This is not a vampire story. It is the story about irreplaceable historic buildings that were declared dead, but have been given new life. In light of the ongoing White's Livery controversy I thought it would be worth recalling the not so different circumstances of some other historic Buffalo buildings and the very different course of action taken with them.
All of the buildings pictured here were once declared to be "beyond saving". All of them still exist today because of the efforts of private citizens who stepped up to the plate with their own time and effort, not only to stop demolition but also to find new owners and investors. All had major structural issues. Many had collapsed just like White's Livery. In some cases demolition had already begun before the reprieve was granted. These are all relatively well-known projects, especially on the pages of Buffalo Rising, but somehow we forget the asset they have become to the city.
Moses led his people out of Egypt after they witnessed countless miracles at his beckoning. Yet still, they strayed from their faith and his teaching. Payment for their wayward ways was a very long walk in the desert. Buffalo needs to learn from and believe in the miracle that has been given form in the rebirth of these and other beautifully restored historic buildings. Every one of them was damaged or neglected to the point of collapse. All of them are now full of vibrant, well educated, tax paying tenants. Had they been destroyed, as the experts declared necessary, it is more likely than not that they would have been turned into parking lots or worse, "shovel-ready" sites.
So the argument goes, "You can't save everything". Yet more than 50% of historic downtown buffalo has been demolished, most of it for parking. More that 10,000 buildings have been marked for demolition throughout the city. Many more will need to be added to the list as time passes with no maintenance. Granted most of those 10,000 buildings probably do need to be removed. Most of them may not be architecturally or historically significant, but there is no apparent plan to save, mothball, or even document the very large number of buildings that ARE significant. In light of Buffalo's poor historic preservation record, how can anyone claim there is any kind of attempt to save "everything". It is laughable to even suggest such a scenario. Isn't it time to start saving SOMETHING?
The people who have put forward the effort to save these buildings are labeled "preservationists", with the subtext obstructionists, in a pejorative sense not unlike the way Republicans use the word "liberal". So we read time and time again that a few dedicated citizens, through their own hard work, have saved a handful of irreplaceable buildings while hundreds of important buildings rot at the hands of ownership mismanagement and City Hall inaction.
People complain, "Why don't these 'preservationists' buy the property and restore it themselves?" I say for the same reason we as citizens have the right to speak up and change any wrong that needs to be righted in this country. None of these preservation minded citizens have broken the law in their pursuit of a better Buffalo and their efforts have proven to be a tremendous asset to the city and WNY. If improving quality of life in Buffalo depends on the ability of any caring citizen to become an instant development expert nothing will be saved. Is nothing worth saving in Buffalo?
It has been extremely disheartening to see White's Livery come down in the middle of a prosperous and growing neighborhood. It is disheartening to hear the predictable preservationist bashing as neighbors stood up to save something they feel an important part of their neighborhood. I would like to believe that the ritual condemnation of the preservation minded community is the voice of a small uninformed few. But saving these buildings is still a very big challenge in Buffalo. Unlike a historic building on the tragic East Side, Whites Livery should have had everything going for it. Its destruction was unnecessary and if it finally does come down one piece of that long desert walk will fall into place for the people of Buffalo.
Take a good look at these buildings here. Imagine how much less of a place Buffalo would be without them. Should these buildings be torn down? If you say "no" then start looking around at the countless other buildings that are currently on the 'can't be saved" list. How many more can we afford to lose?
Squier House image is by Tracy Diina taken from Buffalo as an Architectural Museum.