Unitarian Universalist Church - Table of Contents
Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo
695 Elmwood Avenue, at West Ferry, Buffalo, New York
Architects:
Edward A. Kent and his brother, William W. Kent
Edward A. Kent also designed Chemical No. 5 Firehouse, at 166 Cleveland Ave., Both the church and the firehouse were on land originally part of the John Albright estate. The church property, and perhaps the firehouse property also, was donated by Albright.Completed:
1906 Exterior style:
English-village Gothic (parish churches of the southern counties of England, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries) Exterior building material:
Indiana limestone
Interior style:
Arts and Crafts / English-village Gothic
Status:
Buffalo Landmark TEXT Beneath Illustrations
Click on photos for larger size - and additional information
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The front tower: battlement; belt course; paired windows |
Main entrance on W. Ferry: compound arch ...upwardly receding buttresses |
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Kent plaque |
McIntyre drawing |
Both the Unitarian and Universalist Churches were organized in Buffalo in 1831.
The church building of the Unitarians was located at the intersection of Franklin and Eagle streets and still exists today as the Ticor (Abstract Title) Building.
Both churches continued through the years in several locations and under several names, including a building which was later converted into the Fairfield Library on Amherst St. See Bill Parke's complete list and map of the various churches.In 1953, the Unitarian and the Universalist churches combined to form the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo, which used as its place of worship the Unitarian Church building at Elmwood and Ferry streets,
695 Elmwood, Kent's chef-d'oeuvre
This church was possibly last work of Edward Austin Kent, 1904, before his death on Titanic.The church was built in 1904 on land donated by John J. Albright, famed Buffalo industrialist and philanthropist, whose estate occupied much of the north side of West Ferry Street between Delaware and Elmwood. (Albright's Art Gallery also was completed in 1904.)
Kent also designed Chemical No. 5 Firehouse, at 166 Cleveland Ave., on land which was also on the Albright estate.
Constructed at a cost of $100.000, the building is designed in the English Gothic style and is reminiscent of the parish churches of the English countryside.
Over the years the church has served as a center for social action causes (for example, during the Vietnam War) and a meeting place for those espousing them.
Exterior features:
- English-village Gothic style
- L-shaped
- Built of Indiana limestone
- Single recessed main portal flanked by upwardly receding buttresses bracketing a fine arched window with delicate tracery
- The front tower is surmounted by paired windows and romantic battlement
- Main entrance double oak doors are decorated with wrought-iron Art Nouveau-like fleurs-de-lis.
Sources:
- "Heritage of Heresy: Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo, N.Y. 1832-1982," by Charles Jamieson. Kenmore: Partners Press, 1982
- "Upstairs, Downstairs: Western New Yorkers and the Titanic," by William H. Siener, in Spring 1998 Western New York Heritage.
- "Church Tales of the Niagara Frontier : Legends, History & Architecture," by Austin M. Fox, et. al. Pub. by Western New York Wares, 1994
- "Designated Landmarks of the Niagara Frontier," by Austin M. Fox. Buffalo: Meyer Enterprises, P.O. Box 733, Ellicott Station, Buffalo, New York 14205. 1986. OUT OF PRINT.
- "Area Landmarks," in the Buffalo News, August 15, 1993
- "Buffalo Architecture: A Guide." Cambridge: MIT Press, 1981 (Amazon.Com and Barnes and Noble)
- Martin Wachadlo, Consultant
