City Orientation Walk - PDF Free Download

Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 1 - City Orientation Walk Buffalo is a truly magnificent city with splendid American architecture of the 19th 20th centuries. With prominent architectural jewels such as Buffalo City Hall, Old Erie County Hall, Electric Tower and many others, the city offers an exciting journey through history of American democratic foundations. Take this walking tour to discover the most attractive architectural masterpieces of the city of Buffalo. Guide Location: USA» Buffalo # of Attractions: 11 Tour Duration: 2 hour(s) Travel Distance: 4.5 km Please note: This walk is also featured in the ios app "GPSmyCity: Walks and Articles with Offline Maps" on itunes App Store and the Android app "Buffalo Map and Walks" on Google Play. The apps provide GPS navigation to guide you from one tour stop to the next, so you will never be lost. The apps offer additional walking tours in Buffalo. Check them out! GPSmyCity offers self-guided walking tours in over 1,000 city around the world. Please visit gpsmycity.com for more walking tour offers. List of attractions included in this self-guided walking tour: A) Buffalo City Hall B) Old Erie County Hall C) St Joseph Cathedral & Rectory D) Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park E) Canalside F) Ellicott Square Building G) Old Post Office H) St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral I) Electric Tower J) Calumet Building K) Methodist Episcopal Church Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 1 -

Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 3 - A) Buffalo City Hall (must see) Buffalo City Hall is the seat for municipal government in the City of Buffalo, New York. Located at 65 Niagara Square, the 32 story Art Deco building was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones. At 378 ft height or 398 feet from the street to the top of the tower, it is one of the largest and tallest municipal buildings in the United States of America and is also one of the tallest buildings in Western New York.The friezes were sculpted by Albert Stewart and the sculpture executed by Rene Paul Chambellan. Buffalo's tallest building until 1970, City Hall has 32 stories, 26 of which offer usable office space. The total floor area is 566,313 square feet and the footprint of the site on Niagara Square is 71,700 square feet. There are 1,520 windows from the first to the twenty-fifth floor. A practical design feature is that all of them open inward, making window washers unnecessary. It takes approximately ten days to clean them all. There are eight elevators to the 13th floor and four to the 25th floor. Curtis Elevator Company furnished the first elevators, with additional elevators supplied later by Otis Elevator Company. "(The above description is based on Wikipedia under Creative Common License)" Address: 65 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202, USA Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 3 -

Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 4 - Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Daderot. Sight description based on wikipedia B) Old Erie County Hall (must see) Erie County Hall, also called County and City Hall, is a magnificent historic building, situated in the city centre. This three-floor granite Victorian structure with a massive clock tower is always a tourist magnet. Designed by well-known Rochester architect Andrew Jackson Warner, the Hall s construction was completed in 1876 with further additions done in 1925 and 1963. Erie County Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Address: 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, USA Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Maureen C) St Joseph Cathedral & Rectory (must see) St Joseph Cathedral & Rectory is one of the oldest places of worship in Buffalo. The Cathedral was opened to the public in 1851, and since then, it has been the most important facility of Catholic bishopric. This attractive architectural gem, with a gray sandstone finish, was designed by architect Patrick C. Keeley. The three stained glass windows placed above the central altar represent the Incarnation, Redemption and Resurrection. Inside the church there is a huge old organ comprised of 5,300 pipes. Address: 50 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, USA Image Courtesy of Flickr and amerune D) Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park The Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, formerly known as The Buffalo Naval and Servicemen's Park, is a museum on the shore of Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York. It is home to several decommissioned US Naval vessels, including the Cleveland-class cruiser USS Little Rock, the Fletcher-class destroyer USS The Sullivans, and the submarine USS Croaker. All three are open to the public for tours. The construction of the Buffalo Naval and Servicemen's Park (later named the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park) started in 1977. The park was opened to the public Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 4 -

Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 5 - on July 4, 1979. Address: 1 Naval Park Cove, Buffalo, NY 14202 Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Shinerunner. Sight description based on wikipedia E) Canalside Canalside is a historic district within Buffalo, New York that was once the western terminus of the Erie Canal. Today, it has become a rich site of development, revival, and activity in Buffalo. The site includes the Commercial Slip, historically reconstructed Erie Canal and Main-Hamburg Canals and a mix of building including: KeyBank Center, the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park and HarborCenter among others. Address: 44 Prime Street Buffalo, NY 14202 Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Andre Carrotflower. Sight description based on wikipedia F) Ellicott Square Building (must see) The Ellicott Square Building is an office complex in Buffalo, New York. It was designed by Charles Atwood of D. H. Burnham & Company, and completed in May, 1896. At the time of its completion, it was the largest office building in the world. In 1896 and 1897, the building was the site of Edisonia Hall and the Vitascope Theater, the earliest known dedicated motion picture theater in the world. At 10 stories high with the capacity to support 10 more floors and 447,000 square feet, the Ellicott Square Building was the largest office building in the world by floor area until 1908, with the opening of the Hudson Terminal buildings in New York City. The building was named after Joseph Ellicott, the planner and surveyor who laid out the then-village of Buffalo. There are broad stairs on either side and a glass roof in an ornamental steel frame provides natural light. The building features ornate glove lamps, intricate columns, carefully proportioned classical features gracing doorways, marble and brass to trim iron and stone. The beautiful lobby of the Ellicott Square Building remains a favorite gathering spot for political rallies, weddings and social functions. In 1984 it was used for hotel scenes in the movie The Natural. "(The above description is based on Wikipedia under Creative Common License)" Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 5 -

Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 6 - Address: 295 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and TonyTheTiger. Sight description based on wikipedia G) Old Post Office The Old Post Office, also known as U.S. Post Office, is a historic post office building located at 121 Ellicott Street in Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It was the tallest building in the city from 1901 to 1912. It was designed by Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor and construction started in 1897. The $1,500,000 building opened in 1901 and operated as Buffalo's central post office until 1963. The highly ornamented Gothic Revival style four story building features a 244 foot tower over the central entrance. The main feature of the interior is a roofed courtyard. It was subsequently occupied by federal offices. Since 1981, it has been home to the city campus of Erie Community College. Its tower is 74.4 meters tall. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 as "U.S. Post Office". "(The above description is based on Wikipedia under Creative Common License)" Address: 121 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14227, USA Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Pubdog. Sight description based on wikipedia H) St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral (must see) St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral is another important historic building and impressive architectural jewel in the city. The Cathedral was constructed in 1851. During the fire in 1888, the construction was badly damaged, but successfully reconstructed in 1890. Today visitors of the city can witness the stunning architectural features of the cathedral, finished with Medina granite and Gothic embellishments. The Cathedral was declared a US National Historic Landmark in 1987. Address: 128 Pearl Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, USA Image Courtesy of Flickr and Reading Tom Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 6 -

Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 7 - I) Electric Tower Electric Tower, or General Electric Tower, is a historic office building and skyscraper located at Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It is the seventh tallest building in Buffalo. It stands 294 feet and 13 stories tall and is in the Beaux-Arts Classical Revival style. It was designed by James A. Johnson and built in 1912. Additions were made in 1923 and 1928. Inspired by the electric tower at the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition, the white terra-cotta clad was originally built as the Niagara Mohawk Building and features an octagonal tower which steps back three times to terminate in a large lantern. It is also known as Iskalo Electric Tower. The decorative symbols featuring aspects of electricity production are considered precursors to subsequent art deco design. Like One M & T Plaza, the spire of the tower is illuminated with different holiday colors at night throughout the year. Both buildings are illuminated blue and gold for the Buffalo Sabres during the National Hockey League playoffs. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. "(The above description is based on Wikipedia under Creative Common License)" Address: 535 Washington Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Pubdog. Sight description based on wikipedia J) Calumet Building Erected in 1906, Calumet Building is the most colorful example of glazed terra-cotta architecture and is a fine example of Art Nouveau style. The building was designed by architects Esenwein & Johnson. Its playful and ornate façade beautifully connects to surrounding modern glass buildings and creates that special Buffalo cityscape that tourists love. The outstanding feature of this building is the glazed polychromatic material. Address: 46-58 W Chippewa Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, USA Image Courtesy of Flickr and Cynthia Mikula Smiszek Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 7 -

Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 8 - K) Methodist Episcopal Church Situated on Delaware Avenue, Methodist Episcopal Church is a fine example of Greek revival architectural style built of Medina sandstone by architect John H. Selkirk, who has contributed to the establishment of many Buffalo religious landmarks. The construction of the church lasted 5 years and was completed in 1876. Today, this church is also known as Asbury-Delaware Methodist Church because of the merging of the two churches in 1916. The combined congregation disbanded in 1969, ending the Methodist presence in the city, which had existed here since the foundation of Buffalo. In 2003, this beautiful church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Address: 339 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY, USA Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Pubdog Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 8 -