Buffalo Rising Online

I remember eating at Howard Johnsons as a kid with my family. And, yes, I agree the design could of been so much better, built like the old Ho Jo's, closer to the street with rear parking.

That does look almost exactly like the Rochester Eastman House!!!!!! Rochester copied Buffalo's millionaires....stick that feather in your hat.

Everyone can poo poo me for saying this but there is alot of residential construction going on and perhaps the walgreens site should be zoned residential once again with Elegant Delaware style rowhouses or the mansion could easily be constructed with maybe a floor added.....and divided up into condos.

See here is the thing about everything between Niagara and Main. Its an incredibly historic and for the most part culturally rich and well preserved section of Buffalo. This area needs to be reweaved with period buildings as much as possible.

As a city we should be thinking about new development largely bounded by Main Street, Michigan and I-90 (New Buffalo).

Its frustrating that alot of the least effective elements like the brick, dryvit cornice or faux windows are probably born out of years of clashes with good intentioned community groups and folks like chris69. I wonder if Walgreens would've come up with a much more interesting design if it were never forced to use traditional references. I'm thinking about the old-school supermarkets like Piggly Wiggly or Safeway with large signs, large windows and simple architecture.

Walgreens on Main Street in Williamsville, that is much more faux-historic

Why is this the best that can be done by one of our country's biggest most profitable companies?

You know that Walgreens and Walmart are different companies right? Because they are a profitable company means what? They should build a store to look like a mansion? Because that was the way it looked over 100 years ago? Why is this even a topic of discussion, Walmart has been there for years now. If we are going to look back at our past mistakes lets take a look at that horrible concrete rectangular box in the middle of downtown (the convention center). There are just to many examples to list so lets move on!

makes me want to cry...

I'd much rather have a 24 hour Walgreens within walking distance of my apartment than whatever was there before. This Walgreens is one of the main reasons I've chosen to remain in the Allentown area. It seems sometimes some people on BRO forget that cities are not just showrooms for historical preservation or trends in urban design, but places where people live and work 24/7.

Sam123 Yes I know the difference. Walgreens IS "one of" our nation's largest and most profitable companies. Walmart IS our nation's LARGEST company. This story is about a Walgreens building. Where in the story did I say anything about making the store look like a mansion. I am saying quite the opposite as a matter of fact. I will mark down the convention center as another 'What Were They Thinking" installment

Dasein, Where in the story did I say anything about not having a Walgreens here? Where did I say anything about preservation? I am talking about the low quality of architecture offered to you and your neighborhood by Walgreens and the and retailers like them. The fact that you are fine with that is what I am talking about.

Me personally, I would rather have the mansion back but that was lost way before Walgreens came on the scene.

look what I found

The Howard Johnson's - It was a bit sad too but did a few things a bit better

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://wnyheritagepress.org/photos_week_2006/delaware_north/delnorth_hojo_1992.jpg&imgrefurl=http://wnyheritagepress.org/photos_week_2006/delaware_north/delaware_north_hojo.htm&h=460&w=742&sz=49&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=sEQIIp7yimKt9M:&tbnh=87&tbnw=141&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhoward%2BJohnson%2527s%2Brestaurant%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

I am all for preserving good architecture, but Buffalo seems to be obsessed with REBUILDING the past. No place else, except maybe Colonial Williamsburg, does this. It's like Jurassic Park. We need to preserve what is good, but what about great "period pieces" for the 21st Century?

I'm all for new stuff; but for a city filled with beautiful buildings, its pretty ugly. New builds can be done well to look good and fit the surrounding neighborhood. (Just not by Benderson/Ciminielli, etc. type development companies) East Aurora makes businesses follow their standards to make something look good in the village. Why can't buffalo do the same? The building should have been moved up close to the side walk - put the parking in back. Have a back entrance and a big entrance right on the sidewalks.

But, alas, long built a whiel ago---and there it stands as is.

The Walgreens is not in the past. It is now.

I think everyone is missing the main point of how the building is actually situated on the site and interacts with the urban environment that it is located in. Maybe showing the old mansion distracted readers.

All the lipstick on the facade is wasted with the parking separating the building from the street. A corner drugstore is a great thing. Its is exponentially even better when following urban design guidelines tying itself to the street and people instead of surrounding itself with a vitality sucking asphalt moat.

The village of Lancaster just made the same mistake with their new rite aid on Central Ave.. All the brick facades and walls can't make up for the asphalt between it and the street. The more parking like this there is, the more people stay in their cars, the more parking lots are needed, which breeds the increasingly desolate (of walking interacting people) environment.

George Eastman actually sent his Rochester architect J. Foster Warner (son of A.J. Warner who designed Old County Hall in Buffalo and collaborated with Richardson on the Psychiatric Center) to study the Root House. It's especially unfortunate to have lost both the Root and Metcalfe Houses across the street from each other (the Metcalfe House was next to the Butler Mansion and was torn down for parking space that, to add insult to injury, was never used) - imagine a corner with *three* McKim, Mead, and White houses added to Buffalo's outstanding portfolio of architecture, and right across the street from a National Historic Site. What a tourism gold mine. It might make an interesting thesis project for some architecture or preservation student to estimate the economic impact that such a collection of buildings might have if still there...

Correction: *four* McKim, Mead, and White houses, as the article says - do I hear five--?

Unfortunately, Buffalo has lost 2 of its 4 McKim, Mead and White houses. Besides the Root House, the Metcalfe House on North St. was replaced by a parking lot and driveway to the rear of the Williams House in the early 1980's. The demolition of the Metcalfe House led to the creation of the Preservation Coalition of Erie County. Another house that was tragically demolished was the Gratwick House, designed by H.H.Richardsonun. Unlike the Dorschmeier House which still stands and was an early work of Richardson's designed in the French Empire style, the Gratwick House was designed in his style that most Richardson buildings and houses were designed i in. Here are links the Metcalfe House and the Gratwick House:

http://www.buffaloah.com/a/archs/mck/4/index.html

http://www.buffaloah.com/a/archs/rich/richgrat/index.html

STEEL - There is a culture that cares about architecture and we're aprt of it. This Walgreen's probably was the best one built at the time. Could they do better now? Absolutely, and it's because the older designs have been critiqued over the years.

Personally, McKim Mead & White have some much better designs out there than the Root Residence. That's most likely the reason nobody wanted it and led to it's demise. Take a good look at the pictures - there's a driveway in front of the house where CARS PARKED. In the modern picture, one can see the smokestack from the Lenox which shows what the neighboring houses ended up as.

STEEL - There is a culture that cares about architecture and we're a part of it. This Walgreen's probably was the best one built at the time. Could they do better now? Absolutely, and it's because the older designs have been critiqued over the years.

Personally, McKim Mead & White have some much better designs out there than the Root Residence. That's most likely the reason nobody wanted it and led to it's demise. Take a good look at the pictures - there's a driveway in front of the house where CARS PARKED. In the modern picture, one can see the smokestack from the Lenox which shows what the neighboring houses ended up as.

That's right Sal.

It odes have a driveway( what it does not have is a parking lot ). It also has windows and a refined sense of detail and scale and is made of quality materials.

Could they do better now. Certainly, and they could have done better back then as well but they don't have to because people accept this stuff as ok or maybe don't even know what is wrong with it. People don't even realize they are being cheated of a quality built environment by these buildings. Its not about saving the Root mansion. It is about building something that adds to the urban experience rather than detract from it.

"I've been to Walgreens' in Washington, Miami Beach, Chicago, and other cities where the store and entrance are next to the sidewalk along the street. Why can't it be done here? "

Walgreens typically contracts with local developers to build their buildings and leases the space. I'm pretty sure Benderson is their developer in the Buffalo area. So maybe there's something in that to answer "Why can't it be done here?".