Buffalo’s great storehouse of local history, the Buffalo
and Erie County Society museum, is well known to many if not most WNYers. And
though people may be very familiar with the historical artifacts beautifully
displayed in its galleries, they probably do not fully comprehend the depth of
historical information and archival material that is held by the museum
library. Many may not even know the library exists. The museum
library is heaven to any local history buff. It is open to anyone for a
small fee and contains a dense collection of historic papers, books, and
records of incalculable value. The problem is that these materials are
often very old and require extremely careful handling. This has made ease
of use for the general public very difficult until now.
I have noticed that the museum has been rolling out part of this
“paper” collection online over the last year or so on a more or less
regular basis. Not too long ago I came across a great museum site on the
great local architect E. B Green. Just recently I
discovered a few more electronic online history pages highlighting sections of
the museum’s library. Packed with interesting papers and documents, is the
“online only” exhibit entitled 175 Years, Celebrating the
Incorporation of the City of Buffalo. Also now,
you can search the library catalogue on line, a great
convenience to a researcher with limited time.
Most interesting to me is the on-line information
documenting the work of prolific Buffalo architects Esenwein and Johnson. After
E. B. Green, this firm may have done more than any other to shape the city. Several
of Buffalo’s favorite landmarks were designed by the Esenwein firm, including
the colorful Calumet Building and the brilliantly white Electric
Building. The work of Esenwein and Johnson was less refined, more
experimental and less focused on historic accuracy than that of E. B. Green. An
early big commission was the first permanent Statler Hotel (later known as the
Hotel Buffalo). The building was a critical bomb, but was none the less an
interesting experiment in architecture. Reportedly it was the first use of
multi-toned, glazed terra cotta. Their amazing abilities with this
material can still be seen in the beloved Calumet Building and the incredible
Art Nouveau, Ansonia Building (pictured). The museum web site is filled
with great images of the architects’ work. Take advantage of this great
new material being offered by the museum and perhaps you can encourage them in
this endeavorer by offering a donation or by signing up for
a membership.