Bufalo Conference- SAH - April 10-14

In a major score for the local area, April 10-14 Buffalo will host the 66th annual conference of the Society of Architectural Historians.  It will be held between the Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency Hotel, downtown Buffalo.  Truthfully, many of the program topics are probably a bit esoteric for the majority of our volunteers, including myself, but if you are a serious professional architect or preservationist, or architectural historian, you may wish to attend.  It is also possible to attend some of the presentations and tours on an individual fee basis

What is important to note is the number of tours and presentations with either Graycliff or Frank Lloyd Wright connections.  Let me list a few of the obvious ones;

Graycliff Board members Terry Robinson and Catherine Schweitzer are both involved in panel presentations on Wednesday 4/10, the first day of the conference, and Terry will also lead a tour on Saturday 4/13 titled, Buffalo's Abolitional Heritage.

Jack Quinan, former DDM House curator and FLW author and expert will present the opening address for the conference on Wednesday 4/10.

One of the tours will be of the DDM House complex

The conference will end its program presentations on Saturday with a presentation by Ph d graduate students from the Buell Center discussing their research on the life and legacy of FLW at the Greatbatch Pavilion at the DDM Complex.

On Thursday 4/11 there will be a presentation on FLW's Taliesen.

On Friday  4/12 there will be a presentation on FLW and Plastics.

And last, but certainly not least, on Sunday 4/14 there be an FLW in Buffalo tour which will hit all the local connections to include Graycliff and will be led in part by our own Patrick Mahoney,  FLW author and expert in his own right, Diane Schrenk, our President, and Reine Hauser, our Executive Director. This tour is sold out.

The fact that Graycliff connections and FLW are so prevalent and prominent in the program of a prestigious International conference such as this attest to the importance of both our architect and our estate.  If you are interested in perusing the conference schedule or possibly even attending some or all of it, you can use the link below to access the information you need.



                                                   SAH conference Details

For Former Buffalonians

There was a song put out a few years ago by a Buffalo raised recording artist, Greg Klyma, titled Two Degrees In Buffalo.  It is a very catchy tune and has been buzzing in my head for the past year since I heard it.  It is a great Boost Buffalo kind of song and a great thing to send former area residents who have moved out of the area.  Lots of plugs and local connections.  I especially am connected to the reference to Father Baker's Home.  When I was a kid of about 6 and apparently being bad, my parents pulled up to front of OLV basilica, let me out of the car and told me they were leaving me at Father Baker's Home for bad little boys.  I screamed and cried; they drove ten feet away, then came back and got me upon my promises to forever be good.  Later as an adult I became a staff member at Baker Hall for a couple years and remembered thinking that if I had known the place offered everything it did,  I should have just waved goodbye and stayed.  Not really, but the reference does bring a smile to my face as I hope the video of the song does to you all as well as prompts you to forward it to your out of town friends who no longer live in the fine city and area that I have spent my whole life in and am so proud of being a part of.   So here is the link to a video of  Two Degrees In Buffalo by Greg Klyma.  I hope you enjoy it.

                                           youtube.com/watch?v=c6m7323k40g

Graycliff Board Member to Speak..

Graycliff Board member Terry Robinson 

on Preserving Buffalo's African American Heritage

This coming Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 6 pm  at the Colored Musicians Club, 145 Broadway, Buffalo, NY

A member of the Buffalo Preservation Board , Preservation Buffalo Niagara,and Graycliff, too, Terry Robinson will speak about what historic preservation can do to save the region's African American neighborhoods and historic sites.

Now an active preservationist, Robinson grew up on Buffalo's East Side. He graduated from Calasanctius High School in 1972 and studied political economy at Princeton and Harvard. He lives with his wife on Humboldt Parkway, a once-picturesque parkway designed by Frederick Law Olmsted-until it was torn up and paved through "urban renewal."

The talk will be held at the Colored Musicians Club, one of the oldest jazz clubs in America. The building recently opened a museum celebrating its storied history in Buffalo's music scene. Here jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald would meet and perform. A cash bar will be open after the talk.

The talk is sponsored by Buffalo Talks, an education program of Preservation Buffalo Niagara, with whom Graycliff  collaborates annually on community events.   Formed in 2008, Preservation Buffalo Niagara's mission is to provide leadership in identifying, protecting and promoting the unique architecture and historic legacy of Western New York communities. This event is free for members of PBN or the CMC, with a $5 suggested donation for the general public.

Can you identify this house?

Do you recognize this house?  It appeared on the MSN News briefs this morning for an article about America's Wealthiest Neighborhoods.  It was the lead picture for the article.  A review of the article indicated it was tied to the town of Kenilworth Ill. but it was not referenced in the article at all.  It sure looks like a Wright designed home and it basically is in his back yard.  However, the listing of Wright houses in Ill. lists only one in Kenilworth and this one is not it.  Anyone of our Wright experts out there know anything about this picture or is my sense of Wright design skewed and this is just some knock-off?    Can you at least see the design characteristics that caused me to think Wright?  Help appreciated here, please.. 

HI HO, HI HO, OFF TO WORK WE GO!

Just a reminder that our winter break is over and it's time again for Graycliff.  Spring Clean Up  is Saturday April 6 starting at 9 am and running to 1 pm to include both breakfast and lunch, an update about the season ahead and enough work to get the place spruced up for the season.  All volunteers welcome and invited.  Call the site and let Shannon or Ryan know that you are coming (so we have have enough food).  Bring rags and newspapers if you have them for cleaning purposes.

Tours are also starting at that point  and docents, please start checking the tour book and blocking in your tours.  Other volunteers, that means your services will be needed too and your coordinators will be contacting you.  A new docent training group will be starting on April 27th and run Saturdays through the middle of June.  if you know of anyone who may be interested, contact the site and the names and numbers will be forwarded to the docent trainers.

Regarding this blog, I have been hard at work on it through the Winter, but I am missing something; your input and comments.  You can click comment after any of the postings and type in your comments to that specific posting.  You can also contact me about any information, suggestion, article or question you may have at:                                        gds2146@hotmail.com 

To make this blog a useful communication tool for all of us, I do need your help.
                                                                                                           
                                                                                                 George

Who Knew?

You may wonder what the picture of the recliner above may have to do with Graycliff.  It is a lesson that everything in this world is somehow mysteriously linked together.  The first piece of trivia information is that the modern version of the recliner was invented right here in Buffalo and was known as the Barcalounger. As a matter of fact, the term Barcalounger is the term most older folk use as opposed to recliner or Lazy Boy.   It was so named after the Barcalo Company of Buffalo,  which also produced tools and lawn furniture, among other things.  It also produced products which were sold via  mail order by the Larkin Company of which our esteemed Darwin Martin was an executive officer\.  The Barcalos were also friends of the Martins and socialized with them at Graycliff.  According to our President, Diane Schenk, there is a picture on an easel in the Graycliff living room showing a picture of the Baracolos with the Martins at Graycliff prior to a dinner at the Wanakah Country Club.  The world is all about connections and the more you know, the more connections that can be made.  For that reason, a link is provided below for more information on the Barcalo company.  This  information is courtesy of Diane's extensive and continuing research.

                                                      Barcalo of Buffalo

Graycliff on Facebook

OK, Reine is making me share the limelight, all against my better judgment, of course.  If you have forgotten or simply not known, Graycliff has a Facebook page.  So for those of you on Facebook or who  want to open a Facebook address you can see some bang-up and bang-on photos and information that the Graycliff Conservancy has out there on the internet.  It is definitely worth a visit.  It is maintained by Jim Charlier, one of our newer board members, who also created this blog for us originally.  Hats off to him for both and please check it out (but make sure you come back here too, please?)   The link to that Facebook page is ;
                                                      Graycliff's Facebook Page