The Ellicott Square Building is a historic office complex, completed in 1896, located 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 ...
. It is found within the
Joseph Ellicott Historic District
Joseph Ellicott Historic District is a local Historic district (United States), historic district in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York. It is in the vicinity of Niagara Square, which was designed by Joseph Ellicott as the centerpiece of the ...
.
History
The Ellicott Square Building was designed by
Charles Atwood of
D. H. Burnham & Company, and completed in May, 1896. At the time of its completion, it was the largest office building in the world. In 1896 and 1897, the building was the site of
Edisonia Hall and the
Vitascope Theater, the earliest known dedicated motion picture theater in the world.
At 10 stories high—with the capacity to support 10 more floors—and , the Ellicott Square Building was the largest office building in the world by floor area until 1908, with the opening of the
Hudson Terminal
Hudson Terminal was a rapid transit station and office-tower complex in the Radio Row neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Opened during 1908 and 1909, it was composed of a Railway terminal, terminal station for the Hudson & Manhat ...
buildings in New York City. It was built at a cost of $3.5 million in less than one year. The building was named after
Joseph Ellicott, the planner and surveyor who laid out the then-village of Buffalo.
The mantra of architect
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the ''Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been "the most successful power broker the American archi ...
was "make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men’s blood; think big." Built in the Italian Renaissance style, the exterior of the Ellicott Square Building is made of granite, iron, and
terra cotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...
with a veneer of pearl gray brick. The majestic interior courtyard contains a marble mosaic floor designed by
William Winthrop Kent and
James A. Johnson. Imported from Italy, the 23 million pieces of marble on the mosaic depict sun symbols from civilizations around the world. The interior court resembles that of the
Rookery Building
The Rookery Building is a historic office building located at 209 South LaSalle Street in the Chicago Loop. Completed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root of Burnham and Root in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpie ...
in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.
There are broad stairs on either side and a glass roof in an ornamental steel frame provides natural light. The building features ornate glove lamps, intricate columns, carefully proportioned classical features gracing doorways, marble and brass to trim iron and stone.
The lobby of the Ellicott Square Building remains a favorite gathering spot for political rallies, weddings and social functions. In 1984 it was used for hotel scenes in the movie ''
The Natural''.
The terracotta cornice was removed in 1971, and, soon thereafter, most of the forty lion heads on the exterior were also removed.
The building is currently managed by
Ellicott Development Co., the company founded and owned by
Carl Paladino.
Ellicott Square Building, 295 Main St., Buffalo
''Ellicott Development'' Web page. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
See also
* List of tallest buildings in Buffalo, New York
Notes
External links
Ellicott Square Building at Buffalo as an Architectural Museum
*
{{coord, 42.8822, -78.8750, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title
Skyscraper office buildings in Buffalo, New York
Office buildings completed in 1896
Tourist attractions in Buffalo, New York