Mayor Anthony M. Masiello's commitment to an intelligent preservation plan is an encouraging beginning to Buffalo's attempt at shedding its image as a dying city.
According to a Buffalo News story from Feb. 19, the mayor has assembled a committee to look at plans the city can enact in hopes of assuring that no more last-minute legal fights with preservationists and developers will sap City Hall's time and money.
The proposal includes taking inventory of the buildings that would qualify for protection and establishing the criteria for their preservation. Developers and preservationists are likely to be at odds with each other, however, over what makes a building worth saving. Compromises will have to be made, as developers will want a looser standard for protecting a building from demolition and the preservationists will want a stricter one.
It is important for preservationists to understand that age alone does not make a building historic, and just being historic does not mean it should be protected. Masiello's committee must set an appropriate rubric for what can be protected, with both aesthetics and functionality taken into account.
Old buildings are nice to have, but if they are decrepit and falling apart, there is no reason that developers should not have the opportunity to do something productive with that space. Turning a 100-year-old building into a museum, for example, serves both the city's and the preservationists' interests.
The city has a great financial opportunity in all of this as well. If they not only preserve historic structures, but make good use of them - either as converted commercial space or as a museum - they can be marketed as landmarks to attract tourism and business.
Ultimately, Buffalo should look into putting together some type of packaged tour of the city - including historic sites, museums, parks, restaurants, theaters and other attractions. This type of plan has worked well for many U.S. cities and is something that could spur restoration in addition to preservation, while celebrating the heritage of the city.
Tourism is severely lagging in Buffalo, and presently there is nothing structured to boost it. Old houses, office buildings or churches can be a drawing point to those interested in the history and tradition of Western New York. Bus tours, specialized museums or historic libraries may not be the only answer to Buffalo's woes, but they cannot possibly make things worse.
The final point of Masiello's grand plan comes from Pittsburgh's model, where emphasis is given to the cityscape's visual appeal and pedestrian traffic. Developers have to understand that razing a building and putting in a parking lot may not always be the best for business and that a beautiful city will sooner attract patrons and corporate partnership than will an unattractive one with a reputation for decay.
Other Rust Belt cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland have shown that revitalization is not out of the question if preservation and development is facilitated correctly. The mayor is certainly on the right track as far as this is concerned, but a committee is nothing but a planning and negotiating body. The true measure of success will be in the action that Buffalo takes to turn itself around.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
