This simple little building at 174 Franklin Street probably goes unnoticed by 99% of those who pass by. Maybe I would not have noticed it either where it not for its unusual green paint job.
There is nothing great about it other than the fact that it helps create a nice urban street-scape. That alone is worth heralding. Cities are not composed solely of magnificent landmarks and masterpieces. Cities need the everyday unnoticed buildings like this one to form the connective tissue between landmarks. These simple background buildings are what make up a majority of even the greatest cities.
As for this little jewel, its plain but very nicely proportioned facade quietly holds the street wall with minimal but delicately detailed decorative elements. The band of 2nd floor windows spanning over the commercial storefront seems to be cropped by the frame like building edge walls (notice how the details become clipped at the ends of the window band..very subtle). It is almost as if one facade has been layered over another. The single swag detail at the center of the very low temple like pediment is unexpectedly refined and detailed.
I can imagine creating a very nice space on that second floor. Though currently occupied it certainly could use some TLC to reach its full potential. Intact street-scapes such as these have become precariously rare in Buffalo. Urban compositions built of simple buildings such as this one can be damaged by the loss of even one simple building. Preservation of even the acknowledged masterpieces is a major challenge in the climate of economic stagnation that tears at Buffalo. Just as important are these little treasures that we quietly lose with little notice.
David Steele
Architect ( a real one, not just the armchair type), author of "Buffalo, Architecture in the American Forgotten Land" ( www.blurb.com ), lover of great spaces, hater of sprawl and waste, advocate for a better way of doing things.