Rand Building - Table of Contents .............. Lafayette Square - Table of Contents
Rand Building
14
Lafayette Square,
Buffalo, New York
Site History
1830s - Lumber yard
1845 - Lafayette Presbyterian Church
1850 - Church destroyed in fire and rebuilt
1862 - Larger church (photo) replaces previous structure
1901-1913 - Congregation moved and sold building, which was remodeled into a burlesque house called Lafayette Theater
1908 - Private residence on corner demolished for new building by architects Seames and Zeitler called the Park Hof restaurant.
1914 - Sold and remodeled again as Olympic Theater - movies and vaudeville
1929 - Rand Building built by architects Franklyn & William Kidd - James W Kideney & Assoc., and construction firm John W. Cowper Company
1845 - Lafayette Presbyterian Church
1850 - Church destroyed in fire and rebuilt
1862 - Larger church (photo) replaces previous structure
Far left in photo: German Insurance Building
Left of the Olympic theater: German Insurance Building ... Far right: Lafayette theater ... The Rand Building was built on the site of the 1914 Olympic Theatre
The Rand Building was built on the site of the 1914 Olympic Theatre
Architect's drawing
The Rand Building on Lafayette Square was Buffalo's tallest building (29 floors) when it was opened in 1929. It was named in honor of George F. Rand, Sr., long-time president and chairman of the board of Marine Bank. It was largely his vision and efforts which led to New York State's first consolidated banking system called Marine Midland Corporation. Marine takes its name from the fact that originally its main customers were largely from the grain and marine trade on the lakes and along the Buffalo River.
- David M. Rote, "Buffalo's Three Towers of Power " (online 2016)
The Rank Building on Lafayette Square was Buffalo's tallest building (29 floors) when it was opened in 1929. It was named in honor of George F. Rand, Sr., long-time president and chairman of the board of Marine Bank. It was largely his vision and efforts which led to New York State's first consolidated banking system called Marine Midland Corporation. Marine takes its name from the fact that originally its main customers were largely from the grain and marine trade on the lakes and along the Buffalo River.
