Fall/Winter 2004 Table of Contents
Ten-Part Series Provides Lexicon for Buffalo's Rich Architectural Styles
By Beth A. Polzin
The Landmark Society's 2004 Spring Lunchtime Lecture Series on Buffalo's Architectural Styles took participants on a visual architectural history tour. During the ten forty-five-minute sessions, attendees learned how European building styles were Americanized and "Buffaloized." They also learned about the architects who designed many of Buffalo's impressive architectural masterpieces, the history surrounding them, and the visionary residents whofunded and lived in them.
The tour started in antiquity with adiscussion of the Greek and Roman foundations of Western architecture and offered a vocabulary for describing the buildings we all admire. The lexicon included terminology for major architectural epochs, various building styles that evolved from the ancient foundations, and interior and exteriorornamental detail.
The lectures, which were held at the Buffalo Architecture Center in the Market Arcade in downtown Buffalo, were presented by Chuck LaChiusa, Landmark Society board member, webmaster, photographer, and amateur architecture historian, who has spent several years creating a comprehensive website archive of Buffalo's architecture. The site, with full descriptions, historical details, and pictorials on scores of area landmarks, serves as a self-paced lesson in architectural history.
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Page by Chuck LaChiusa