From Micah H:
[Here’s a] link to a story about Hotel@Lafayette’s history and rebirth, including some biographical info on its architect, Louise Blanchard Bethune: “How Buffalo’s Lafayette Hotel Went From Fleabag to Fabulous” in the Wall Street Journal‘s online blog.
The story’s author, Carla Blank, is the wife of famed Buffalo poet/author Ishmael Reed. As pointed out in the comments section, there are not a whole lot of photos of the hotel itself (just two, a historical image from Lafayette Square, and one of Blank and co-author Tania Martin standing in front of Woyshner’s florists), but it’s still a good read.
I especially like the last paragraph:
Even though the National Women’s Hall of Fame has rejected three applications to include Louise Blanchard Bethune in their ranks, if the imagination, creativity and sheer drive that it took to revive this grand lady, the Lafayette Hotel, is an example of Buffalo’s grit, will and determination, then the town can say with former resident Mark Twain that “the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”