Great Northern Grain Elevator - Table of Contents Grain Elevators - Table of Contents
Great Northern Grain Elevator - Table of Contents
Grain
Elevators - Table of Contents
|
The Great Northern Elevator has lost a good portion of its
north façade. Today’s winds and years of neglect
have combined to inflict significant damage to the
historic structure located at 250 Ganson Street. Built in
1897, the Great Northern was designed by engineer Max
Toltz and is the oldest elevator in Buffalo. The collapse
has exposed the basic design of the structure- a brick box
that encloses steel bins. It was the largest in the
world when it was built. Vacant since 1980, the fate of the structure has been in doubt for decades. In 1990, Pillsbury Co. was blocked in its attempt to tear it down when the complex was designated a local landmark.
The elevator was purchased by ADM in 1993. The
Preservation Board approved its demolition in 1996 if ADM
prepared a video documenting the structure, created scale
models of the complex, and erected a monument at the site
incorporating one of the silos. ADM balked at the
stipulations, appealed to the City Council, and the
Council denied the demolition request altogether. ADM tried once again to demolish the structure in 2003 in
order to build a new elevator on the site. The
Preservation Board approved the demolition but sought a
bond equal to 20 percent of the cost of the new structure
to hold ADM to its commitment to constructing a
replacement. ADM never moved forward. The
structure was placed on the National Register in 2003. |
