Electric Building - Buffalo, NY
Posted by: 
Rayman
N 42° 53.312 W 078° 52.334
17T E 673747 N 4750632
The Electric Building was similar to a building of the same name built for the Pan-American Expostion of 1901. It was also one of the first fully electrified office buildings in the world.
Waymark Code: WM1MK9
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 06/02/2007
Views: 98
The following is an excerpt from
New York: A Guide to the Empire State in the Buffalo points of interest section:
The ELECTRIC BUILDING, Washington, Genesee, and Huron Sts., is a white terra-cotta office building constructed in 1912. The main feature is an octagonal tower on the corner rising sheer to 13 stories and then stepped back three times to a height of 327 feet, terminating in a large lantern. The rest of the building is seven stories high. The structure is modern in style, except for the neoclassic details on the three sections of the tower. At night three searchlights, totaling 25,000 candlepower, play from the lantern, and the upper sections of the tower are illuminated in a variety of colors. The architects were Esenwein and Johnson. The building contains offices of the Niagara-Hudson and Buffalo General Electric Companies.
This building resembled, but was not a replica of, the Electric Tower built for the Pan-American Exposition in 1901. It was also one of the first fully-electrified buildings in the world. For years, the building was corporate home for the Buffalo General Electric Company, then Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation (now a part of National Grid). After NMPC decided to move their corporate offices, a local developer bought the building with the intent to renovate it into high-end office space.
Every New Year's Eve, thousands of people gather in front of the tower to watch the New Year's Ball Drop and fireworks, which has grown to be the second largest in the country. The tower is still illuminated every night, and the colors vary by time of the year. Most recently, the tower had lights of blue and yellow to celebrate the Sabres run towards the Stanley Cup. Also popular are red and green for Christmas, and red white and blue for 4th of July.