The architecture of Buffalo, New York, particularly the buildings constructed between the American Civil War and the Great Depression, is said to have created a new, distinctly American form of architecture and to have influenced design throughout the world.nytimes.com Nicolai Ourousoff, "Saving Buffalo's Untold Beauty" , The New York Times, November 14, 2006.

History Buffalo's original plan from the early 19th century was loosely based on Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 plan for Washington, an Americanized version of Paris's system of radiating boulevards. Buffalo's radial street grid was designed by Joseph Ellicott and complemented by a system of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Buffalo was the first city for which Olmsted designed an interconnected park and parkway system rather than stand-alone parks.

During the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Frederick Law Olmsted declared Buffalo to be "the best planned city, as to its streets, public places, and grounds, in the United States, if not in the world."

According to The New York Times architecture writer Nicolai Ourousoff:

Buffalo was founded on a rich tradition of architectural experimentation. The architects who worked here were among the first to break with European traditions to create an aesthetic of their own, rooted in American ideals about individualism, commerce and social mobility.

The city contains buildings designed by American architecture masters like Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and Henry Hobson Richardson, making Buffalo one of the most architecturally significant cities in America. It also contains many buildings designed by modern architects including Minoru Yamasaki, Toshiko Mori, Marcel Breuer and Harrison & Abramovitz.

Tallest buildings

Rank Building Heightfeet/meters Floors Year 01.01 Seneca One Tower 01.0529 / 161 40 1972 02.02 Buffalo City Hall 02.0398 / 121 32 1931 03.03 Rand Building 03.0391 / 119 29 1929 04.04 Main Place Tower 04.0350 / 107 26 1969 05.05 Liberty Building 05.0345 / 105 23 1945 06.06 One M&T Plaza 06.0317 / 97 21 1966 07.07 Electric Tower 07.0294 / 90 14 1912 07.08 St. Paul's Cathedral 07.0275 / 84 N/A 1851 09.09 50 Fountain Plaza 09.0275 / 84 17 1990 10.010 Buffalo Central Terminal 10.0271 / 83 20 1929

Notable architects Numerous architects and landscape architects have constructed landmark buildings and park systems of varying styles in Buffalo. They include:

Max Abramovitz Dankmar Adler Charles N. Agree Frederick C. Backus Milton Earl Beebe Louise Blanchard Bethune Alfred Bossom Gordon Bunshaft Daniel Burnham John E. Brent Robert T. Coles Marcel Breuer Carrère and Hastings George Cary (architect) Joseph Ellicott Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz James A. Johnson Esenwein & Johnson Philip M. Jullien Edward Brodhead Green Alfred T. Fellheimer Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects Wallace Harrison Albert Kahn Edward Austin Kent James William Kideney Kohn Pedersen Fox Lockwood, Greene & Co. Lord & Burnham Duane Lyman George Washington Maher McKim, Mead & White George Jacob Metzger Milton Milstein Toshiko Mori Robert North Frederick Law Olmsted George B. Post Cyrus Kinne Porter Cornelius Ward Rapp George Leslie Rapp Henry Hobson Richardson Paul Marvin Rudolph Eliel Saarinen Eero Saarinen Ellen Biddle Shipman Joseph Lyman Silsbee Edward Durell Stone Louis Sullivan Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Max Toltz Richard Upjohn Calvert Vaux Stanford White Frank Lloyd Wright Minoru Yamasaki

Landmarks, monuments and public places

Albright–Knox Art Gallery

The Albright–Knox Art Gallery was designed in 1890 architect Edward Brodhead Green and funded by Buffalo entrepreneur and philanthropist, John J. Albright, a wealthy Buffalo industrialist. It was originally intended to be used as the Fine Arts Pavilion for the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, but delays in its construction caused it to remain uncompleted until 1905. In 1962, a new addition was made to the gallery through the contributions of Seymour H. Knox II and his family, and many other donors. At this time the museum was renamed the Albright–Knox Art Gallery. The new building was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill architect Gordon Bunshaft, who is noted for the Lever House in New York City. The Albright–Knox Art Gallery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Buffalo Central Terminal

The Buffalo Central Terminal is a 17-story Art Deco style station designed by architects Fellheimer & Wagner and built in 1929 for the New York Central Railroad. The terminal "was built to handle over 200 trains and 10,000 passengers daily, as well as 1,500 New York Central employees. It included shops, a restaurant, soda fountain, parking garage and all other services required for daily passenger operations." It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 7, 1984.

Buffalo City Court Building

The Buffalo City Court Building is named Frank A. Sedita City Court (for Buffalo mayor Frank A. Sedita), and designed by Pfohl, Roberts and Biggie. It is a 10-story court house built in 1974 and located in Niagara Square and adjacent to Buffalo City Hall. The structure is a classic example of Brutalist architecture; its façade is dominated by large Precast concrete panels with narrow windows. The design was conceived with limited windows in order to keep the courtrooms and judges' chambers free from outside distraction.

Buffalo City Hall

Buffalo City Hall is a 32-story Art Deco building and was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones. Its walls are faced with Ohio sandstone and gray Minnesota limestone, above a base of gray granite. The exterior and interior are adorned with symbolic figures and decorations representing Buffalo's history, including the Iroquois Indians, the steel industry, law and education, electrical energy, and the waterfront community. In the lobby, there are four statues, "each which represent the characteristic of good citizenship, Virtue, Diligence, Service, and Fidelity." It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 15, 1999.

Buffalo History Museum

The Buffalo History Museum was constructed in 1901 as the New York State pavilion for the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 and is the sole surviving permanent structure from the exposition. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1980, and designated a National Historic Landmark on February 27, 1987.

Buffalo Main Light

The Buffalo Main Light, also known as The Buffalo Lighthouse, is Buffalo's oldest building. It was built in 1833 and deactivated in 1914. It appears on the city seal at the mouth of the Buffalo River. It is also one of the oldest lighthouses on the Great Lakes. The walls of the tapered, unpainted octagonal limestone tower are four feet thick at the base and rise to 44 feet in height. The foundation material was stone molehead and the lighthouse was constructed out of limestone and cast iron. The shape of the tower was octagonal and was high. The lens installed in 1857 was a third order Fresnel lens. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Delaware Park System

The Delaware Park System is a historic park system and national historic district located in the northern and western sections of Buffalo. The park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and developed between 1868 and 1876. The Park System comprises many parks, Delaware Park being the largest (encompassing 376 acres). There are also Gates Circle, Chapin Parkway, Soldier's Place, Lincoln Parkway, Bidwell Parkway, and Front Park, among others. The park system was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Larkin Administration Building

The Larkin Administration Building was Frank Lloyd Wright's first commission in Buffalo. Larkin executive Darwin D. Martin hired Wright to design a building that would house the large number of clerks needed to operate the mail-order business for the Larkin Soap Company. Because the building would be located in an industrial part of town, it was necessary to make the building as attractive as possible to women, who made up the bulk of the white collar work force.PBS website

The Larkin Building was Wright's first commercial commission and he designed not just the building, but also the furniture, light fixtures and the china for the workers' cafeteria. Where possible, files and furniture were built into the structure, and he created desks with attached chairs that could swivel to save room. Wright included a pipe organ for lunchtime entertainment, a lending library and a conservatory to allow employees to rest and commune with nature. The Larkin Building is significant for its comprehensive design, where every element performed a specific task, as well as being the first modern office building that separated blue-collar and white-collar workers.

The Larkin Company went out of business in 1937, and the building was sold. Eventually, the City of Buffalo took it over for back taxes planning to demolish it for a trucking plaza. Despite community outcry, the building was torn down in 1950.

Old Post Office

The Old Post Office is a historic post office building located at 121 Ellicott Street in Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It was designed by the then Office of the Supervising Architect, Jeremiah O'Rourke, when construction started in 1897. The $1.5 million () building opened in 1901 during the tenure of James Knox Taylor and operated as Buffalo's central post office until 1963 and was the tallest building in the city from 1901 to 1912. The highly ornamented Gothic Revival style four-story building features a 244-foot tower over the central entrance and a roofed courtyard. It was subsequently occupied by federal offices. See also: Since 1981, it has been home to the city campus of Erie Community College. Its tower is 74.4 meters tall.

Prudential (Guaranty) Building

The Prudential (Guaranty) Building was completed in 1896 and was designed by Chicago architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. It remains one of the first skyscrapers ever built with a steel structure and is embellished with terra cotta blocks. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 1973, and designated a National Historic Landmark on May 15, 1975.

Richardson Olmsted Complex

The Richardson Olmsted Complex is a grouping of Medina red sandstone and brick hospital buildings designed in 1870 in the Kirkbride Plan by architect Henry Hobson Richardson with grounds by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The complex was the largest commission of Richardson's career and marks the beginning of his characteristic "Romanesque Revival" style known as "Richardsonian Romanesque." It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 1973, and designated a National Historic Landmark on June 24, 1986.

Sculptures and monuments There are several sculptures and monuments located throughout the city, including:

Michelangelo's David by Angelus and Sons (founder) Soldiers and Sailors Monument (Civil War Monument) by Caspar Bubert (Sculptor), George W. Keller (Architect), M. J. Powers (Founder) McKinley Monument by Alexander Phimister Proctor (Sculptor), Newman & Evans (Sculptor), Carrère and Hastings (Architect) Wolfgang A. Mozart by Olin H. Warner (Sculptor), Bureau Brothers Foundry (Founder) Alexander Petofi (Sandor Petofi) by Geza Kende (Sculptor; Original Bust), Gabriella F. Koszorus-Varsa (Sculptor; New Bust), Frank A. Spangenberg (Sculptor; Base) John F. Kennedy bust by Bryant Baker Giuseppe Verdi by Antonio Ugo (Sculptor), A. Decianno (Sculptor) Frederic Chopin by Jozef Mazur Frank X. Schwab by C. Sorgi Indian Hunter by John Quincy Adams Ward General Daniel Davidson Bidwell by Sahl Swarz Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry by Charles Henry Niehaus

Residential

Birge-Horton House