Howard Zemsky, principal in Larkin Development Group, testified before Congress yesterday, bringing the success story of the Larkin Terminal Warehouse conversion to a nationwide audience. The 10-story building, transformed in 2002 from industrial to chic office space and now at full occupancy, is one of many projects across the nation that benefited from the federal Renewal Communities program. Read the rest of this entry »

The Seneca Street bridge leading into the Larkin District over the former New York Central Rail Corridor offers some interesting scenes.

Looking to the east, one first witnesses the impressive profile (above) of the Larkin Power House and its smokestack – one of the steeples of industrial Buffalo. The peak of the smokestack marks the highest point in the Hydraulics and at one time reached much higher, that is, before the stack was damaged in a lightning strike some decades ago. To the south of the Power House is the Larkin L/M Warehouse, where the Larkin Company stored much of its raw materials (think hundreds of tons of animal fat for soap production, as only one example) and which has the highest floor load capacity (230 lbs./sq.ft.) of all the Larkin District structures, a higher load capacity than even the more advanced Larkin Terminal Warehouse constructed eight years later in 1912. Read the rest of this entry »