The Liberty Building is located at 420 Main Street, across the
Buffalo Metro Rail
Buffalo Metro Rail is the public transit rail system in Buffalo, New York, operated by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA). The system consists of a single, light rail line that runs for most of the length of Main Street (New ...
from
Lafayette Square in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, United States.
History
Built in 1925, the 23 story office tower is an example of
neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...
. At the time of its completion, the Liberty Building was the largest office building in downtown Buffalo and was built for Liberty National Bank to serve as their headquarters. Liberty National Bank was originally called the German American Bank but its name was changed to Liberty National Bank after
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
to remove any connection to that war's main enemy. In order to illustrate the bank's new
image
An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...
, the building was christened with three replicas of the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
sculpted by
Leo Lentelli in 1925. Two statues on the roof, one facing west, and the other facing east, represent Buffalo's strategic location on the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
. A third statue was placed over the Main Street entrance. The Main Street Statue was moved to the court street entrance all 3 statues continue to remain in the building . They stand 36 feet tall and are illuminated at night.
An addition to the building, designed by
Lyman & Associates was completed in 1961.
Present Day
On September 23, 2010, French
tightrope walker
Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...
Didier Pasquette
Didier Pasquette is a noted French people, French tightrope walker.
Pasquette studied with Philippe Petit (famous for his high wire walk between the former World Trade Center (1973–2001), Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York in 197 ...
completed a successful 150 ft walk across a high-wire suspended between the two statues atop the building. He completed the walk in two minutes and 59 seconds.
The building is owned by the Main Place Liberty Group, who also own the
Main Place Tower.
The Liberty Building is the fifth tallest building in Buffalo.
Gallery
File:View_of_the_Liberty_Building_from_Buffalo_City_Hall.jpg
File:20080310 Lafayette Square.JPG
File:Liberty bld.jpg
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Buffalo, New York
This list of the tallest buildings in Buffalo, New York, ranks skyscrapers in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo by height. The tallest building in Buffalo is currently the Seneca One Tower, which stands 529 feet (161 m) tall. As of 2017, Buffalo has 17 ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Buildings in Buffalo timeline
Office buildings completed in 1925
Skyscraper office buildings in Buffalo, New York
Tourist attractions in Buffalo, New York
Neoclassical architecture in New York (state)