Prudential Building - Buffalo, NY
Posted by: 
Rayman
N 42° 52.991 W 078° 52.592
17T E 673410 N 4750029
The Prudential Building, now known as the Guaranty Building, in downtown Buffalo is a beautiful terra cotta structure designed by famous American architect Louis Sullivan.
Waymark Code: WM1J8T
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 05/17/2007
Views: 44
The following is an excerpt from
New York: A Guide to the Empire State in the Buffalo Points of Interests section.
The PRUDENTIAL BUILDING, SW. corner of Church and Pearl Sts., a 12-story office building of structural steel and terra cotta erected in 1894, is a notable example of the work of Louis H. Sullivan, forerunner in the field of modern architecture. The use of skeleton steel construction enabled him to accent vertical lines by means of narrow piers and columns and to provide abundant light with more window area. All the exterior terra-cotta surfaces are reddish brown in color, with elaborate, interlacing ornament in designs peculiar to Sullivan. This ornamentation is also used on the ironwork of the elevators and stair grilles, the hardware, and the mosaic ceilings and upper wall surfaces of the main first floor corridors.
By the 1950s, the building began to fall into disrepair. A failed modernization project help to contribute to the further decline. In 1977, a fire inside almost led out-of-town owners to demolish the building. Fortunately, preservationists locally and nationally saved the building and began to restore it to its original splendor through various grants and loans. A large local law firm purchased the building in 2002 and began extensive restoration to the exterior, ensuring the future beauty of this great building.