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 »
Today’s “urban scene of the week” brings us to Eagle Street. David Torke at Fix Buffalo captured this image during a guided tour of the Hydraulics this afternoon.
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