City Hall Observations
Last year clear panels were placed around the exterior of the Observation Deck despite prompting from some that the look would appear out-of-place (and the maintenance would be difficult). The year before there was an attempt to incorporate an actual art gallery into a space close to the deck. That was a short-lived project, but it did give visitors the ability to explore more than just the outside area at the top of the building. Considering that there is no public restaurant in the entire city (that I am aware of) located at the top of a tall building, maybe that could be something that City Hall would consider. I bet a sandwich shop would be successful considering the number of city workers in the building too.
Prompted by The City, the Buffalo Arts Commission will be integral in securing historical and contemporary photography as well as interpretive signage so that visitors can learn about the history of the building. There will also be a stepped-up maintenance program implemented into future daily maintenance schedules. According to The Mayor, City Hall is undergoing a three-phase, $11.1 million restoration effort that will ultimately preserve the building for future generations of Buffalonians (and visitors) to enjoy. Combined with the stepped up interior improvement policies, City Hall will certainly be looking up.
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- 13 Comments
Comment Options
sbrof
I like the new glass up there. Seems much less intrusive from the inside as well as from the street level. Pictures come our much nicer. Although it was nice having the little gaps at the corners to sneak a camera through taking a picture through the old glass was horrible.
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300miles
What was the old glass like? I was last up there 3 years ago, but can't remember what the glass looked like.
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orlanmon
Kudos to Donn E. for bringing up the current state of the interior of Buffalo City Hall. Attention to details is what visitors will notice when they come to Buffalo. I hope this is just the first of many observations and critiques that come out off the media in regards to the overall upkeep and aesthetics of properties in Buffalo and WNY. Government along with Commerical/Business property owners should take pride in their places of business and I personnaly believe that all of WNY has to abide by a higer standard then what we all currently observe and are familair and accustomed with.
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hankn
Actually Esmonde found out about the initiative,before it was announced to the public, and then wrote an article to make himself look good.
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GDC
Another great idea that we should bring back are the restaurants that used to be on top of M&T Plaza and HSBC Center (then Marine Midland Tower). Who would'nt luv to eat in the sky, especially over the city's Tallest Building?
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TheWhyNotGuy
I visit the top of City Hall at least once a week when it's open. Back in the day I used to have it all to myself but this summer there are almost always 5-10 other people out there enjoying the view. The new glass is great (though some Windex wouldn't hurt).
It's fun to listen to other people talking, both good and bad, like the people who think Niagara Falls is really Toronto, or the little girl who pointed at the Miss Buffalo and declared "that boat belongs to Miss Buffalo."
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JSmith
I went on the daily free tour of City Hall at noon last Tuesday, and I didn't really notice anything too shabby. I was surprised to read the Donn Esmonde article, actually. Signage explaining the views at the observation deck would be nice though - I was pointing things out to several out-of-towners on the tour. Another possibility would be those audio wands that they have at museums. They rent these for about $5 at the Empire State Building and they really help you understand what you're looking at.
There were at least 30 people on that tour, including many people from out of town. I spoke to a lady from Florida who was here for the first time and who said she was surprised and impressed by downtown Buffalo (especially the free-fare Metro zone). There were also a few people from France and Spain on the tour. So I agree that keeping our public building spruced up is pretty important (but again, I thought City Hall was looking fairly good already).
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GDC
Sinage in the lobby advertising the Observation Deck is long over-due. I remember when my cousin first brought me up there, I had never knew it was open to the public and I thought we were going to get in big trouble for going past that doorway to the stairs as I did not see any signs or other people around, it felt like a deserted back hall that was not open. And even a few weeks ago, I mentioned to someone who was a local about going up there sometime and he looked at me like "we're allowed to go up there?". Besides the Marina Tower, I think City Hall is the only building downtown that the public is allowed to go up to.
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buffalove
The city should add free podcasts that would sort of guide tourists with iPods. A lot of cities have them for their attractions, i'm suprised it hasn't caught on here yet.
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JSmith
Buffalove, check out http://culturalniagara.com/buffaloaudiotours.html for audio tours you can download to your iPod (or access with your cell phone).
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computernut23
hey jsmith, i was there last tuesday too! i was suprised by that article as well because most of what he mentioned really wasnt that bad. The floors looked clean to me but i did notice the missing door that he was talking about...
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computernut23
hey jsmith, i was there last tuesday too! i was suprised by that article as well because most of what he mentioned really wasnt that bad. The floors looked clean to me but i did notice the missing door that he was talking about...
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PaulBuffalo
^^ JSmith, I don't see any download links.
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georgethomasapfel
I was told there used to be Plexiglas on the observation deck, last summer during Taste of Buffalo I was fortunate to be able to view the city with nothing in the way, as it had been removed during the renovation. This is one of my favorite shots:
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JSmith
PaulBuffalo, the "Listen" link on each location will give you the direct mp3 file which you can save and copy to a portable mp3 player.
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PaulBuffalo
^^ JSmith, yeah, I tried it but it doesn't permit a save on my mac. Thank you, though.
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sbrof
george and others, yeah it was Plexiglas with silver metal mullions about 2" think. The plexi was worn, scrapped and generally a little frosted over the wear. At the corners of the octagon were about 5" gaps between straight sections giving the gaps that I mentioned before which were nice to get your camera through but the pelxi itself wasn't very good.
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RaChaCha
hankn, very interesting - can you share what your source is for that--?
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phrank
There used to be a restaurant at the top of the Marine Midland Tower on the entire 38th floor. My high school senior prom was there in 1989. It was cool seeing the one-year-old Pilot Field down below. I guess the potential lease rate for office space was far greater than the income from a restaurant. A smaller cafe would be nice, but you'd want the opportunity to see views from all sides. The upper floors of City Hall are a lot smaller and probably available for a Spot Coffee satellite or similar arrangement.
The top of City Hall should be a must-see for anyone who is interested in architecture, tourists and locals alike.
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phrank
There used to be a restaurant at the top of the Marine Midland Tower on the entire 38th floor. My high school senior prom was there in 1989. It was cool seeing the one-year-old Pilot Field down below. I guess the potential lease rate for office space was far greater than the income from a restaurant. A smaller cafe would be nice, but you'd want the opportunity to see views from all sides. The upper floors of City Hall are a lot smaller and probably available for a Spot Coffee satellite or similar arrangement.
The top of City Hall should be a must-see for anyone who is interested in architecture, tourists and locals alike.
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phrank
Whoops! I swear I only hit the button once!
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computernut23
I made this video last tuesday. I wanted to go around the whole thing in one video but i had to keep stopping because people were there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5wllqUijc
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flyguy
yeah right now Buffalo does do a pretty poor job of getting the word out on its tourism related resources and complementing those resources once people get there. Perhaps aditional funding to our CVB would help? I dont know if they have a feature like this in Buffalo but if you are staying in a Baltimore Hotel for inatsnce theres a whole channel devoted to tourism and highlighting local attractions on the hotel tvs. You go to the "Top of the World" observation deck and theres picture boards with numbers to reference to what buildings you see while you look out, etc. and the area is kept clean and classy as opposed to the City Hall observation deck which has looked like an afterthought for the past 20 or more years. They sell touristy stuff up there as well in Baltimore. Buffalo really needs to take a hard look at tourist amenities and how other cities promote them because obviously what they have been doing has been better than what Buffalo has been doing. I hate to say it but its generally true. The resources are not properly signed and connected and advertised and maintained properly to really create a friendly experience.
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