 4.2 percent in 2019, higher than the national average of 3.5 percent. Buffalo is home to over 20 theater companies, with many centered in the downtown Theatre District . Shea's Performing Arts Center is the city's largest theater. Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and built in 1926,

5760-455: The metropolitan area to lack a high-school diploma. During the early 19th century, Presbyterian missionaries tried to convert the Seneca people on the Buffalo Creek Reservation to Christianity. Initially resistant, some tribal members set aside their traditions and practices to form their own sect. Later, European immigrants added other faiths. Christianity is the predominant religion in Buffalo and Western New York. Catholicism (primarily

5850-505: The mid-1800s; about one thousand German and Lithuanian Jews settled in Buffalo before 1880. Buffalo's first synagogue , Temple Beth El, was established in 1847. The city's Temple Beth Zion is the region's largest synagogue. With changing demographics and an increased number of refugees from other areas on the city's East Side, Islam and Buddhism have expanded their presence. In this area, new residents have converted empty churches into mosques and Buddhist temples. Hinduism maintains

5940-438: The mid-1970s before closing it in 1983. The region lost at least 70,000 jobs between 1970 and 1984. Like much of the Rust Belt , Buffalo has focused on recovering from the effects of late-20th-century deindustrialization . Buffalo is on the eastern end of Lake Erie opposite Fort Erie, Ontario . It is at the head of the Niagara River, which flows north over Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario . The Buffalo metropolitan area

6030-408: The mid-19th century, Buffalo transitioned to manufacturing, which came to be dominated by steel production. Later, deindustrialization and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway saw the city's economy decline and diversify. It developed its service industries , such as health care, retail, tourism, logistics, and education, while retaining some manufacturing. In 2019, the gross domestic product of

6120-411: The neighborhood, and revitalized the area over the next decade. In 2015, the new owners of the Administration Building site, The Larkin Center of Commerce, erected a "ghost" pier at the Seneca Street side of the wall that connected two of the fence piers. The ghost pier was built of etched glass the same size and location as the brick fence pier that once stood in its place. The ghost pier is supported on

6210-506: The power to put even animals and plants to sleep, which could affect the harvest. At the conclusion, audience members typically offered gifts, such as tobacco, to the storyteller as a sign of appreciation. During the Beaver Wars in the mid-17th century the Senecas conquered the Erie and Neutrals in the region. Native Americans did not settle along Buffalo Creek permanently until 1780, when displaced Senecas were relocated from Fort Niagara . Louis Hennepin and Sieur de La Salle explored

6300-451: The primary residents of the Buffalo area before 1800, concentrated along Buffalo Creek. After the Revolutionary War, settlers from New England and eastern New York began to move into the area. From the 1830s to the 1850s, they were joined by Irish and German immigrants from Europe, both peasants and working class, who settled in enclaves on the city's south and east sides. At the turn of the 20th century, Polish immigrants replaced Germans on

6390-404: The proposed Erie Canal would bring prosperity to the area. To accomplish this, Buffalo's harbor was expanded with the help of Samuel Wilkeson ; it was selected as the canal's terminus over the rival Black Rock. It opened in 1825, ushering in commerce, manufacturing and hydropower . By the following year, the 130 sq mi (340 km ) Buffalo Creek Reservation (at the western border of

6480-489: The region. Advanced manufacturing has increased, with an emphasis on research and development (R&D) and automation . In 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis valued the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls MSA at $ 53 billion (~$ 62.3 billion in 2023). The civic sector is a major source of employment in the Buffalo area, and includes public, non-profit, healthcare and educational institutions. New York State, with over 19,000 employees,

6570-431: The second floor consisted of the typewriter operators' department, the third floor was the mail department, the fourth floor was the mail room, and the fifth floor consisted of a restaurant and kitchen, balconies, and a conservatory. A 100-rank Möller pipe organ was housed in the central court with the pipe chambers located on the upper level and the console located in a shallow pit on the main floor. Exterior details of

6660-890: The south and the Neutral Nation in the north, with a relatively small tribe, the Wenrohronon , between and the Senecas , an Iroquois tribe, occupying the land just east of the region. The Neutral grew tobacco and hemp to trade with the Iroquois, who traded furs with the French for European goods. The tribes used animal- and war paths to travel and move goods across what today is New York State. (Centuries later, these same paths were gradually improved, then paved, then developed into major modern roads.) Traditional Seneca oral legends, as recounted by professional storytellers known as Hagéotâ, were highly participatory. These tales were told only during winter, as they were believed to have

6750-542: The splendid integration of space, structure, and massing which Wright achieved in the Larkin Company Office Building at Buffalo, of 1904. In space the building was conceived of as facing inward, with a glass-roofed central hall rising the entire height and with horizontal office floors woven around it. The pattern of piers and walls which makes these spaces is clearly unified in both plan and section. The vertical piers rise uninterruptedly inside, and

6840-400: The steel is not cast into a mold in a molten state; rather, it is formed under very high pressure while the steel is red hot (soft but not molten) to compress and to strengthen it. To demolish roofs and other horizontal spans, the ball is typically suspended by a length of steel chain attached to the lifting hook of a crane boom above the structure, the rope drum clutch is released and the ball

6930-500: The theater presents Broadway musicals and concerts. Shakespeare in Delaware Park has been held outdoors every summer since 1976. Stand-up comedy can be found throughout the city and is anchored by Helium Comedy Club, which hosts both local talent and national touring acts. The Nickel City Opera (known as NC Opera Buffalo and NCO ) is an American opera company based at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo and

7020-523: The upper Niagara and Ontario regions in the late 1670s. In 1679, La Salle's ship, Le Griffon , became the first to sail above Niagara Falls near Cayuga Creek . Baron de Lahontan visited the site of Buffalo in 1687. A small French settlement along Buffalo Creek lasted for only a year (1758). After the French and Indian War , the region was ruled by Britain. After the American Revolution ,

7110-478: The village) was transferred to Buffalo. Buffalo was incorporated as a city in 1832. During the 1830s, businessman Benjamin Rathbun significantly expanded its business district. The city doubled in size from 1845 to 1855. Almost two-thirds of the city's population was foreign-born, largely a mix of unskilled (or educated) Irish and German Catholics . Fugitive slaves made their way north to Buffalo during

7200-490: The work of the man who successfully pioneered in the solving of such problems. The Larkin Building set a precedent for many an office building we admire today and should be regarded not as an outmoded utilitarian structure but as a monument, if not to Mr. Wright's creative imagination, to the inventiveness of American design. The destruction of all but one pillar of the Larkin Administration Building

7290-695: Was 6,470.6 per square mile. Buffalo's architecture is diverse, with a collection of 19th- and 20th-century buildings. Downtown Buffalo landmarks include Louis Sullivan 's Guaranty Building , an early skyscraper; the Ellicott Square Building , once one of the largest of its kind in the world; the Art Deco Buffalo City Hall and the McKinley Monument , and the Electric Tower . Beyond downtown,

7380-492: Was almost a Baroque progression, but its methods were stiffer and harder, befitting the industrial program which they praised. Significantly enough, the building also recalled the Romantic-Classic projects of the first revolutionary architects of the later eighteenth century, particularly in the harshness of its forms but even in the rather underscaled world globes which were flaunted upon its exterior. Wright said of

7470-418: Was also used for sculptural decoration on the piers surrounding the light court and for panels and beams around the executive offices at the south end of the main floor. Wright designed much of the furniture, the chairs were made out of steel and hung from the tables to make cleaning the floors easy. The interior walls were made of semi-vitreous, hard, cream colored brick. A 76-foot-tall (23 m) light court

7560-460: Was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in his Prairie School style. Since 2016, Washington DC real estate developer Douglas Jemal has been acquiring, and redeveloping, iconic properties throughout the city. According to Mark Goldman, the city has a "tradition of separate and independent settlements". The boundaries of Buffalo's neighborhoods have changed over time. The city is divided into five districts , each containing several neighborhoods, for

7650-560: Was improved, Buffalo was selected as the terminus of the Erie Canal , which led to its incorporation in 1832. The canal stimulated its growth as the primary inland port between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. Transshipment made Buffalo the world's largest grain port of that era. After the coming of railroads greatly reduced the canal's importance, the city became the second-largest railway hub (after Chicago ). During

7740-470: Was located in the center of the building which provided natural sunlight to all of the floors. Between its support piers ran fourteen sets of three inspiration words each, such as: GENEROSITY ALTRUISM SACRIFICE, INTEGRITY LOYALTY FIDELITY, IMAGINATION JUDGEMENT INITIATIVE, INTELLIGENCE ENTHUSIASM CONTROL, CO-OPERATION ECONOMY INDUSTRY . Architectural historian Vincent Scully Jr. wrote of the structure: Vertical brick piers and wall planes ... made possible

7830-613: Was redeveloped in 2020. Other revitalized areas include Chandler Street, in the Grant-Amherst neighborhood, and Hertel Avenue in Parkside. The Buffalo Common Council adopted its Green Code in 2017, replacing zoning regulations which were over sixty years old. Its emphasis on regulations promoting pedestrian safety and mixed land use received an award at the 2019 Congress for the New Urbanism conference. Buffalo has

7920-540: Was sold to the Western Trading Corporation, which announced plans to demolish it for a truck stop. It did so in 1950 despite countrywide editorial protests; however, no truck stop was ever constructed. The demolition crew used a wrecking ball to tear down the building. A demolition worker was serious injured when a portion of the building collapsed unexpectedly, trapping him under rubble. On November 16, 1949, architect J. Stanley Sharp stated in

8010-588: Was soon changed to Buffalo. The village of Buffalo was named for Buffalo Creek . British military engineer John Montresor referred to "Buffalo Creek" in his 1764 journal, the earliest recorded appearance of the name. A road to Pennsylvania from Buffalo was built in 1802 for migrants traveling to the Connecticut Western Reserve in Ohio. Before an east–west turnpike across the state was completed, traveling from Albany to Buffalo would take

8100-509: Was the 15th-largest city in the United States ;– down from the eighth-largest city in 1900, after its growth rate slowed during the 1920s. Buffalo finally saw a population gain of 6.5% in the 2020 census, reversing a decades long trend of population decline. The city has 278,349 residents as of the 2020 census, making it the 76th-largest city in the United States. Its metropolitan area had 1.1 million residents in 2020,

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