In
1990,
noted local artist Dr. V. Roger “Doc” Lalli (1922 - 2010) paints the
“Great Northern
Elevator: Ganson
Street
and Michigan Avenue,” as part of a series he names “Buffalo,
My City” and later
published as “The Buffalo Architectural Watercolors.”
This work becomes number 12 of 42 watercolors
Lalli paints between 1989 and 1999 – a monumental endeavor and a
loving tribute
to our city’s architectural and historic treasury.
In
this piece, the artist so effectively illustrates the chiaroscuro
effect
(shadow and light), presenting a view of the 1897 building that
portends the sort
of drama we experience today: a
winter
view from the north, with blue sky above and piercing western light
from a
late-afternoon sun. The
Great Northern
casts a shadow almost as distant from the brick façade as the building
is high.
Historian
David
Mott Rote provides narratives to each of Lalli’s remarkable
paintings.
The
Great
Northern Elevator “was not only the world’s largest at the time,
with a
nearly 3,000,000-bushel capacity, but also the most modern such
structure
anywhere.” Rote goes
on, “Designed by
Max Toltz, an engineer with the parent Great Northern Railroad, it
served as a
transitional model between the older wooden elevators and the
concrete ones
that were to standardize elevator construction.”
In
the
spring of 1992, the Great Northern Elevator painting is part of a
stunning
six-week one man exhibit at the Albright
Knox Art Gallery, which is so successful
it leads to the creation of signed limited edition prints.
Today, these prints continue to sell in
galleries across the U.S., attracting national and international
buyers who
wish to bring home a glimpse of Buffalo’s architectural and cultural
heritage.
As
these
notes are written, the fate of the Great Northern Elevator is
uncertain. Here’s
hoping that this
notable piece of Buffalo’s heritage does not succumb to corporate or
communal
indifference. “If we forget the past, we have no future,” says Douglas
Jemal, president and founder of Douglas Development Corporation.
“The past and the industry that the Great
Northern served is an important part of what defined Buffalo as
one of the
greatest and wealthiest cities in the country in the late 19th
Century. The Buffalo
of today cannot
afford to lose this priceless historic treasure which stands as a
testament to
the city’s storied past.”
Long
may
this building stand as a tribute to Buffalo’s desired destination,
so
magnificently captured by artists like Lalli.
May these works continue to serve as an invitation to the
world to
experience what beauty and industrial majesty still reside on the
shores of
Buffalo, and not to an epithet to history lost.
Beginning
on
February 1, 2022, Lalli’s “Great Northern Elevator: Ganson Street
and
Michigan Avenue” and all of his works from the same series will be
on exhibit
at the Italian Cultural Center of Buffalo, located at the corner of
Delaware
and Hertel Avenues.
