History Counts.

 

 

                                 

                                    Michigan Street Bridge

Generations have passed since Joseph Dart built the first grain elevator in here in Buffalo, NY. Little did he know in 1842 that the elevators  he envisioned would spawn a radical new architectural vocabulary that continues to leave us in awe of their magnitude. Bypassed by alternative marketing routes, these beauties fell into quiet decrepitude.  Folks seem to never tire of conjuring up reincarnations for them; everything from five star hotels to ethanol plants, is fair game for the imagination.

Along the south shore of the Buffalo River, in the heart of Buffalo’s grain elevator territory, the Swanie House Tavern  remains alone guarding the corner of Michigan and Ohio Streets; neighboring buildings have long since disappeared. As planned, I meet several friends there on a crisp morning in September. It is our first time painting in this industrial neighborhood, and we wonder what secrets it holds.

Down by waters edge, as we purposefully unpack our painting gear, our eyes automatically shift to the looming grain elevators across the river.  Their presence is palpable; we sense their weariness, see their vacant eyes.  Each of us will see them differently; each of us will tell a different story.  We begin.