Buffalo, NY
Posted by: 
Rayman
N 42° 53.192 W 078° 52.738
17T E 673202 N 4750396
This beautiful art deco building has been the city hall of Buffalo since 1931.
Waymark Code: WMCAC
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 05/10/2006
Views: 50
In the centennial year of the United States, 1876, Buffalo dedicated a new City Hall (the gray granite building now called Old County Hall). Between that time and the dedication of the present City Hall in 1932, the centennial year of the City of Buffalo, the population of the city had quadrupled. The need for a new building was recognized in 1920, when a citywide referendum authorized the Buffalo Common Council to select a site and develop a new "city center."
The site chosen was Niagara Square, the most important of the several squares of the Joseph Ellicott Plan of 1804. Niagara Square is considered the center and cultural heart of Buffalo as well as its official location. The City hall tower overlooks the renowned waterways of Lake Erie and the friendly shores of Canada.
Groundbreaking for City Hall was held on September 16, 1929. The building was completed November 10, 1931. The building was dedicated July 1, 1932, to commemorate the City Centennial.
The 32-story-high structure was built on two triangular lots on the west side of Niagara Square, spanning Court Street. The construction of City Hall in 1929 closed off Court Street from the square. This was the first interruption of Ellicott's street plan. The completion of the similarly-styled Art Deco State and Federal Buildings in 1935 on the east side of Niagara Square realized the concept of a city center group of governmental buildings, first suggested in 1920.
The City Hall Building serves as a reminder of of Buffalo's past. Its decorative art illustrates significant elements in the area history. This, among, other things, the following are shown: themes of the Iroquois Indian nation, the development of the Erie Canal, the United States's relation to Canada, and the pioneering and industrial spirit of Buffalo's citizens, past and present.
Included, too, are are statues of Buffalonians who were Presidents of the United States: Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland.
Walls are faced with tawny Ohio sandstone and gray Minnesota limestone, above a base of gray granite.
Name: Buffalo City Hall
Date of Construction: 1931
Architect: John J. Wade
Web Site for City/Town/Municipality: [Web Link]
Address: Not listed
Memorials/Commemorations/Dedications: Not listed
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