the building has had an alarm since 2000 since the clocks were repaired and relit
on top of that, 120amp service was put in 2004 for the Spencer Tunick photoshoot, and has been there ever since.
when were you there last ?
- Musta been just before they did that.
Central Terminal is sweet, i love old stuff like this.
heres teh rest of the trolley lobby stairs, which are the only grand staircase in the building.
main councourse, after the Brews Blues and BBQ event, sometime around 1am or so
only remaining section of the wait room ceiling
Now for the reason i got involved. The reverse engineering and reproduction of missing (pillaged) arcticetural details. including the following:
Projects on my list. i have to create blueprints for these items using pictures and minimal actual known measurements.
Blueprinting all the missing main concourse lighting fixtures, including:
- 2 large round ceiling lights
- small square vaulted ceiling lights - 18pcs
- seven foot tall sconces - 8pcs
- 15- 20 twenty-seven inch tall cornice sconces (mount on top of the 15’ wains coat)
- Mezzanine railing “obelisks” - 16 units iirc
- entryway rectangular ceiling lights - 2pcs
- entryway “star burst” ceiling light - 1pc
- exit lobby triangular wall lights - 8pcs
- baggage and train concourse lights- 6pcs
- exit lobby ceiling lights - 4pcs
- train concourse ceiling light - 1pc
- trolley lobby ceiling light - 1pc
- trolley lobby wall lights - 2pcs
ive also been asked to consider blue printing the only remaining wooden bench, the canopies over the entry and exit doors.
and thats all i can think of at this point, except for the one special project im starting to organize which i wont mention just yet. Its rather large, highly visable, will require a number of different sponsors, and cooperation with a number of local and national companies.
ill announce that if and when we are able to get the cad model thats required to start on the project
heres the layout for one of the Mez railing obolisks
and heres one of the 27" sconces that belong in the main concourse / waiting room. the ones that belong in the train concourse are variations of this, and the 7’ sconces are similar in nature
and oh yea:
pretty cool that your involved with this. My grandpa worked there from 1939 until the 70’s
not yet, probably not till spring either unless we have to go up to patch windows
how long have you been volunteering there? do you know a Bill and/or Tracy that volunteer?
That is an official looking pass, looks tough to fake :-p
July 28 or so is when i first became involved w/ CTRC
yep, know them both
holograms, microprint, special paper with imbedded colored strands, fingerprint ID system, bullet proof clear titanium enclosure … that pass is top notch technology
oh wait …
I cant wait for Dyngus Day
so we scared the living hell out of everyone in the main concourse on saturday. Directly below the main concourse is where Curtiss St passes.
This area used to have a drop ceiling made of stucco and steel, but after 80 years it was starting to collapse, so they tore it down.
On saturday we got a bucket loader to come in and start cleaning up the mess. to get the loader in we had to rip down some of the remaining
steel. wrap a chain around the steel, attach it to the bucket … pull.
there was a flaw in this plan. we had previously thought the steel pieces were wired to the ceiling, but in reality 1/2 are wired up, the other
1/2 are 1 x 1/8 strapping that was placed into the concrete forms when they did the concourse floor.
we ripped out one of those straps from the center of the ceiling about the same time that 8 or 9 people were standing DIRECTLY above in the
concourse … apparently the floor shook like an earthquake had hit, and Marty came running down to tell us to stop. lol
by 330 the pile of crap outside extended all the way to the N word on the wall, was another foot taller, and probably 2 feet deeper
anyways, on with the pics i guess
last time i was there i spent the night in jail… fun times.
how far did you make it before you got busted ?
the 2nd time i was there as a ue’er the cops showed up while we were in the section between curtiss and the tracks, and im sure they saw one of our flashlights scan across one of the windows, because they started poking around. we saw them out there and booked back out the way we came. we were back in our cars and hauling ass down the rd long before they could have made it around the building.
so over the weekend i got ahold of the laser scans that were done @ the terminal back in February. which allows me to easily figure out scale of some of my projects
First up, the fillers for the Mez railings (didnt ned the scan data for these)
i also have prints for the light fixtures that belong on all the flat plaster ceilings around the main concourse, including the entry and exit lobby’s, theres also wall fixtures for the entry and exit lobbies
the entryway wall fixtures are in progress and im only involved in the last piece of those, the oriental fan style lower “cone” which has yet to be made. They will most likely require custom made press brake dies.
bottom of entryway lights: 
layout: 
the flat plaster ceiling lights: [ive recently discovered my prints for the fixture labeled “exit lobby” is not the proper design for that area of the terminal, so i will have to make another design for that light
the Large “round” chandaliers for either end of the main concourse are also in progress. i hammered these out in under a week of messing around when i felt like it. i still have to figure out a support structure for them, and measure the ceiling beams to decide how they will be attached to the ceiling. Finished size is 100" around and approx4 1/2’ tall. 108 individual pieces for each fixture + the support structure
I also have another volunteer working on acquiring the materials for these lights. His company tends to throw a massive amount of steel into the dumpster. He says its not at all uncommon for them to order a piece of tubing, use 15 feet, and toss the other 9 feet in the scrap. Anything in the dumpster is also free for the taking by employees.
3d view:
bottom view, not drawn properly but shows individual pieces and the way the ends must be mitered for assembly.
Wow, not much to do in Buffalo?
I know its a nice building, but what is the main purpose for restoring it at all?
Is it to bring trains and travel to the building (smack dab in the middle of the east side of buffalo)?
Not to be a negative asshole, I just don’t get it.
To restore a historic piece of artwork in Buffalo. If you ever get to visit the building, you will realize the amazing detail that was used in building it. Yes, it’s not in the greatest part of Buffalo, but should they just bulldoze it because some people try to ruin it?
the price difference between bulldozing it and putting up an equal size building, and fully restoring it is only a 2% difference. And if you bulldoze it how fast is someone gonna buy up the property and build 526,000 square feet of office space ?
We do this because its a phenomenal building DESPITE its stripped fixtures and smashed windows.
and DESPITE its smashed windows and missing fixtures, people STILL come to see it. this saturday five different cars rolled through the parking lot to look at the building between 830 and 9 oclock
we do it because teh stories we hear from people about their experiences there can be enough to make a grown man cry, we do it because theres people out there that if they get ANYTHING from their grandfathers will, they want it to be the fuft of hair their great grandfather pulled from stuffy as he went to war
i do it because … and i didnt event realize it when i first started there … i remember going to the broadway market as a little kid and my father intentionally driving past the building so we could press our faces against the window of the old station wagon and stare in awe at this towering building in the middle of a sea of houses.
i do it because i remember the day i realized the clocks were no longer going to be lit every night.
years later i becaem an urban explorer and the building still fascinated me. now instead of trying to find a way in after dark, im 100% welcome there anytime theirs an event or work session.
i never got to see the inside of the building when Fedele was doing everything he could to keep it intact, so instead ive decided to help put it BACK how it was.
and as a TRAIN terminal, its still not an illogical location when compared to that single track dead end over on exchange st and that single track shack out in depew.
:bigclap:
im a huge fan of this building keep doin what youre doin!
I’ve been inside the outer 2 buildings, but never had a chance to check out the tower, i’d like to see it in person.