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Abandoned Church of Transfiguration, Buffalo
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6 comments to Abandoned Church of Transfiguration, Buffalo
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So beautiful. I hope it can be restored and used for some good purpose.
Thank you, Vatican II
Bautiful ! In Europe, such a building would already be restored into a hotel, a restaurant, a theater, a night club. Such a good oportunity can’t be lost.
The problem, Stephane, is that Buffalo (which is in Western NY) is an economic dumpster. There are many grand abandoned buildings there, including several other elegant churches (though this is the largest), an amazing central train station, and countless others.
Vast swaths of homes in the city are abandoned as well, and rotting. There’s no drive for redevelopment because there’s no one there who would be able to afford going to the hotel, restaurant, theater, or night club (there are already too many of these things around for the area to support as it is).
It’s perhaps not as epically bad as Detroit, but it’s close.
I am from a suburb of Buffalo, but like every young person who is able to, left for opportunities elsewhere (California in my case).
Hey Stephane Adam!
Check out these pictures from East Prussia. The last time I checked, East Prussia was in Europe.
http://howtobearetronaut.com/2010/06/abandoned-demyanskoe-east-prussia/
Two things to consider.
1. New York, being a union state, has done a good job of chasing manufacturing jobs away from Buffalo and its other industrial centers, and thus leading to the abandonment of the city. The only real manufacturing that is being carried out in this country now is in “right-to-work” states. New York now depends on its financial services industry, which in fact, is no industry at all.
2. The fact that it is no longer fashionable for high-brow people such as yourself to attend church makes it easy to see why this church is crumbling. If the people in this community had really wanted it, they could have likely kept this church in service. I have no doubt that other factors are involved, but I suspect the number one thing that caused this church to fall into this state of disrepair is the fact that there is such a dramatic decline in church attendance around this place.
Don’t get me wrong. It breaks my heart too. But suggesting that it be turned into a hotel, nightclub, theatre or restaurant is the equivalent of saying “Let them eat cake”.
Though I am not sure what the status is of this building, I can tell you that Buffalo is currently in the middle of a huge push for restoration and preservation throughout the region. Buildings across the city, for several years now, have been bought, rehabbed and reused at an alarming rate. Several national and international conferences have used Buffalo as the poster-child for this process.
Granted, Buffalo still remains the 3rd poorest city in the nation, but it is hardly devoid of people who care and is, in fact, at the moment driven by passionate people who are making it a modern-day frontier for those wishing to make their mark in any number of growing industries.
Chris, I too grew up in Buffalo, and am sad to hear that you feel so strongly and should make a trip back home to see the change for yourself.