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 »

Mayor Byron Brown today unveiled an effort to overhaul Buffalo’s antiquated zoning code, an initiative that may prove particularly relevant to future development efforts in the Hydraulics. Brian Reilly, the Mayor’s Commissioner of Economic Development, announced the City’s plans in an editorial in today’s Buffalo News. Read the rest of this entry »