Niagara Street Industrial Heritage
Sowers Manufacturing Company / Northwest Community Mental Health Center
1294-1300 Niagara St.
, Buffalo, NY

Built 1914

Contributing member in the Upper Black Rock Local Historic District


2017 Photos



Left: 1280 Niagara St., Buffalo Gasolene Motor Company / Starks Associates







Corbel table





Sowers Manufacturing Company:
1294 Niagara Street (1298 – 1310 Niagara Street)


The factory for Sowers Manufacturing Company was constructed in 1914 as documented on the 1916 Sanborn Map. In 1916 the lot to the south was owner by Seneca Clay Company and used as a sewer pipe yard. It is likely that before construction was completed the sewer pipe yard was purchased and the building expanded south given the seamless appearance of the east elevation.

Sowers Manufacturing made “DOPP” equipment for heating – cooling – mixing, including seamless jacketed and single shell kettles, mixers, soap crutchers, vacuum and pressure apparatus and noted in a ca. 1930 product publication. Dopp kettles and pans were constructed out of cast iron and used in the chemical industry.

The company remained at the factory located on Niagara Street until 1942 when the property was sold. The 1950 Sanborn map notes the factory building with various occupancies.

The two story, fourteen bay brick masonry building is simply detailed with brick masonry piers that extend beyond the parapet defining each bay. A loading bay is located in the sixth bay from the south with pedestrian entrances in the flanking bays. A second loading bay is located at the northwest corner of the building.

The nine bays to the north have cast sills and iron lintels whereas at the five bays to the south the lintel is faced with brick. This detailing is consistent with the 1916 Sanborn map that shows the lot to the south as a storage yard for the Seneca Clay Company. The raised rusticated limestone foundation, medina sandstone watertable, engaged pilasters and corbelled, scallop frieze are consistent across the entire facade. There are no windows on the north elevation. The west elevation has been faced with a stucco material.





Sowers Mfg company 1916 dopp steam jacketed kettle pan vintage catalog



Northwest Community Mental Health Center

Mental Health Counseling & Drug Addiction Treatment Centers.

Alcohol Addiction Treatment, Marriage Counseling.

Northwest Community Health Center has been serving the Erie County community since 1974. We offer a wide range of services for people struggling with mental health issues and people in need of counseling services.

The Clinic Treatment programs provide an array of services for individuals with psychiatric, emotional, behavioral and interpersonal issues. These include individual, group, couples, and family counseling, medication therapy, advocacy, referral and crisis services.

Services are offered at two locations: The Kenmore Clinic at 2495 Elmwood Avenue, Kenmore, NY and the Niagara Clinic at 1300 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY. The Clinics have highly skilled and experienced interdisciplinary teams that include Social Workers, Psychiatrists, and Nurse Practitioners.
- Northwest Community Health Center Website (online September 2017)
Ellicott Development bought three city sites yesterday, all of them in areas that have seen increased developer interest. Total purchase cost: $8.3 million.

Ellicott’s 1238 Group paid $2.375 million for 1294-1300 Niagara Street, Northwest Community Health Center’s location and adjacent parcels. The purchase included the two-story, 42,351 sq.ft. building plus parking lots on the east side of Niagara Street at 1295 Niagara and 140 Gelston Street.

The properties are located along a stretch of Niagara that has seen a number of recently-completed and proposed reuse projects and has been called “hotter than Main Street.”  Erie Niagara Benefit Public Funding Corp. was the seller.
- Busy Friday: Ellicott Development Snags Three City SitesBuffalo Rising, October 14, 2016 (online September 2017)

Special thanks to Cindy Gorski and Margaret Logan for sharing their research

Photos and their arrangement  © 2017 Chuck LaChiusa
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