While
there are still a few Buffalonians left who either worked for or transacted
business with the Larkin Company, many more have heard stories or read about
the company's progressive business and employee relations practices. Invariably,
they lament the 1949-1950 razing of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Larkin
Administration Building. The state-of-the-art, six-and-a-half story building
stood among an immense complex of factories and warehouses on Seneca Street.
Inside, over 1,000 employees went about their duties, methodically processing
mail orders and corresponding with an army of customers. The 1906 building
bore testament to Larkin's modern business methods and its role in global
commerce. The company's rapid expansion around the turn of the century owed
much to its steadfast commitment to its operational philosophy, "The
Larkin Idea," which is best described by the company's motto: "From
Factory-to-Family: Save All Costs That Add No Value."
To read more of Howard R. Stanger's story, see page 22 of the Fall 2001 Heritage Magazine. Subscribe now!
Thousands of Photographs were taken of the Pan-American
Exposition from opening day, May 1, to closing day on November 1,
1901. 3-D stereo cards were a very popular form of entertainment at the time
and thousands of folks delighted in seeing images of far-away places, as though
they were actually there.
To read more of this story and view the images, see page 28 of the Fall 2001 Heritage Magazine. Subscribe now!
The first building to front on the Canal Basin,
as the Commercial Slip was originally termed, was the large wooden cantilevered
dockside
depot prominently shown in the famous 1827 view of the waterfront by Captain
Basil Hall. The drawing made from the high Terrace was done with a camera
lucida apparatus and, although drawn or traced, could be considered "almost
photographic." Captain Hall was in Buffalo in the summer of 1827. The
panoramic view illustrates the interconnection of the canal and lake traffic.
The architecturally intriguing building fronting directly on the Commerical
Slip is located on Water lots 5 & 6. Each of the water lots was one chain
(66') wide. Lots 1 to 4 along the foreground, where the canal boat is seen,
were never taken since they were not buildable lots. The distinctive building
takes special advantage of its site by projecting the entire second story
out above the canal towpath. The design would have appealed to Frank Lloyd
Wright as a vernacular example of organic architecture fully integrating structure,
site and purpose, while making dramatic use of the principle of cantilever.
At the roof a pair of dormer hatches with extended roofs could hoist goods
directly from the canal landing. From water level the great looming overhang
would have been particularly dramatic. It was a unique building on the Buffalo
waterfront but has, however, remained in obscurity. No historian has told
its story or even inquired about the unusual design. Frank Severance did not
that this site was the tourist attraction in Buffalo in 1827, "the
greatest sight the village could show the visitor," the terminus of the
Grand or Great Western Canal. With the current interest in developing a historic
interpretation of the canal terminus, the distinctive structure deserves attention.
To read more of John Conlin's story, see page 50 of the Fall 2001 Heritage Magazine. Subscribe now!
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