press releases
Governor Pataki and New York State Assembly Announce the Distribution of $100 Million to Support New Phase of Cultural Renewal in Buffalo
Funds Go to City’s Celebrated H.H. Richardson Building, A New Burchfield-Penney Art Center, and Toshiko Mori’s Martin House Visitors’ Center, Among Others, Reflecting Major Investment in the Region’s Exceptional Cultural Heritage
BUFFALO, NY, January 23, 2006 – Governor George E. Pataki and the New York State Assembly have announced their commitment to provide $100 million to a number of cultural and architectural renewal projects in Buffalo. The city’s landmark Henry Hobson Richardson building, one of the nation’s most historically significant structures, will receive $76 million as a first step in a major restoration plan leading to the complex’s ultimate reuse. In addition to the Richardson building, distribution of these funds will grant $16 million towards Burchfield-Penney Art Center’s new home on the Richardson campus and $7 million towards Toshiko Mori’s Visitors’ Center at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Martin House. Through a separate pool of funds the State Assembly has also committed $1 million each towards the new Frank Lloyd Wright Rowing Boathouse, and Frank Lloyd Wright Filling Station at the Buffalo Transportation/Pierce-Arrow Museum. This announcement represents the next step in Buffalo’s ongoing cultural renewal and the city and state’s commitment to its architectural and artistic heritage and future.
The restoration of the H.H. Richardson-designed Buffalo State Hospital, built from 1870-1896, is among a variety of architectural preservation projects currently underway in Buffalo, including two of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most beautiful homes: the Darwin D. Martin House (1903-1905), long regarded as one of Buffalo’s most notable architectural structures and Wright’s greatest Prairie House; and Graycliff (1926-27), the summer home for the Martin family from 1928 to the mid-1940s and the last built commission in the Buffalo area for Wright, located on the shores of Lake Erie. In addition to renovation efforts of the two Wright homes, the Asbury Delaware Church (1876) is undergoing restoration in downtown Buffalo. In spring 2006, the church will reopen as the new home for Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center and Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records.
New architecture thrives in Buffalo as well with two significant Wright projects underway, including: Frank Lloyd Wright’s design for a winged Tydol Filling Station which will be constructed on the campus of the Buffalo Transportation/Pierce-Arrow Museum, located only a few blocks from where Wright originally intended it at Michigan and Cherry Streets; and the construction of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Rowing Boathouse, providing a home for the West Side Rowing Club, the nation’s largest rowing club. Wright’s design for the Boathouse, originally included in his Wasmuth Portfolio series of distinctive Prairie Style lithograph designs, was never built.
The city of Buffalo boasts one of the strongest architectural histories in the United States with landmarks designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen (Kleinhans Music Hall), Louis Sullivan (Guaranty Building), Stanford White (Williams-Pratt Mansion), and Frederick Law Olmsted (Buffalo Parks and Parkways), along with Wright and Richardson. Looking to the future, new architectural projects in Buffalo include acclaimed international architect Toshiko Mori’s winning competition entry for a visitors’ center at Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House. This diversity of architects mirrors Buffalo’s unique role in American history as a city of culture and innovation.
As yet another part of the city’s renewal, the Erie Canal Harbor Project is also in the process of redeveloping the original 1825 Erie Canal Terminus and Waterway. The project includes the reconstruction and restoration of historic and cultural features of the terminus, a transit plaza, a waterfront esplanade, maritime facilities, access infrastructure and a new Naval and Serviceman’s Park. Final completion is set for fall 2007.
Together with its rich architectural history, Buffalo benefits from a vibrant cultural community, centered on the Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s role as an outstanding center for modern and contemporary art. Housed in its original building by Green and Wicks (1900-1905) and an inspired modernist addition by Gordon Bunshaft (1962), the Albright-Knox is also part of Buffalo’s architectural tradition showcasing a variety of artists from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in its exceptional permanent collection, including Auguste Rodin, Piet Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, Spencer Tunic, Louise Bourgeois, and Catherine Opie.
The Burchfield-Penney Art Center (BPAC), located across the street from the AKAG, possesses the world’s largest, most comprehensive collection of art by the great Western New York artist Charles E. Burchfield. Located on the Buffalo State campus, BPAC exhibits art local to the region including work by Cindy Sherman, Charles Clough, Robert Longo, photographer Milton Rogovin and many others. It is anticipated that the BPAC will open its new home designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects in fall 2007.
The community has also invested in the ongoing preservation and restoration of the historic Roycroft campus in nearby East Aurora. Founded in 1895 by Elbert Hubbard, the Roycrofters were a community of skilled craftsmen – printers, book designers, furniture-makers – whose work is now highly sought after by Arts and Crafts collectors across the country. Most recently, the Buffalo community helped to renovate the Roycroft Inn that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005.
Buffalo is a city with a longstanding history of innovation, discovery, creativity, production and support for architecture, the arts and culture. From the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, through the invention of the grain elevator, to the harnessing of hydroelectric power at nearby Niagara Falls and the subsequent development of aviation, automobile and steel plants, Buffalo has played a distinguished role in the shaping of the American experience – a history that continues to be made today.
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