Buffalo... Who Knew?

“Buffalo…..who knew” that the first woman to practice architecture in the US, the first woman member of the American Institute of Architects and the first woman to be made a Fellow of the A.I.A was Buffalo’s own Louise Blanchard Bethune? Bethune, who apprenticed with esteemed Buffalo architect Richard A. Waite as of 1876, launched her own firm in 1881 and, then, another with her husband in 1891, ultimately designed approximately 180 (known) buildings in Buffalo and Western New York. While [...]

“Buffalo… who knew” that one of the city’s neighborhoods has been recognized as one of the country’s 10 best neighborhoods by the American Planning Association?  Elmwood Village, which started to take form in the post-Civil War period, was developed as a city within a park framework—in this case, Frederick Law Olmsted’s Delaware Park.  Elmwood then went into a period of decline from the 1920s until the 1990s but has experienced 20+ years of resurgence, growth, and in-migration.  Today, it represents one of the [...]

“Buffalo…who knew” that there is a center of art, design, and construction housed in an early 20th Century church located just outside of downtown? Led by artist, architect and visionary, Dennis Maher, Assembly House 150 is an “architectural dreamworld” that includes classrooms for students, stories high sculptures, a gallery and studio where artists and tradespeople collaborate on architectural and artistic projects, and a design and building studio.Assembly House is an extension of the ongoing Fargo House project, Maher’s home and [...]

“Buffalo…Who Knew” that the HIstoric Colored Musicians Club is the only continuously running, all-Black owned club in the US? This historically-significant site was founded in 1917 when the all-white musicians union, Local 43, refused to include African American musicians in the union. A separate union, Buffalo Local 533, was thus formed, making Buffalo the eighth city in the United States with a racially-segregated musicians’ local union.  From there, a close-knit group of its members formed a social club, which still exists today as [...]

“Buffalo…..who knew” that Robert T. Coles, a Buffalo-born and MIT-educated architect, launched the first African American-owned architecture firm in New York State and in the Northeast? And that his house, located on Humboldt Parkway, is poised to become Buffalo’s next house museum and cultural site?  Coles was the first African American to win the Rotch Traveling Scholarship awarded by the Boston Society of Architects,[1] the first African American Chancellor of the American Institute of Architects (AIA),[2] the first AIA Vice-President for Minority Affairs, and [...]

“Buffalo…..who knew?” that Buffalo boasts a festival that celebrates the humanities, thought, and creativity, and that it is a coming-together of both cultural and educational institutions across the city?  Newell and Frits discuss, and learn (more) about, the Buffalo Humanities Festival, which is celebrating its 10th year. Podcast guests are festival Executive Director, Christina Milletti, and Director, Elizabeth Otto.  This year’s festival (September 20-21st, 2004) will be held in Buffalo’s “Literary Row” (which extends from the Erie County Public Library to [...]

“Buffalo….who knew” that Buffalo hosts one of the most respected art conservation departments in the country? The Patricia H. and Richard E. Garman Art Conservation Department at Buffalo State, founded in 1970, is one of the leading programs of its kind in North America. Listen as Newell and Frits speak with Director, Patrick Ravines, about the founding of the program, some of the storied items on which the program has worked, and how it became so recognized in the art conservation [...]

The “Buffalo…..who knew?” podcast series aims to highlight the (often under appreciated, sometimes unearthed) assets of Buffalo–particularly as it relates to the built and natural environment. It reveals up-and-coming projects, checks in on those that are already underway, and discusses some of the barriers that may impede their forward movement. “Buffalo….who knew” that Frederick Law Olmsted claimed Buffalo to be “the best planned city, as to its streets, public places, and grounds, in the United States, if not in the world”, [...]