Buffalo Rising Online

This building is too significant to be a private residence.

So many strong opinions on BRO, so little rational support for them.

The linked post includes Mr. Goldman's intended use for the building, his residence upstairs and club/restaurant facility retained on the first floor. This is mixed use which Buffalo and cities across the country are crying out for. The Main Streets program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation still struggles to get upper floor uses in older multi story buildings and we get people complaining when an enlightened owner willingly makes the commitment.

If you are so sure there is a better use for the site, make an offer, buy him out, and build it.

There are plenty of downtown parcels waiting decades for higher uses. The Chippewa development grew from incremental investments, one owner with one building. Be glad someone wants to put up their own money and time for good mixed use.

On a technical note, Mr. Goldman, I hope you are using mortar which is softer than the bricks. A common error by in masonry repair is to use off the shelf mortars which are too hard and ultimately damage the masonry units. Take a look at the Secretary of the Interior's restoration guidelines at http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/TPS/tax/rhb/

OldTimeConstruction,

Thank you. I appreciate your comments and I share your concerns about the mortar hardness. I am using mortar that is softer than the masonry units so that the mortar will sacrifice itself before the bricks crack. The bricks are extremely soft. Some have retained water and were subjected to repeated freeze thaw cycles over the years when they were sealed in paint.

I am mixing my own mortar using Type S hydrated lime and Lake Erie beach sand that I gather at “Newell’s Beach” (I suggest that we name it that) down at the lighthouse. I am using zero Portland cement content. The original house mortar did not contain the harder Portland that is common to modern mortar. I found that this particular beach sand best matched the size and color of the original.

I am treating deteriorated bricks with home brewed lime wash. Lime wash treatment for brick predates the Bible. It creates a great looking old-fashioned patina and it is a very workable and forgiving material. The lime wash is vapor permeable so it will limit the amount of free water in the bricks and hopefully slow the rate of deterioration. Lime wash is self-sacrificing and it will require maintenance. To increase the durability of the lime wash, I sometimes add a tiny amount of raw linseed oil as long as it doesn’t look like it will rain too soon. I bought 50 pound sacks of metal oxide pigments at Riverside Chemical supply house so that I can dial in the colors. I found the formula in an old turn of the century formulas book that I have had since I was a kid.

Yay for the house, yay for Howard, and yay for Delaware Ave. Our grandest avenue was almost ruined by people who considered it "too significant" for residential use.

Through the eyes of a preservationist, wouldn't the most perfect use of a building be to return it to its original and intended purpose? It was a single family residential building. He is updating the usage to include a space that can generate money, interest, and foot traffic in a part of downtown that needs it. Or maybe Blymi would rather have it languish as a drug infested gay bar. I guess it takes all kinds...

After just having a family argument about how Buffalo is a terrible place to move to, invest in, and/or believe in, I must say THANK YOU to Howard (and his building) for being a part of that fabric only the city posesses. I can't wait to join you across city lines and make my contribution (however big or small) to the betterment of the city.

p.s. I had some wicked nights in that place in my younger days! Good memories!

...and that's a cool truck!

Old Time Construction - THANK YOU FOR THE LINK!

It would be incredible if this mansion was surrounded by high-rise or mid-rise buildings. I think its Winnipeg or Edmonton that has houses scattered around its downtown. And good luck with the restoration. Its going to look great