Stay put, Buffalo! Turns out it isn’t necessary to get a flight to the Greek island of Aegina to secure a glimpse of the Temple of Aphaea. Though the original 2,500-year-old version is undoubtedly very interesting, it is possible to experience a hint of Greek temple life by standing outside the doors of a former box factory in the Hydraulics: the F. N. Burt Co. at 540 Seneca Street.

The 1926-27 steel-reinforced concrete extension to the F. N. Burt plant, designed by Plumer & Mann Engineers and Architects, is a confidently modern, functional structure with an unusually striking entrance of the Doric classical order. The entrance to the box plant, run by the formidable female executive Mary R. Cass from 1909 forward, is an example of industrial building design ennobled by a reference to classical origins.

Imagine, as a laborer, entering through these doors daily. The classical idiom awakens the sense of civic beauty that utilitarian structures rarely exhibit today. Even in this austere, straight-forward factory building, though beautiful in its functional simplicity, the idea of a small Greek temple framing one’s entrance to an industrial workplace must have struck the architecturally-conscious paper box maker as something noteworthy.

The Doric order’s connotations of high-minded primitive simplicity, noble sobriety, seriousness of purpose, and republican virtue were not always associated with factory life in the American city, but they are appropriated here by Plumer & Mann to communicate the permanence of the company, the importance of its work, and the strength and durability of its manufactures. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know the largest manufacturer of small paper boxes in the world was in Buffalo? Consider yourself now in the know! The F. N. Burt Company, whose sprawling factory complex at Seneca and Hamburg streets churned out upwards of four million boxes a day, was one of the largest employers in the Hydraulics and one of the shining lights of Buffalo industry.

F. N. Burt, an innovator in graphic design, was one of the most respected box manufacturers on the planet. Renowned for the glamour and sophistication of its manufactures, the company experienced tremendous growth in the early 20th century that coincided with, as well as contributed to, the emergence of the stylized box as an advertising vehicle for mass-produced consumer goods. Its prodigious, 400,000 sq. ft. factory complex is entirely intact – every building it ever constructed on Seneca Street from 1901-1927 still stands, a miracle by any standard in industrial heritage preservation. Read the rest of this entry »

O, boy, what an amazing door! The Larkin O Building, constructed in 1907 as one of multiple additions to the sprawling Larkin factory complex, contains an odd second-story door that appears more like one that would have opened out onto a ground-level sidewalk.

It’s not only an appearance. The door did once face onto a street – the Van Rensselaer Street viaduct, in fact. Until a couple decades ago, this section of Van Rensselaer Street from Roseville to Seneca streets was an elevated viaduct allowing the passage of trains underneath, along the tracks of the Erie Railroad that have since been removed. Read the rest of this entry »

The Larkin District represents the “skyline” of the Hydraulics. The image of Larkin factory and warehouse buildings towering over the neighborhood is stirring, particularly from rare roof perspectives. The following images, taken recently while peeking through the roof portals (sorry, no public access!) of Larkin Building N at 701 Seneca, communicate a post-industrial agglomeration of prodigious scale, signifying the old and new Buffalo simultaneously.

The reemergence of the Larkin District as an important center of activity is an Read the rest of this entry »

Consider yourselves now on the inside track! Hidden far within labyrinthine corridors of the “arts floor” (Floor 7) of the Seneca Industrial Center is a fabulous little lounge, replete with La-Z-Boy and card table. According to sources, this groovy space is hipster central at the Larkin District.

The small space, set aside for late-night chill time and crack-of-dawn cups o’ Joe, is like the sacred communal ground of the building’s so-called Arts Floor, home to a community of art studios, furniture manufacturers, and Buffalo’s leading set designers. Ugly chair + tall ceilings + exposed brick/concrete walls = Urban Cool. Read the rest of this entry »