Public Art - Table
of Contents
"Buffalo
Buildings" mural
172 Allen St., Buffalo, NY
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HHL Architects have unveiled a new mural on the side of their building at 172 Allen Street. Business partner Matthew Meier, AIA, told me that the original pencil drawing was done by one of HHL’s longtime Associate Architects, Christopher Guerra in 1988. According to Meier, Guerra completed the sketch before coming on board with the HHL team 30 years ago. “Guerra is an experienced renderer and loves Buffalo,” Meier told me. “The work has been admired for three decades by architecture fans and his peers. On July 2, we will be celebrating our 50 year anniversary, and we wanted to mark the occasion with a mural, but not just any mural – it’s interesting to note that HHL has worked on most of the historic buildings featured in the work. So it’s a nod to the city’s resurgence, and a calling card for HHL.”  In fact, Meier mentioned a little anecdote to me, which I thought was a lot of fun. He said that when he was dating his now wife, he took her to the Towne Restaurant for a meal (this was before he was even an architect). As he looked out the window, he spied the 172 Allen Street building, and said, “That’s where I want to live some day.” Lo and behold, all these years later he would be a partner at the architecture firm that inhabits that same building. “And now I’m here more than at my own house,” joked Meier [laughing]. “If you think about it, it’s been a collision of unusual coincidences. Early on, this was one of the first adaptive reuse buildings – it was almost unheard of back then. Now we’re carrying on with that legacy. A good portion of local architects have stepped through HHL at one point. That’s why we’re having a ‘family reunion’ of sorts on July 2. We’re inviting previous HHL employees back to celebrate our 50th. The mural helps to tell that story.” The mural itself was printed as a vinyl graphic and installed by VSP Graphic Group. The work is certainly apropos for Allentown in so many ways. It was unveiled just before the Allentown Art Festival to add a little cultural pizzazz to the event, and continues to speak for the rich culture and heritage of the city. |
 CHRISTOPHER GUERRA, RA Chris
became a New York State registered architect in 1988. In 1982, he
graduated from Pratt Institute School of Architecture and Planning in
New York City with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, and joined
HHL Architects in 1990.
Chris was the lead designer on.. . the Erie Community College Burt P. Flickinger Athletic Center, initially designed and constructed for the 1998 World University Games. - Excerpts from HHL Architects (online July 2019) |
   Click on this image for a larger size ... Details below: |
Center Center ... City Hall |
Upper
left Upper left ... Main Place Mall Tower  Upper left ... Liberty Building ... Below: Buffalo Psychiatric Center  Upper left |
Lower left  Lower left ...  Lower left ...  Lower left St. Mary of Sorrows  Lower left ... BNackground: Guaranty Building ... Lower rounded left: Central Terminal ... Building in foreground with spire above thje top of the Guaranty Building : Old County Hall  Lower left ...  Lower left ... Nrew York Central Terminal  Lower left ... St. Anthony's RC Church  Lower left ... Dickinson Jewelry Store  Lower left ... Rand House |
Upper
right Upper right ... Dentil molding ... Marine Maidland Building ... Stone sill  Upper right ... Background: Marine Maidland Building  Upper right ... Electric Tower |
Lower
right  Lower right ...  Lower right ... St Louis RC Church  Lower right ... St. Payul's Episcopal Chuurch  Lower right ... Domed building: Buffalo Savings Bank  Lower right ...  Lower right ... Corpus Christi RC Church  Lower right ... Darwin Martin House  Lower right ... Darwin Martin House ... Artrist's signature ... Oniondaga limestone foundation |
