Historic West Side church acquired by Rich Products, targeted for local landmarking | Local News | buffalonews.com

Former West Street Presbyterian Church.

Laughing at the dinner to commemorate the appointment of Robert E. Rich Jr., President of Rich Products Corp. as Executive Officer of the Year in 1985. From left is Mindy Roth, Rich, Mary Lou Rutkowski, and County Administrator Rutkowski And Mayor Griffin.

Less than two weeks after Rich Products Corp. acquired a historic stone church near its west headquarters campus, conservationists are now seeking to protect the building by landmarking it.

Rich purchased the former West Street Presbyterian Church through his Jenesis Development company in mid-December for $350,000.

Located at 926 West Street and 104 Ferry Street, the building is owned by the All Nations House of Prayer (All Nations House of Prayer). The building was listed through Hunt Real Estate in May last year and sold for US$400,000.

The Buffalo-based food service, bakery and non-dairy products company has not made any plans for the 131-year-old building, which is only one block from the company’s office and next to the parking lot will be a movie studio .

Jonathan Dandes, vice president of Rich's Government Relations and Special Projects company, said: "These plans are constantly changing. We are just beginning to discuss hypotheses." "I think people know something about the types of gems in buildings. We will continue our ongoing dialogue."

City Preservation Committee Chairman Gwen Howard (Gwen Howard) asked the committee to designate a Richardson Romanesque-style building as a local landmark, the building once tolled due to the death of President Abraham Lincoln. This even provides more protection than the list listed in the National Register of Historic Places-it may also make it more difficult for Rich or any other owner to make any future changes, let alone dismantle it.

Danders said he was not sure what effect it would have on Rich's efforts, but he emphasized that the demolition work "does not exist at all." He said the company is investing in roof and structural repairs.

  Danders said: "Our goal now is obviously to protect it."

Danders said: "We are looking at all the properties around Niagara Avenue. This is one of the opportunities that arise." "That part of the city is spectacular, and it's getting better every day."

In her application, Howard (also the architect of Foit-Albert Associates) pointed out that the church is one of several buildings designed by the famous architect Edward A. Kent in Buffalo. She was killed in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912. It is also the only remaining historic building on the West Ferry between Niagara and West Street.

Howard pointed out that Kent had received training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, was a founding member of the Buffalo Institute of Architects, and later served as the president of the Buffalo Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Kent and his company also designed the First Church on Elmwood Avenue, the original Beth Zion Church on Delaware Avenue, the Chemical Warehouse No. 5 on Cleveland Avenue, the S. Douglas Cornell house in Delaware, and the mosaic floor of Ellicott. building.

Howard pointed out that the Medina Sandstone Church was built between 1889 and 1890 at a cost of $14,000. It reflects architectural features similar to the Richardson Olmstead complex, but with a much smaller footprint.

Howard writes that these include "walls of square stonework with rough surfaces", "round arches above entrances and windows", and "arches with stone and rectangular windows." She added in the application that the building also has the functions of "a two-story conical roof over a semicircular bay" and a "square tower with a pyramidal roof".

Howard wrote that it "tells the story of the evolution and growth of the original lower Blackstone community", making it a "famous building" in the village's history from the day before it was absorbed by Buffalo.

It was originally built as a chapel in a larger, unfinished building. It was once the residence of the city's earliest congregation-the first church of the Black Rock Presbyterian Church-built in 1831 and has a history of 121 years.

The church had 300 members when it was built, and by 1900 it had grown to nearly 400. A new organ was installed and the auditorium was renovated two decades later. In 1943, it received a clock from Fort Monroe, Virginia, to replace a clock stolen from a warehouse decades ago. The new bell of Lincoln's assassination in 1865 rang at the end of World War II in 1945.

But in the decades that followed, its fate was declining, the number of members decreased, and the church suffered a basement fire in 1974 and repeated floods in the 1980s and 1990s. By the 1990s, its number had been reduced to only 30 participants per week, it began to struggle, and finally sold the building to the House of Prayer for All Nations in 2011.

A smart way to start the day. We screen all news so that you have a concise understanding of the headlines and must-read stories every working day.

News business reporter

I have been a business reporter for Buffalo News since 2004, and now cover residential and commercial real estate and development after the WNY recovery. I am a native of Upstate, and I am honored to call Buffalo my home and I am committed to completely covering it up.

{{description}}

Email notifications are sent only once a day, and only when there are new matches.

The $50 million project of the London-based film development company is now ready for construction.

Consider the position that Richard Ferranti held at Rich Products Corp. this year: • He is only the fourth CEO in the company's 75-year history. • The first two CEOs are the founder and the founder's son. • He manages a food company that has operations around the world and has annual revenues of $4 billion. As daunting as all

From Lovejoy to the top management of Rich Products, after leaving Richard Ferranti, he has established a reputation as a shrewd, diligent and information-hungry executive who likes to promote himself and others.

Rich Products Corp. is considering how to get more people involved in the reconstruction of Niagara Street. The Buffalo-based Coffee Rich and other non-dairy manufacturers reacquired its former Buffalo factory property earlier this year and is now seeking permission from the City Preservation Commission to demolish the site Buildings on the top. The 3.67-acre property is located diagonally

Once called himself "The Clown Prince of Cream Puffs," this frozen food tycoon is more than just a businessman. He is a storyteller, an athlete, and an artist. He devoted most of his life (publicly and privately) to establishing

Get the latest news sent directly to your device.