The Erie County Savings Bank building was a 10-story

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

, office and

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 that was located at present-day 9 Church Street 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 South ...

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 George Browne Post (December 15, 1837 – November 28, 1913) was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. He was recognized as a master of modern American architecture as well as being instrumental in the birth of the skyscra ...

who also designed the Buffalo Statler Towers. Built of pink granite from

Jonesboro, Maine Jonesboro is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named for John Coffin Jones, a landholder. The population was 587 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area ...

, the

ashlar masonry Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruvi ...

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. 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. During the building's construction

Thomas A. Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

served as the consulting engineer in charge of electrical installation. The building was demolished in 1968 together with a number of adjacent buildings as part of an

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

project and replaced by the

Main Place Tower The Main Place Tower is located at 350 Main Street, in Buffalo, New York. The skyscraper is the fourth-tallest building in the city, and home to many technology and communication firms. The tower, built in 1969, rises . The shopping center within ...

. 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 The State University of New York College at Buffalo (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State College, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State) is a public college in Buffalo, New York. It is part of the State University of Ne ...

campus.

Building site timeline

*(1827-1890) "Old" First Presbyterian Church *(1893-1968) Erie County Savings Bank *(1969-Current)

Bank history

Source: * Erie County Savings Bank was known as "The Big E" in advertising campaigns.(late 1960s - 1980s) *The bank changed its name to the Erie Savings Bank (1977-1981). *The bank's name changed to Empire of America (1982-1990). *In 1992,

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

KeyBank KeyBank, the primary subsidiary of KeyCorp, is a regional bank headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the only major bank based in Cleveland. KeyBank is one of the largest banks in the United States. Key's customer base spans retail, small b ...

acquired its remaining deposits and the bank was dissolved.

Gallery

File:Historic American Buildings Survey, May 1965, SOUTH ELEVATION FROM SOUTHWEST. - Erie County Savings Bank, 16 Niagara Street, Buffalo, Erie County, NY HABS NY,15-BUF,3-3.tif, 1965 photo from Southwest view File:Erie county savings bank northeast.jpg, Main entrance from Northeast

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York Commercial buildings completed in 1893 Romanesque Revival architecture in New York (state) Buildings and structures demolished in 1968