Customer Reviews

Buffalo Architecture: A Guide

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book acts in many ways as the unofficial guidebook to exploring what is one of the most important architectural cities in America.For those who are familiar with Buffalo and those who are not the book is filled with a splendid variety of both well known Richardson and Wright masterpieces and some not so well known masterpieces. Its divided into sections based on the geography of the city so it makes the perfect book if one wants to set out exploring. Buffalos neighborhoods and amazing housing stock are unparalleled in size and preservation nationwide. Its American Indian inspired art deco city hall, perhaps the finest building of its type in the nation is just one of buildings you will find profiled. Reyner Banham ,the editor,was at the time was on the faculty at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Architecture. His wonderful book about the origins of the modern movement and its ties to Buffalos grain elevators, A Concrete Atlantis could act as a supplement to Buffalo Architecture: A Guide if you are interested in Buffalos industrial buildings as well...

This book and the city it shows us are a must see for architects, students, and architectural buffs alike. The book is packed with wonderfull black and white photos showing a suprising array of high quality though little known American architecture. It is refreshing and informative to see and learn of architecture which has been passed over by the traditional architectural press solely because it is not in the typical bigger cities. The buildings presented form a rich and diverse portfolio ranging from masterpieces by Sullivan, Wright, and Richardson,to the simplest of victorian cottages, to a magnificent cathedral or a delicate greek revival temple. This book presents the unknown and forgotten richness of American architecture and releases the reader form the monotony of seeing the same cities and the same buildings published over and over agian. The writers of this book ventured out into the great american wilderness and and showed us its refinement.

Reading all the rave reviews on this page made this an easy purchase, but I was disappointed with what arrived.

This thin, outdated catalog is not the kind of quality you would expect for the architectural treasure trove that is Buffalo. Buffalo's architecture belies its reputation as a desperately poor, crime-ridden, ugly city. In fact, one can argue (as I do) that it contains the most important ensemble of 19th-century urban architecture in the United States, and among the best in the world. Buffalo deserves a better book.

What you get here is a catalog of landmark structures, chosen and published in 1981. The book is standard AIA format, though it is not an AIA publication. Some of the 200 structures come with a brief descriptive essay, some come with a short descriptive sentence, and a few include no description at all, other than a title and address. The catalog itself is woefully incomplete. All the sites are in downtown, north or west sides. The important EAST SIDE and Ellicott are (nearly) entirely absent, and essentially dismissed as "troubled areas." That's too bad. People who know Buffalo know what kind of treasures are hiding in these "troubled areas," and they are urgently important to the architectural and cultural history of the city. For example, two conspicuous omissions are St. Mary of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church (a National Historic Landmark) and Canisius College.

The photography is also incomplete, with only about half of the entries including one. If there is a photograph, it is of purely pragmatic, stock purposes. There's no attempt at artistic quality, but there are a few interesting interior shots.

So, while it's nice to have SOMETHING which represents awesome Buffalo, we need a serious expansion and update of current offerings, particularly with the National Trust for Historic Preservation coming to town in October 2011!

This book is a comprehensive review of numerous architectural marvels-- treasures that rarely exist in other US cities. The downtown "skyscrapers" constructed at the turn of the century have endured as a result of the economic downfall of a great city Fortunately, in regard to these works of art, there was no money available to destroy these buildings and replace them with "modern" designs. "Lemons" to some, turned into a very fine visual lemonade! A reminder that things from the past can be truly appreciated today! I've alreaady recommended this book to many.

The book rocks, so does the city. Buy it!