The Buffalo Savings Bank is a neoclassical,

Beaux-Arts style Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpor ...

bank branch A branch, banking center or financial center is a retail location where a bank, credit union, or other financial institution (including a brokerage firm) offers a wide array of face-to-face and automated services to its customers. History and ...

building located at 1 Fountain Plaza in downtown

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

History

The Buffalo Savings Bank building opened in May 1901. The building's signature feature is the gold-leafed dome, which measures 23 feet tall and 56 feet in diameter. It is covered with 13,500

terra-cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

tiles. The tiles originally were overlaid with copper, which took on a greenish hue. The tiles have been gilded three times. The last restoration required 140,000 paper-thin sheets of 23.75-carat gold leaf at a cost $500,000 (more than the initial cost of the building). The building contains a clock above the main columned entrance. In 1982, the original bank building received a larger linked addition on the north side called M & T Center (not to be confused with

One M&T Plaza One M&T Plaza is an office tower located in Buffalo, New York and home to M&T Bank in Erie County. The 21-story International style or New Formalist office tower was designed by Minoru Yamasaki with Duane Lyman Associates and completed in 196 ...

). In 1991, the Buffalo Savings Bank company became

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

and was dissolved. The building currently serves as a branch of

M&T Bank M&T Bank Corporation (Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company) is an American bank holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. It operates 1680 branches in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts ...

and has been designated a City of Buffalo Landmark. 10 and 12 Fountain Plaza, 40 and

50 Fountain Plaza 50 Fountain Plaza, formerly the Key Center North Tower, is a high-rise located in Buffalo, New York, USA. It is the eighth tallest building in Buffalo at 275 feet (85 m) and 17 stories tall. The building has a twin tower next door, 40 Fountain P ...

are across Main Street from the building. The

Electric Tower __NOTOC__ Electric Tower (or General Electric Tower) is a historic office building and skyscraper located at the corner of Washington and Genesee Streets in Buffalo. It is the seventh tallest building in Buffalo. It stands and 14 stories tall ...

is to the southeast. In 2010, the bank was used in the filming of

Henry's Crime ''Henry's Crime'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy crime film directed by Malcolm Venville and starring Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, and James Caan. The film follows Henry (Reeves), who goes to jail for a bank robbery he did not commit. Once ...

, a movie in which the bank is robbed.

Gallery

File:Buffalo savings bank.jpg, Buffalo Savings Bank in 1904 photo File:M&T Center main st side.JPG, M&T Center main st side File:Buffalo Savings Bank (2016).jpg, Buffalo Savings Bank in 2016

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York Commercial buildings completed in 1901 Beaux-Arts architecture in New York (state) Green & Wicks buildings

History

Gallery

See also

References