|
|
|
Exploring Frank Lloyd Wright In Buffalo And Serenity On Lake Ontario
y theory is a real unspectacular marinas and some
traveler is able to old run-down industrial
discover interesting buildings. We turned ourselves
things even in the most unlikely around and headed back towards
of places. Well, Buffalo probably the downtown area. Because the
hasn't made the "top travel tourist information office was
destinations" list for a while, closed on Sunday we figured, we'd
but I have been doing some stop in at the Hampton Inn &
research on it and I thought it's Suites Hotel to pick up some
high time to explore Buffalo, the tourist brochures and city maps.
closest American city to Toronto, Another pleasant experience: The
just south of Niagara Falls and lady at the front counter was
right across the Fort Erie extremely helpful, provided us
border. with several brochures and a
printout of how to get to 2 of
So my fellow travel and the most important architectural
architecture aficionado Shauna heritage sites in Buffalo: Frank
and I headed out early yesterday Lloyd Wright's Martin House and
morning to make the 2 hour trek his other important Buffalo work,
to Buffalo. We picked the Fort Graycliff Mansion.
Erie border crossing and
fortunately it wasn't very busy Having parked the car on Delaware
at all. Avenue at about 10:30 am, the one
thing that struck us immediately
Approaching the city we was how empty the streets were.
immediately took a wrong turn and There was virtually no pedestrian
headed south on Highway 5 away traffic at all and very few
from downtown. But we got to see vehicles passing by.
Buffalo's waterfront, which in
this area includes a few rather We parked our car close to
Niagara Square and started our similar this design was the one
exploration on foot. First on the of Chicago's most famous
agenda was the Buffalo City Hall, buildings, the "Rookery", and it
a monumental Art Deco skyscraper wasn't until this morning that I
completed in 1931, built of realized that both buildings were
orange-hued sandstone with created by the same architect.
intricate details and colourful
ornamentation. It's an amazingly impressive
building with gorgeous sweeping
We did a little downtown circle staircases and an intricate
and covered a few really mosaic covering the entire
interesting buildings. The red courtyard. From the Ellicot
colour and detailed ornamentation Square Building we headed towards
of Louis Sullivan's Guaranty the Lafayette Hotel, a handsome
Building really captured our red brick and white terra cotta
imagination. We passed by St. French Renaissance-style building
Paul's Cathedral and past the which was built in anticipation
trolley tracks of Main Street we of the expected influx of
discovered the Elicott Square visitors at the Pan-American
Building. The east entrance to Exposition in 1901. Due to
the building was actually open so financial difficulties, however,
we went inside. This building was it was not opened until 1904.
erected in 1896 according to a From there we checked out the
design by Daniel Burnham, one of General Electric Tower, a
Chicago's most famous architects. handsome white Terracotta-clad
This building is constructed structure dating back to 1912.
around a large interior court
covered by a glass block ceiling The Electric Tower happens to be
held up by ornamented steel right beside another fascinating
girders. We commented on how building: the Buffalo Savings
Bank, a building manifesting stores and restaurants. A lot of
Buffalo's boom of the second half the modern administrative
of the 19th century. In the late buildings in Buffalo have a
1890s - the peak of Buffalo's rather austere and non-welcoming
golden age - the bank held a feeling and some of the newer
competition for a grand new buildings dating back to the 50s
headquarters. The contest was won and later have an almost
by Green & Wicks, Buffalo's penitentiary feeling to them. The
premier turn-of-the-century resulting scarcity of
architectural firm. Their design street-level store fronts
projected stability, security, combined with the utter lack of
and aspiration.The building's pedestrians (certainly on the
signature feature is the weekend) really gives downtown
gold-leafed dome. Buffalo a rather eerie deserted
feel, and the absence of people
After the Buffalo Savings Bank we downtown was our most striking
explored the Genesee Building impression of Buffalo. Judging
which today is the Hyatt Regency from the classically styled
Hotel. Just as we finished street lamps with blooming
exploring that building the planters, however, the city
heavens opened up and there was a appears to have been working on
torrential downpour so we sat beautifying the downtown core.
down in front of the Hyatt and
took in the street scene. We were We started heading back to the
facing Main Street, the street car and passed by the Statler
that is now a pedestrian zone and Hotel, which isn't really a hotel
accommodates Buffalo's light rail any more, but apparently a
rapid transit line. One thing we building full of lawyer's
consistently noticed in Buffalo offices. We had a look inside the
was the absence of street-level impressive lobby which features
French chandeliers from the early locals did their shopping at the
20th century. I took a couple of suburban malls and big warehouse
pictures, but the security guard stories. That, combined with the
stopped me, telling me no economic woes of the city, has
photography was allowed. We had a apparently created a flight into
really interesting chat after the suburbs that has left the
this and he commented on city's core rather lifeless on
long-standing economic problems the weekend.
of Buffalo and how in his
opinion, the current mayor had Well, we had to move on to our
only made things worse. One tour of another architectural
example of the city's economic jewel, Frank Lloyd Wright's
problems is that the stately Martin House. Darwin Martin was a
ballroom of the Statler Hotel had high-ranking executive with the
only been recently reopened after Larkin Soap Company and his
having been closed down since brother-in-law had encouraged
1957. Furthermore, a previous Darwin to seek out Wright's work
owner of the building had tried in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago.
to create a food court in the After familiarizing himself with
basement and had opened up the Wright's work, he brought him to
main floor, but ran out of money Buffalo in November 1902 to build
before the food court could be a house for his sister, the
built. So now you have a rather Barton House, with a size of
obtrusive opening on the ground about 4000 feet, and then to
floor with a view into an empty build his main house, a 15,000
basement without stores or food square foot Prairie Style home,
outlets. Our local contact also characterized by Wright's
commented on the reasons why rigorous and consistent use of
downtown Buffalo was so devoid of cruciform plans, piers and
people, and he said that all the cantilevers, and other prairie
house principles. After many
years of neglect, the Martin After the humid heat inside the
house is now under renovation to Martin and Barton Houses we were
restore it back to its original glad to get outside to cool down.
early 1900's authentic splendour. We drove through the Park Side
East Historic District
Right now the building is empty surrounding Delaware Park, a
and a few large photographs creation of the famous landscape
illustrate the former decor and designer Frederick Law Olmstead,
furnishings. It's very visible who also designed Central Park.
that this building has been The area around Delaware Park and
neglected for a long time and the the Forest Lawn Cemetery is a
Martin House Restoration beautiful part of the city with
Corporation is working very hard gorgeous mansions and manicured
to restore it back to its lawns, and this beauty is most
authentic 1907 characteristics, visible on Millionaires' Row
even to the degree of rebuilding along Delaware Avenue. There was
the pergola and the coach house much more traffic and street life
that were demolished by a in this part of Buffalo, the
previous owner. The tour lasted atmosphere was pleasant and the
about 90 minutes and was provided residential areas impressive.
by a very passionate docent and
all the volunteer staff in the We headed over closer to the
gift shop and the chaperone were Niagara River and drove along the
very helpful. We even received a Seaway Trail, crossed Grand
glass of water in the 60s style Island and continued on the
kitchen of the Martin House which outskirts of Niagara Falls, NY,
will be torn out and replaced by right along the Niagara River
more authentic furnishings as the towards Lewiston. The drive north
renovation continues. of Niagara Falls to Fort Niagara
State Park on Lake Ontario is very impressed with the
gorgeous, with beautiful old friendliness and helpfulness of
homes overlooking the Niagara the locals.
River, huge trees overhanging the
2-lane country road, with Back on the Canadian side we
well-kept properties on either drove along the Niagara Parkway
side of the road. We had a lovely and stopped in the beautiful
greasy lunch outside, enjoying little village of
the breeze (hey, you don't have Niagara-on-the-Lake. NOTL calls
to eat healthy every day) and itself the "prettiest village in
then continued our drive all the Ontario", and they might just be
way to Fort Niagara State Park, right. The village is home to
admiring the villas and estates. beautifully maintained Victorian
homes, overflowing flower
We had chosen to cross the border baskets, souvenir shops, cafes,
at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, bed and breakfasts, as well as
but construction work had caused the famous Shaw Festival, and for
confusing detours and a local New many Ontarians it is a favourite
York State father and son team destination for a quick weekend
stopped their car when they saw getaway.
us by the road, staring at the
map, trying to figure out how to From Niagara-on-the-Lake we
get to the border crossing. They headed through vineyards and
rolled down the window and said orchards to St. Catharines, and
they'd guide us to the bridge, to its Port Dalhousie waterfront
which they did. We followed them entertainment area, not
for about 10 minutes through the forgetting to stop by a road-side
maze of detour signs until we fruit stall to buy ripe red
found the bridge and headed back cherries and nuclear-size
over to Canada. Both of us were apricots fresh from the tree.
About 20 minutes from NOTL, Port happening spot. But no such luck,
Dalhousie harbours a marina and a we had to get back to Toronto
long pier and numerous outdoor after our exciting girls-only
patio restaurants, ice cream excursion to Buffalo and the
parlors, souvenir shops and other Niagara Peninsula.
entertainment.
We got to explore some fabulous
The atmosphere in Port Dalhousie architectural gems, connected
was almost like in a Californian with the legacy of Frank Lloyd
seafront resort town with Wright, had a lovely greasy lunch
rollerbladers, walkers, beach right next to the Niagara River,
volleyball players, boaters and enjoyed the hospitality and the
relaxed pedestrians taking a helpfulness of the local New York
stroll through the village and on State residents, and back on home
the pier. The sun was starting to territory, we hopped along the
set and lake was laid out in Lake Ontario shoreline to enjoy
front of us like an ocean, with fresh fruits, frozen yogurt and
no shoreline visible on the other an amazingly relaxing late
side. It was a beautiful hot afternoon by the waterfront. It
evening and I felt like I wanted doesn't get much better than
to spend a whole week in this that.....
About the Author:
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of http://www.travelandtransitions.com, a web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new FREE ebooks about travel.
Published At: www.Isnare.com
|
|
