Sunlight splashes over the Buffalo skyline as seen from Silo City.
Buffalo’s cityscape is dotted with numerous silos, visible reminders of the city’s industrial past.
Gregory Delaney sees them as something else: emblems of modern architecture.
“The collection of silos in Buffalo is arguably one of the most significant collections in the world,” said Delaney, a clinical associate professor at the University at Buffalo’s School of Architecture. “It’s often overlooked how relevant they are ... they absolutely represent people and labor, and the history of labor in the city.”
That is why the City of Buffalo is moving closer to designating the American Grain Complex as a local landmark.
The Common Council’s Legislation Committee will meet July 16 to discuss American Grain’s application, gathering community input to potentially enshrine the building as a beacon of Buffalo’s history.
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Five years ago, Silo City owner Rick Smith teamed up with Generation Development, a Florida-based real estate firm, to revive the American Mill & Warehouse building and transform it into a multi-use complex. With construction starting in 2020, the space is being renovated into residential apartments, office spaces and galleries while still maintaining the building’s historic integrity.
Carmina Wood Design, the architects on the project, submitted the application to the Buffalo Preservation Board in April. If granted landmark status, it would protect the complex from demolition.
Four years into the multimillion-dollar project, developer Anthony Ceroy said that the project has been a career highlight.
“I have not worked on a project or seen a project that has the opportunity to be as impactful on such a broad scale,” said Ceroy. “I will probably never work on anything quite as impactful and intricate as this again, it’s been a wonderful experience.”
Located in Silo City on the south shore of the Buffalo River, the American Grain Complex was first built in 1905 as a malt house for the American Malting Co., installing a grain elevator to store grain with silos made of concrete – a first of its kind in Buffalo. This was a departure from grain elevators that were constructed from combustible wooden silos, according to Delaney. The building was later turned into a flour mill after Russell Miller Milling Co. bought the building.
The American Grain elevator, with its white-painted silos, was the site of the first major “monolithic pour” of concrete.
Delaney says that Silo City’s grain elevators represent Buffalo’s distinctive history.
“This collection is extra special in the sense that this is the home of the grain elevator,” said Delaney. “We ultimately became the largest grain port in the world and largest flour producer in the country. This really was an epicenter of the world in terms of the storage of grain, but also the kind of transshipment of grain, and a time of increasing globalization of systems of transport and food.”
Buffalo’s roots in the grain industry run deep. At the start of the 20th century, Buffalo became one of the largest inland grain ports in the world, obtaining heaps of wheat from farms in the Midwest via the Great Lakes. The grain elevators would then process the wheat, allowing tons of grain and flour to be transported throughout the United States. This resulted in grain and flour mills flourishing near the city’s waterfront, including General Mills, which continues to operate a factory near Silo City.
While American Grain is being redeveloped, other grain elevators such as the Great Northern have fallen susceptible to demolition. The Great Northern was considered the last brick-box grain elevator with steel bins in America. Despite efforts from local preservationists, the grain elevator was demolished by its owner Archer-Daniels-Midland, the Chicago-based multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation, in September 2022.
The demolition prompted the Council to pass an ordinance to protect city landmarks the same year.
The push to preserve American Grain is part of a larger movement in Buffalo toward reimagining industrial buildings and areas. From RiverWorks to Oak Street, restoration efforts are integral in maintaining the city’s infrastructure, said Preservation Buffalo Niagara executive director Bernice Radle.
Radle also said that Buffalo needs to preserve its grain elevators because the structures reflect the city’s leadership in modern architecture on a global scale, noting that grain elevators were first constructed in Buffalo during the 1840s – a “rare” and “unique” characteristic to Buffalo’s industrial heritage.
“People from Europe came to the grain elevators in Buffalo, saw what they were doing, and they put them in architecture magazines in Europe, and completely changed the architectural landscape,” said Radle. “So I think we should say that we have arguably the best collection of grain elevators in the world.”
Preservationists also say that Buffalo’s grain elevators need to be preserved not only because they hold historical importance, but because they are economic drivers for tourism. According to a PlaceEconomics’ report in 2022, tourism in Buffalo pumps more than $658 million into the local economy.
“Our architecture that we have to offer is a huge piece of our tourism business,” said Chris Scanlon, Buffalo Common Council president. “Anything we can do to preserve these sites helps put Buffalo on the map.”
Since 2007, federal and state historic tax credits have increased investment in Buffalo’s historic infrastructures, mobilizing more than $1 billion in direct investment, according to the report.
With a historic marker, the building would be eligible for New York State’s historic tax program, with federal and state income tax credits equaling up to 20%-50% of qualified rehabilitation costs, according to the state Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.
If marked as a landmark, the designation would “afford” the opportunity to obtain more resources from the state’s historic credit program, according to Ceroy.
“It’s a great redevelopment initiative for the community that would also bring to life an asset of its stature and historic significance,” Ceroy said.
The Council is expected to vote on the designation next month.
Radle believes that the possible marker will elevate the building’s status and provide a meaningful reflection of the community.
“I think a lot of people think preservation is about the past, and it is about the history, but it’s also about the people that make up Western New York,” said Radle. “It’s a picture of where Buffalo is right now.”
