Posted August 6, 201212 yr Hey guys, Since I came out with my latest Buffalo pics, here's probably the set you have all been waiting for, a tour of the Buffalo Central Terminal, Buffalo's former passenger railroad station until 1979, when it moved to the much smaller Exchange Street station, near the One HSBC Center in downtown Buffalo. The Buffalo Central Terminal is a 17-storey Art Deco railroad station, built in 1929. It was used over the years by numerous railroad lines, mostly by the New York Central Railroad. However in the 1970s, its usage declined and after Amtrak's decision to move the Buffalo stops to Depew and Exchange Street, the station went out of use in 1979. After a long time of abandonment and foreclosures, the terminal was purchased for $1 by a group that formed the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation. The CTRC is a non-profit group dedicated to preserving and restoring the building and keep it as a viable development opportunity for Buffalo. Since then, the clocks on the tower are fully functional, and the complex is sealed and protected so no vandals can get in, the clock in the center concourse, which was sold to Chicago buyers was purchased back by the CTRC has been restored and along with a replacement buffalo statue (the old one was stolen) inside the building and in 2003, the building re-opened for public tours. The building is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Numerous fundraisers, events, and concerts are held at the Central Terminal to raise money to restore it. As well, some movies and tv shows have filmed here. Just recently the building has been given another grant by the State of New York to restore and habilitate the entrances and the awnings. Today was a first, allowing professional photographers with tripods (including me, although I'm not necessarily a professional) to take pictures inside for $100, along with a tour of the building. I was proud to support this and participate in this inaugural events of professional photographers at the terminal. There is talk that if high-speed rail ever becomes a reality in Buffalo and in New York State, that the Central Terminal would serve as a stop Without further ado, here's my tour of the Buffalo Central Terminal! Front of the terminal... Close-up of one of the clocks. There are four of these clocks on the terminal, they all work and are accurate. Inside the terminal now, here's the main concourse… taken from the west mezzanine... Windows on the mezzanine... Basement... In this area was where a proposed underground light rail line to downtown from here was to go, before the station closed and taxicab drivers protested against this. Exits to outside... NIce little bit of graffiti, KISS does rule! Detroit Rock City! This would have been where a proposed trolley from here to downtown was supposed to go and passengers were to get to it, but taxi cab companies protested against it and won. Looking outside at the tracks running past the terminals, freight trains use this. Looking outside... North Exit... Main concourse again... As I mentioned, there's a story behind this clock. Believe it or not, it was sold to people from Chicago, and some kind person recognized it bought it at a Chicago auction and gave it back to the Terminal! There's the Buffalo statue on the left, the original one was stolen... Closeup... Ticket kiosks... Looking towards the main entrance... Baggage check booths... Ceiling in main concourse... Exit... Former Elevator entrance, to elevators that don't work (yet) and a staircase... Plaque dedicated in 2004, commemorating the Central Terminal being on the NHRP. Newsstands… or possibly a post office... Train Concourse entrance... Eastern Exit to Taxis and Buses The Eastern part of the terminal served as a little mall, and even had a Liquor Store! View from inside the Liquor Store… A train going by on the outside! Inside the Train concourse on the right in the distance, there are clean, fully functional and beautifully restored washrooms... Looking up at main entrance... Baggage Check entrance... Welcome to Buffalo... Old Cabinet... Exit to street... Back looking at station entrance... The non-functional elevators... Stairway to mezzanine and tower floors... Looking up, this is a "strong-looking" building… which is something that Buffalo has a lot of… View from the north... I should mention on the tower, a Peregrine Falcon and her chicks are up there nesting, and while a tower tour was originally going to be a part of this, we didn't want to disturb the mother. Looking west towards downtown Buffalo from the terminal... A brief glimpse of the neighborhood the Terminal stands in, called Polonia, or "Broadway-Fillmore". It has seen better days, once home to an influx of Polish immigrants. Buffalo skyline, notice the sun is coming out... As mentioned, the CTRC received a grant from the state to restore this awnings and improve the entrances... Hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks for looking!
August 6, 201212 yr That's one of the greatest buildings I've ever seen... inside and out... You can close your eyes a bit and see it in its heyday. Fantastic.
August 6, 201212 yr A grand, splendid building. Thanks for ponying up the cash to take advantage of that opportunity, and then sharing your photos with us. America's great rail passenger terminals were built and maintained with private money -- railroads' operating profits and rents from office space. If the airlines built their own facilities from operating profits, just imagine how elegant our air terminal buildings could be!
August 6, 201212 yr Great pics! What a beautiful building. It's a shame that such a structure could fall into such a state of disrepair, but at least it wasn't demolished like so many others. Any particular reason that the walkway to the train concourse was demolished? Perhaps to give clearance for freight trains?
August 6, 201212 yr Certainly better than MCS but with an even weirder location. Still an awesome building. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 6, 201212 yr ... Any particular reason that the walkway to the train concourse was demolished? Perhaps to give clearance for freight trains? Yes. The walkway didn't provide sufficient clearance for hi-cube freight cars and double-stack container trains. It's a shame, but at least the entire concourse wasn't demolished.
August 7, 201212 yr ... Any particular reason that the walkway to the train concourse was demolished? Perhaps to give clearance for freight trains? Yes. The walkway didn't provide sufficient clearance for hi-cube freight cars and double-stack container trains. It's a shame, but at least the entire concourse wasn't demolished. They never really said on the tour why it was demolished, but I would assume that would be the reason. BTW, I should mention that a tower tour was supposed to be part of this, however, we couldn't go up the tower, because there are Peregrine Falcons up there nesting and the mother's babies were just born and they're being taken care of, and they don't want to disturb them.
August 7, 201212 yr if passenger rail service were to be restored to the terminal, would the walkway be restored? If so, how? Lower the freight tracks? Re-route them?
August 9, 201212 yr Thanks for the pics! Glad to see the clean-up is continuing from when I last visited Central Terminal in 2009. if passenger rail service were to be restored to the terminal, would the walkway be restored? If so, how? Lower the freight tracks? Re-route them? Since a section of the concourse over the tracks was removed, a new section will have to be built. So build it with the necessary clearance for the freight trains. But I really don't see passenger trains stopping here again. It's a horrible location for a train station. The only reason why New York Central built it here is because it was convenient for their operations, not for passengers. During our tour in 2009, our hosts said the section was removed for freight train clearance -- especially tri-level auto racks. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 9, 201212 yr Our tour guide also brought up the idea that if the NFTA Metro transportation authority (which operates the 6.4 mile Buffalo Metro Rail from Downtown Buffalo to the north-east end of the city) were to ever have another light rail line going to the airport (which is definitely possible, considering that there are rail tracks that run from downtown to right next to the airport that the trains can use, the terminal could be used partially as a potential station.
August 9, 201212 yr I think your tour guide is geographically challenged. If the line were extended from University to the airport, the best routing might continue it east along Main Street to the airport. To get to the airport from University via Central Terminal is very out of the way. Look at it on a map sometime. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 9, 201212 yr I think your tour guide is geographically challenged. If the line were extended from University to the airport, the best routing might continue it east along Main Street to the airport. To get to the airport from University via Central Terminal is very out of the way. Look at it on a map sometime. I don't think he meant expanding it from the University. I think he meant a second line from downtown (namely near the NFTA warehouse) to the airport via the Larkin District, Central Terminal, Galleria Mall, and eventually up to the airport. This article might explain: http://twointhebox.com/2012/05/01/buffalo-pipe-dreams-the-central-terminal/ But, yes, you are right, expanding the rail from the University station to the airport doesn't make sense.
Create an account or sign in to comment