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June 26, 2005
Inside The Terminal
I was in Buffalo with my family to visit Ma Mazur this past weekend. Like all returning Buffalonians, I am drawn to the fading beauty of that now decaying Great Lakes city. In March, Chris reported on the Central Terminal a magnificent but crumbling monument to the Art Deco style. On our way out of town, we decided to pay a visit to the old train station. We got in! And we didn't have to infiltrate the building! We met some nice people from the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation, a group that is busy raising funds to try to preserve the building. The group has no realistic hope of restoring the building to its past grandeur, but is trying to preserve it from further decay as a kind of monument to Buffalo's storied past. The group gives tours, puts on artistic and historical exhibits, and sponsors musical events that take advantage of the terminal's incredible acoustics. (Because of the design of the spacious interior and marvelous ceiling, and because the terrazzo floor is underlayed by several inches of cork, sound carries very well with almost no reverberation.) I've posted a few more pictures here, but the organization's web site has a great collection of current and historical pictures.
June 26, 2005 by Marty | Permalink
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Comments
Marty and family,
It was nice meeting all of you yesterday. I'm glad you got to see the results of our hard work. As you point out, we have no expectation that we will be able to restore the terminal, but we are working diligently at preparing it and promoting it for redevelopment. I believe that we are at the beginning of a renaissance for Buffalo and that the terminal will be in use again. I firmly believe that this is less than ten years away, but all of us at the CTRC will do whatever it takes to maintain and preserve this important landmark for future generations, no matter how long it takes.
Thanks again for coming to visit and putting your pictures up for all to see!
Mike Miller
Treasurer
Central Terminal Restoration Corp.
Posted by: Mike Miller | Jun 27, 2005 7:09:45 AM
Thanks, again, Mike for the mini-tour. I wish we could have stayed longer. You have a great web site. I noticed that the links to the pictures were screwed up on the page I made for the Terminal. That's fixed now...
Posted by: Marty | Jun 27, 2005 8:10:19 AM
We're jealous! That place has a certain magnetism; partly for its innate beauty, partly because of its eerily delapidated state and partly because of nostalgia.
None of our recent visits have coincided with open houses, but hopefully we'll get in (legally) some day soon.
Part of the problem with using the building again is the rundown neighborhood in which it resides. But a revitalized Buffalo, or the proper tenant, could change that.
Posted by: Chris | Jun 27, 2005 9:44:58 AM
One thing I never understood about that place was its location. It's not near anything. I mean Grand Central Station is right in downtown Manhattan (as is Penn Station). The Central Terminal is about 3 miles or so from downtown. Granted, it is in what was then probably the throbbing heart of the Polish ghetto, but I doubt that people thronged to Buffalo in its heyday to visit the Broadway Market. I mean, the train drops you off in a residential neighborhood. It's almost a mile from there to pretty much anything commercial, except maybe some neighborhood taverns, and probably a few miles to hotels and downtown. I'm not that familiar with the geography of Buffalo in the 20s, but wasn't there another train terminal downtown on Division St.? Was part of the reason for this station's demise that it was an ill-planned boondoggle? It wouldn't be the first or last such thing Buffalo has bought for itself. I'm forwarding this comment to Mike Miller. Maybe he knows some more...
Posted by: Marty | Jun 27, 2005 10:04:11 AM
I believe that the original idea was that the downtown core would travel out to meet the new terminal. Meaning the future development of Buffalo would gravitate toward the terminal. Not all that far fetched for the early 1920's or so when the Terminal would have been planned.
Re-use of the Terminal will be difficult, and not solely due to the neighborhood. The public space in the building is huge compared to the private or leasable space. The cost per square foot to maintain the common areas would drive the lease rate beyond what the current market conditions can bear. Additionally, the floor plates of the tower are relatively small for any significant office use, somewhere between 5,000 to 6,000 square feet. The structure that is the most likely candidate for redevelopment is actually one of the out-buildings. The baggage terminal has open floor plates, lots of windows and decent square footage. But who wants to redevelop the baggage terminal when the main terminal is screaming for help.
The idea was floated around for a casino to locate there, but that does not work on many levels. Not the least of which is usable square footage.
It is a beautiful building, and the CTRC has the right idea at this point in time. Keep the building safe from the elements, prevent futher deterioration, and wait for the proper time/project to make the building available for development.
Posted by: David | Jun 27, 2005 3:49:01 PM
Mike Miller emailed me his thumbnail sketch of the history of why the site was chosen. It kind of echoes many of the stories you tell, David, of the political wranglings you go through now:
The terminal began planning stages when the need for a bigger station
(DL&W on Exchange St. was the main one at the time) was identified in
1901. As with Buffalo today, it took countless political battles and
nearly 30 years to get off the ground. They built it on the east side, 2
and 1/2 miles from downtown, because it was felt that the growing city
would continue to expand eastward, as evidenced by the then-thriving
Broadway shopping district. 4 months after opening, the great Depression
happened. The terminal has been referred to at the "station too late;
too far". Ill-planned is an understatement. After peeking in World War
II, airplanes, automobiles and thruways killed the passenger rail
business. The building became a monster to maintain, and subsequently
was neglected. It has been in slow deterioration for it's whole life.
The location is our biggest hindrance, although the surrounding
neighborhood could be bulldozed and redeveloped for probably under a
million dollars. I've never felt unsafe there. Personally, I think being
the sole skyscraper on a hill gives it a noble countenance.
You are all welcome to see the building whenever you are in town during
the spring and summer months. It's too cold to be in there in the
winter! Just send me an email and we'll try to accommodate with a tour.
Posted by: Marty | Jun 27, 2005 3:54:43 PM
When I thought about what you and Mike Miller has said about eastward development at the time, I had these thoughts: At the time, Buffalo had an extensive trolley system that served the area and could take train travellers to the east-side shopping district and to downtown. In addition, there were numerous suburbs to the east that were just starting to grow, including Cheektowaga, Depew, etc. I don't know if the trolley lines went out that far at that time (It's amazing just how extensive the street rail system was, however, even in the late 1800's and early 1900s. For example, check out: http://www.buffalonian.com/history/industry/railways/EarlyRailroadsII.html)
Posted by: Marty | Jun 27, 2005 4:08:43 PM
Marty et. al.,
Interestingly enough, the terminal was designed to include a trolley turnaround at the back end of the concourse (Curtiss St. level) and heading northeast up Curtiss St. I don't think the tracks were ever installed though. I have not done any research on this, other than asking my mom (who worked there from 1942 to 1951), who took the trolley from her parents home on Main St. in North Buffalo. She doesn't exactly remember, but she thinks she had to catch the Broadway bus from Main St.
See the FAQ page on our website for floor plan pictures.
Posted by: Mike Miller | Jun 28, 2005 7:06:34 AM
This may be of interest...
Wednesday, June 29th at 8pm the Discovery Channel is airing a program called Urban Explorers. This edition they are in Buffalo, and I beleive they spent some time in the Central Terminal. Might be a fun program.
Posted by: David | Jun 28, 2005 8:40:15 AM
Yes, the Discovery Channel had spent about 8 hours at the terminal last August. I'm not sure in what context this piece will be about "urban exploration", but they were authorized to be on the premises and were accompanied by our secretary, Sara Etten. I'm hoping that the building is not represented as being open for urban exploration, as the tower and concourse are sealed, fenced and alarmed. I don't get that channel, so I'm anxious to hear feedback on it. Enjoy the show!
Posted by: Mike Miller | Jun 28, 2005 11:23:05 AM
The Discovery Channel web site has the program running at 5PM. Maybe it's best to check local listings.
Posted by: Marty | Jun 28, 2005 11:43:42 AM
I watched the Discovery Channel show. It was on at 5 PM in my area. It was kind of hokey (staged, annoying "un-steady cam", overly perky young explorers), but they picked out some neat places to explore. They hit the Central Terminal first. They "found" the stuffed bison in the terminal. I think they've moved the thing since the show was filmed. They also went to the top of the terminal, and explored some of the tunnels underneath used to transport baggage. They went into one of the vaults of the main concourse roof and dropped down on ropes. After the Terminal, they went to Transfiguration Church, and old church in the Polish East Side. They also stopped at Frank and Theresa's Anchor Bar for some wingage. Finally, they visited "Concrete Central", a huge grain elevator complex along the Buffalo River waterfront area.
Posted by: Marty | Jun 29, 2005 7:33:51 PM
Marty,
Sara thought it was pretty cheesy when she supervised them there for 8 hours, but it's national exposure! I had a friend tape it for me. I'll watch it this weekend. I'm hoping we don't get a glut of people trying to break in.
Mike
PS - "Stuffy" the buffalo is back at the Museum of Science, and I think is in an exhibit again. The poor old thing sat in a storeroom since leaving the terminal in the mid/late 1940's.
Posted by: Mike Miller | Jun 30, 2005 6:56:02 AM
