Industrial Might- An Inside Look

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Andrew Emond, a Toronto native living in Montreal, has visited Buffalo many times over the past two years, drawn to photographing the city's many vacant industrial structures. What came to captivate him during his explorations was the evidence of human use found within the structures, whether recently closed or abandoned for decades.

This slideshow of his images includes photos from Freezer Queen, Bethlehem Steel, Buffalo Color and a handful from the silos in "elevator alley" on Childs Street.

"This hands-on examination of Buffalo's industrial past has allowed me to gain a better understanding of why Buffalo is the way it is today and where it might be headed in the future," Emond said. "As an outsider, it has offered valuable insight into Buffalo's ongoing challenges, but also an appreciation of its strength, its diversity and its oft-ignored beauty."

You can check out more of Andrew's photos on his web site.

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What Others Have To Say

  1. SLEEPL8

    1 ratings12345
    Apr 30th 2007, 09:28

    I dont really get the point of this article. He has taken random pictures of buildings in which people used to work. What is the significance? Is this simply trying to reinforce the point that much in the way of industry has been lost by Buffalo? My simple mind won't comprehend the importance of old filing cabinets and chairs in empty buildings.

  2. skybox

    0 ratings12345
    Apr 30th 2007, 13:04

    I cannot condone the unnecessary destruction and vandalism of these buildings. This guy breaks into the building to take pictures, and then leaves it open for idiots like ATAK and HERT to ruin. This type of article just perpatuates the downward spiral by highlighting the fact that anyone can come into to these buildings and do what they want. The City is full of buildings that are no longer usable because the idiot kids have decided to break all the windows, tag the walls, and ruin anything left standing inside.

    Maybe the point of the article was to document the current condition to give us something to compare it to in a few years. This is just senseless and the photographer should be prosecuted for breaking and entering, trespassing, and any other charges that he is guilty of.

  3. davvid

    0 ratings12345
    Apr 30th 2007, 13:32

    what an old prude skybox must be

  4. bradon

    0 ratings12345
    Apr 30th 2007, 19:54

    Davvid - Skybox does take his point to an extreme but I think that he makes a good point none the less. My company was looking to relocate from South Buffalo to Downtown, but after seeing several desecrated and vandalized buildings, my boss decided to move the company to the Southtowns. We didn't want to incur the added cost of replacing windows and repainting the facility as part of the move, plus we would have been the only operating business on the two streets that we looked at. We felt that the vandals who hit the buildings in the past may try to break-in again, especially given the lack of neighbors. The look and feel of the neighborhood is important, vandalism left unchecked is the same as leaving the windows broken, it will compound and worsen to the point that it is no longer worth repairing.

    I liked the photos and found it chilling to see the empty desks and offices left in silence, it reminded me of an episode of the twilight zone.

  5. davvid

    0 ratings12345
    Apr 30th 2007, 21:16

    I have gone into some of the grain elevators(silos) and there was no actual "breaking-in" necessary. That building was wide open 24-7.

    These photos are beautifully honest. The quality of these places is very much a part of the Buffalo experience in 2007 and we need to OWN it. This website does an article about how nice pre-fab cupolas are and Steel, the resident blog-architect thinks that they are "pretty cool". Give me a break. Look to Frank Fantauzzi and Brad Wale's 's project on Putnam--THAT is "pretty cool" and it creates an authentic experience that is truly site-specific and surprising.

    and SLEEPL8 "don't really get the point" <---this is another phenomenon typical of early 21st century Buffalo. Andrew Emond should snap a picture of the oblivious Buffalonian next time he's in town. it might help him "gain a better understanding of why Buffalo is the way it is today and where it might be headed in the future." Go Sabres

  6. SLEEPL8

    0 ratings12345
    May 1st 2007, 08:54

    Davvid--Most articles that I read on BRO have substance. I mean they usually deal with specific issues or specific structures with ideas and proposals for possible renevation or reuse. I am not oblivious to the fact that Buffalo is full of abandoned unused and unmaintained structures. I was born here and grew up here, I think i know more than you give me credit for. I just miss the point of some guy from out of town coming in and taking those pictures and broadcasting them with no real justification or ideas of what to do about the problem. I dont see the point in simply stating or demonstrating a problem without any suggestions or ideas for a solution. and of course...GO SABRES!

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