Behind-the-Scenes with the League in Buffalo
On an unseasonably warm and beautiful November day in Buffalo, League staff enjoyed a full schedule of behind-the-scenes tours, visits with colleagues and grantees, and a chance to see current and future success stories throughout the city. As packed as our schedule was, we also added many other sites to our wish list for another Buffalo tour in 2023!
A look inside an unfinished portion of the Richardson-Olmsted campus.
First up on the agenda: the Richardson-Olmsted campus, formerly Buffalo State Asylum. This monumental building, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and set in a landscape by Frederick Law Olmsted, Senior, has been a preservation priority for many years. Having toured it in the early stages of rehabilitation during the National Trust conference in 2011, it was thrilling to see how much has been accomplished in the last decade – and both daunting and inspiring to see how much remains to be done. Many thanks to Paris Roselli, President of the Richardson Olmsted Campus, for the in-depth tour of the hotel – now preparing to reopen after hitting some speed bumps during the pandemic – and a sneak peek at a section of the building that is slated for rehabilitation in the near future.
PBN’s Director of Preservation Christiana Limniatis leads the group into the Eliza Quirk House.
We then met with our colleagues at Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) to hear and see what this always-busy preservation advocacy organization has on their plates. It’s an exciting time of transition for PBN, as they’ve been welcoming new staff, launching new initiatives, and planning the rehabilitation of the Eliza Quirk House, dubbed “The Little Brothel that Could,” which will be their future headquarters. We toured the house with Christiana Limniatis, Tabitha O’Connell, and Ben Rosiek, learning how Eliza Quirk built a life and business for herself in 1840s Buffalo, and how her house continues to tell the kinds of stories that have been left out of traditional histories of Buffalo and western New York. The house sits adjacent to the historic Michigan Avenue corridor, once the heart of Buffalo’s thriving African American community, later ravaged by redlining and urban renewal. By moving to the East Side, PBN will be affirming their longstanding commitment to an inclusive vision of preservation with vernacular urban architecture, intangible history, and a clear-eyed reckoning with Buffalo’s 20th-century history at the forefront of their practice. We also wished executive director Jessie Fisher well as she prepares to take the helm at the Darwin Martin House, having led PBN through an exciting time of growth and leadership in the preservation movement.
The auditorium inside Kleinhans Music Hall.
Our next stop was a behind-the-scenes tour of Kleinhans Music Hall, a masterpiece by father-and-son team of Eliel and Eero Saarinen. League trustee Karen Arrison arranged for Daniel Hart, President and Executive Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Luke Borkowski, Kleinhans Music Hall Capital Campaign Coordinator, to show us the performance, rehearsal, and support spaces, including a visit to the archives. We loved hearing from Karen, Dan, and Luke about the building’s history, its current role in the city’s vibrant cultural life, and plans for the future, and can’t wait to return for an upcoming musical performance or author talk.
Locust Street Art Executive Director Rachelyn Noworyta inside the stairwell of their 19th-century building, with artwork lining the walls.
From Symphony Circle on the city’s west side, we headed east to the historic Fruit Belt neighborhood to visit Locust Street Art. Executive Director Rachelyn Noworyta, who had just come from a luncheon in honor of her “40 under 40” award the day we were there, is carrying on a 60+ year legacy of arts education in the neighborhood. The organization has been in its current building, a former convent, since the early 1970s. It was a treat to see this 19th-century building bustling with life, color, activity, and excitement, with art teachers and students hard at work. The building is clearly beloved and respected for its history and character, and yet it is no static museum – every room is brimming with activity and every surface is covered with art and art supplies. We’re proud to have supported Locust Street Art through our TAG and Preserve New York grant programs in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Michael Quinniey of Western New York Minority Media Professionals poses in front of the historic Sattler Theater.
A few short blocks (and, unfortunately, an ill-conceived highway) separate Locust Street Art from another East Side institution, the former Sattler Theater, also known as the Broadway Theater. This stunning, ornately decorated building was built in 1915 on what was then a bustling commercial strip. Western New York Minority Media Professionals aims to rehabilitate the building, vacant since the 1990s, as a performance space and community center. Michael Quinniey described the group’s goals, which extend beyond the building itself with the hope of being a key anchor institution in a revitalizing neighborhood. The League was pleased to support the group’s efforts with a Preserve New York grant in 2021 for the production of a Building Condition Report that will provide a framework for fundraising and rehabilitation efforts.
Buffalo has long been an inspiration for other upstate cities for having embraced historic preservation as a key to economic revitalization, tourism, and neighborhood stabilization. We loved spending time with people who are doing that exciting work, and look forward to visiting again soon!