In a bold move, TRICO Plant No. 1 decided to take matters into its own wiper blades and SAVE ITSELF! Last night TRICO called me on my preservation hotline and said that come morning it was going to leave Buffalo. So this morning I went downtown to bid adieu to a piece of Buffalo’s future history. After a huge bear hug goodbye my friend “Trike” lifted itself off the ground with thousands of multi-colored balloons and a rocket booster engine just in case. What a sight! When asked why it needed a rocket booster engine TRICO said, “I am not sure if I got so heavy from my additions over the years or if it’s all the yummy Paula’s Donuts I have been eating since I was abandoned.”
Well if you didn’t notice TRICO before you will certainly pay attention to it now! Here is TRICO’s goodbye letter.
“Dear Buffalo,
It’s been a crazy 90+ years and I am afraid if I sit idle too much longer I won’t be able to reach my full potential. I want to thank all the preservationists who are working so hard to save me. But sometimes you gotta save yourself. They say when someone is in a coma they can hear everything you say. I have experienced this first hand. While a few hundred people in Buffalo are concerned about my future, the other 268,800 or more have no idea I exist or they are saying really hurtful things about my style.
I may not be as stunning as Sullivan’s Guaranty building or as graceful as Wright’s Darwin D. Martin house, but let me tell you, I have strong bones! I no longer want to be labeled as an old factory building. There is so much more to me. While other buildings are hard to rehab because their functions were so specific, I am beautiful because I am a blank canvas. Get creative!
So today is the start of a new future for me. Because there is no concrete plan for my rehab, I am leaving Buffalo with no plan in mind as well. Buildings can have fun too! One thing is certain, it’s important for me to see what other cities have done with similar buildings and educate myself before I make any decisions I might regret. I suggest you all do the same. If you are too lazy to leave Buffalo you should check out the remaining Larkin Buildings that have been rehabbed. They are beautiful.
Just remember at one time I was the largest employer in Buffalo. So please do not underestimate what I can do. For my friends that are saddened by my departure please “wipe” those tears and think of me every time you drive “the” 33 in a rainstorm. I will miss you.
Love Always,
TRICO
aka Trike
P.S. I brought the historic brewery with me to be my copilot and keep me company. Strangely I think it’s safer than staying where I was.”
UPDATE: I received unbelievable photos from people in NYC, San Fransisco, and Paris! I last spotted TRICO on my preservation radar ballooning over Norcross, Georgia almost 900 miles away before disappearing from view. One can only assume that TRICO wants to visit a community that admires Buffalo Architecture as much as you and I.
You may remember Mary Our Queen Church is trying to raise $16 million dollars to tear down St. Gerard’s Church on Buffalo’s East Side, and relocate it to a new community for Atlanta suburbanites. I guess the whole “Thou Shall Not Steal” commandment doesn’t apply to preservation down south? One can only hope that TRICO is holding a preservation education sermon for the congregation in Norcross, or at the very least stealing one of their buildings for our new Medical Campus! Go get’em TRICO!
Please support TRICO’s travels by posting this on your F“acebook pages and sending it to everyone you know.