Erie County Savings Bank Explained

Erie County Savings Bank
Location:9 Church Street, Buffalo, NY, United States
Coordinates:42.8836°N -78.8755°W
Status:destroyed
Architectural Style:Richardsonian Romanesque
Start Date:September 11, 1890
Completion Date:June, 1893
Renovation Date:1932
Demolition Date:1968
Building Type:Office
Roof:127feet
Floor Count:10
Elevator Count:4
Cost:1 million US$($ in dollars)
Architect:George B. Post

The Erie County Savings Bank building was a 10-story Romanesque Revival, office and bank branch building that was located at present-day 9 Church Street in downtown Buffalo, New York.

Building history

The decorative castle-like building was completed in 1893 to serve as the headquarters of the Erie county savings bank. The building was the work of architect George B. Post who also designed the Buffalo Statler Towers.[1] Built of pink granite from Jonesboro, Maine, the ashlar masonry walls were backed with brick. Although the exterior walls were load-bearing, the building had an interior steel framing system. The triangular-shaped building was approximately 147 feet by 157 feet (45 × 48 m), and rose to nine stories high on the Main Street side; ten stories high on the Pearl Street side.[2] The building was constructed on a lot within Shelton Square in which the "Old" First Presbyterian Church stood. The church was destroyed in 1890, the same year construction of the savings bank began.[1]

During the building's construction Thomas A. Edison served as the consulting engineer in charge of electrical installation.[2]

The building was demolished in 1968 together with a number of adjacent buildings as part of an urban renewal project and replaced by the Main Place Tower. The Lion statues that were located atop the building's main entrance pillars along with granite architectural remnants were saved and are now located on the Buffalo State College campus.[3]

Building site timeline

Bank history

Source:[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Erie County Savings Bank . Buffalo as history . 25 December 2013 . LaChiusa, Chuck.
  2. Web site: Erie County Savings Bank, 16 Niagara Street, Buffalo, Erie County, NY . Historic American Buildings Survey . Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress) . 22 December 2013.
  3. Web site: Buffalo State College Rededicates Moot Hall . buffalostate.edu . 10 October 2001 . 25 December 2013.
  4. Web site: Brief History of the Erie County Savings Bank . WNY Heritage Press . 25 December 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120829184345/http://wnyheritagepress.org/photos_week_2008/erie_savings_bank/erie_savings_bank.htm . 29 August 2012 .