E. & B. Holmes Machinery Company Building - Buffalo, NY - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The E. & B. Holmes Machinery Company Building is significant as an intact 19th and early 20th century urban factory in the Old First Ward section of Buffalo. It is also significant in the area of industry and invention for the accomplishments of brothers Edward and Britain Holmes. Together the brothers revolutionized the barrel making industry in the United States by patenting the design and manufacturing of machinery used for mass producing barrels. For centuries, each barrel had been handmade individually by a cooper. Several of the Holmes machine designs went on to win prestigious national awards for ingenuity.

The company was first founded in 1840 in nearby Lancaster, NY. The company thrived for 12 years before moving into Buffalo in 1852 where they manufactured washboards and other wood products at their mill. The Holmes brothers purchased this building around 1857 to expand their product line. Their original factory nearby continued to produce lumber goods while this new one specialized in iron working and barrel making. A fire destroyed the barrel making building in 1878, but the company quickly rebuilt the factory at twice the size of the original. By 1888, the Holmes brothers had obtained over 60 patents for their barrel making machinery.

In 1890, newspapers reported the Holmes company falling into bankruptcy and a large portion of their buildings were sold off. By 1895 the remainder of their assets were sold off and the barrel making factory had closed. Little information is available beyond this time, other than the company name continued on until around 1950 when it was sold.

The building complex has remained vacant since 2002. It was purchased in 2005 by a local company to begin stabilization. Unfortunately the eastern portion of the main 4-story building collapsed in 2007. Further work is being done as funding permits with plans to convert the structures into live-work lofts, to be named River Lofts at the Cooperage.

Street address: 55-59 Chicago St Buffalo, NY United States 14204 County / Borough / Parish: Erie Year listed: 2009 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture Periods of significance: 1864-1950 Historic function: Industry: Manufacturing Facility Current function: Vacant/Not In Use Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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