Buffalo Rising Online

Oct 7th 2008, 12:00am By RaChaCha

A visitation of 150 decidedly non-ghostly spirits was recorded at the Buffalo Central Terminal Sunday, perhaps mysteriously drawn by the Terminal’s recent “Ghost Hunter” notoriety. Although it hasn’t served rail passengers in several decades, the Terminal is far from dead, as this tour revealed. And although the Terminal’s epitaph was written by the Buffalo News in the 1990’s, it was thankfully rescued from the grave by the fine folks of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation.

Starting with a tour of the exterior, Brian Angevine and Hank Olejniczak of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation gave everyone an overview of how the group rescued the Terminal from neglect and have stabilized the structure. Although signs of that neglect still abound, the building is structurally sound. Under the platform from which we could view all the grand church spires of Polonia, the girders are 3’ thick, Brian told us. “Overbuilt is an understatement,” added Hank.

From this vantage, the mammoth scale of the Terminal complex is apparent. “It’s a bricklayer’s paradise,” said Harold Sugg, a retiree of Local 3. Taking the tour with his wife, Janice, they remembered visiting in the 1960’s before the advent of Amtrak and the phaseout of rail service at the terminal.

But inside, the real horror story of the Terminal awaited the group: the tale of the wanton destruction and stripping of its grand architectural features under a succession of of post-railroad owners. In one particularly chilling episode, the Griffin administration gave free reign to the mayhem of an owner who proved to be a slasher as adept as Freddy Kruger. He and his ghouls ripped into the building with abandon, gutting it of its plumbing and grabbing door knobs, toilets, marble, fixtures, and anything else of value. To add insult to injury, during this time the Terminal’s beloved bison was knocked over and destroyed—or, as I like to think, died of a broken heart. In the end, a million and a half dollars was made from selling off the Terminal’s heritage in pieces. The former owner absconded to soak up the sun in Florida, leaving behind a Buffalo treasure in ruins and an unpaid property tax bill.

Some of the Terminal’s fixtures have been found halfway around the world, as seen on the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation’s website.

The tales of these ghastly happenings sent a collective shiver through the group, but Brian and Hank shifted the story from the villains to the heroes, who have worked to rescue and stabilize the Terminal, and restore it to public use. Several exciting projects are in the works:

• SkillsUSA, Lowes, and Boces have teamed up to work on several projects at the Terminal, including the construction of working restrooms. These facilities will be the first at the Terminal since the stripping of the original fixtures left not a single working toilet in the entire complex. • The former restaurant and lunch counter space is being converted to a media and meeting area. • There are discussions of opening an upper floor of the tower as an observation deck. • This coming weekend, the terminal will play host to a unique transportation symposium, Mobility Across the Ages, which will—appropriately enough—include discussions of regional passenger rail options.

Having recovered from its near-death experience, the future now seems bright for the Terminal: “It all depends on volunteers, time, and money,” Hank told the group. “This project will transform the east side.”

Also focusing on the future of the Terminal, this year, for the first time, the annual members-only tour will include a general membership meeting afterward to celebrate successes and talk about plans and vision for the future. The members-only tour also includes a rare opportunity to visit the top of the tower (a 15+ story stair climb) and the observation deck. Take it from this author that it’s an unforgettable experience, with its breathtaking views of Buffalo’s east side, downtown skyline, and rail yards (which from that height seem like a working model train set laid out below). This event will be held in November, so it’s not too late become a member and join forces with the fine folks who are keeping the story of Buffalo’s Central Terminal from becoming—like the sad tale of much of Buffalo’s lost architecture—just a ghost story.

And what about those “Ghost Hunter” stories of the Terminal? “I’ve been here in the daytime and at night,” Hank told the crowd, “and even during electrical storms. And I’ve never been pinched by anything.” With a twinkle in his eye, he added, “except by my wife!”

At the conclusion, Buffalo Tours Education Coordinator Fred Schrock was pleased to announce that this was the largest turnout for a public tour for the 2008 Buffalo Tours season. As a surprise gift, all participants received frameable-quality posters of the towers of the H.H. Richardson complex.

Get connected:

Buffalo Tours
Buffalo Central Terminal
Buffalo Central Terminal Blog, Welcome Ghost Hunters
Buffalo Central Terminal Blog, Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi
Variety Club Halloween Bash at the Central Terminal
Membership
Mobility Across the Ages

Photo credits: Chris Podosek, Ray Ordinario (broken glass photo)