Ellicott Square Building - Table of Contents
Ellicott Square Building
- Table of Contents
Ellicott Square Building - History
295 Main St., Buffalo, New York
From the Photo collection of the Ellicott Development
Company
HISTORY Beneath Illustrations
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May 6, 1895 |
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July 17, 1895 |
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September 15, 1895 |
September 15, 1895 |
October 1, 1895 |
October 16, 1895 |
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November15, 1895 |
Deember16, 1895 |
May 24, 1896 |
May 24, 1896 |
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January 20, 1897 |
Architect's Drawing |
In 1803, Joseph Ellicott, agent of the Holland Land Co., laid out the village of New Amsterdam, now the city of Buffalo. He reserved for his residence and private estate the most desirable location in the village, which was on the east side of Main Street, extending from Swan Street to Eagle Street.
Subsequently, for about 100 years, his heirs and their successors retained title to that part of the property between Swan Street and South Division Street, extending from Main Street to Washington Street. This area has therefore been known, and is still known, as "Ellicott Square." See Ellicott Square Block for six photos of the buildings that were located on the block prior to the Ellicott Square Building
In 1895, the Ellicott Company commissioned architect Daniel H. Burnham of Chicago to design what they referred to as an "office block" in downtown Buffalo. The result was a building occupying the entire space between Main, South Division, Washington, and Swan Streets. Its 10 stories, 60 offices, and 40 stores, along with its central court. cost 3.5 million dollars to buildIt was on May 30, 1896, only one year following its inception, that the Ellicott Square Building -- the largest, finest, and most complete office building in America -- took its place as a finished structure in the front rank of the notable features of the city of Buffalo.
Like Burnham and Root's Rookery in Chicago, it is constructed around a large interior court. The elaborate terra-cotta exterior, now painted gray, which in its essential lines follows Richardson's Marshall Field Wholesale Store in Chicago, was conceived by Charles B. Atwood (1849 - 1895), the designer-in-chief of the World's Columbian Exposition and master of "all artistic matters" in the Chicago-based firm of D. H. Burnham and Company.
The architecture of Ellicott Square may be termed "Italian Renaissance," with refined and classic ornamental features.
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ARCHITECT |
D. H. Burnham & Co, Charles Atwood, principal architect |
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ERECTED |
1896 See also: Highlights of Buffalo's History, 1896 |
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STYLE |
Italian Renaissance Revival |
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FLOOR MOSAIC |
1930-31, William Winthrop Kent of New York City and James Johnson |
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GROUND |
240.80 x 200.22 |
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FOUNDATION |
Steel and concrete; 19 feet below grade |
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INTERIOR COURT |
110.83 x 70.25 |
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CEMENT |
"Giant" Portland; 6,000 barrels |
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TIME SPENT IN CONSTRUCTION |
One year |
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ELECTRIC PLANT |
Four dynamos, 7,000 lights, 16 candles power |
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EXTERIOR CONSTRUCTION |
Pressed brick and terra-cotta. Painted gray in 1971 |
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ELEVATORS |
15 hydraulic passenger, 1 hydraulic freight, 4 sidewalk lifts all made by Otis Bros. & Co. |
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CORNICE |
Terra-cotta; projecting five feet - REMOVED IN 1971 |
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FRAME |
Steel; weight 5,500 tons |
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FlREPROOFING |
Floor, arches, ceilings, partitions, and roof 12,000 tons |
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BOILERS |
4; steel; water-tube; 250 H.P. each; made by the Gear Water-tube Boiler Co. |
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FLOORING |
Clear maple, imbedded in concrete, 400,000 fee |
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PUMPS |
One high-duty pumping engine, 4 elevator, 1 housepump, 2 boiler-feed pumps; all furnished by the Snow Steam Pump Works. |
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FLOOR SPACE |
447,000 square feet |
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DECORATIONS |
ltalian marble, marble mosaic, ornamental iron |
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HEIGHT OF BUILDING |
144 feet |
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HARDWARE FlNISH |
Quarter-sawed red oak |
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HEIGHT OF FIRST FLOOR |
15.0; 2nd, 14.0; 3rd and 4th, 10.6, 5th to 10th, 10.0 |
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CUBIC CONTENTS |
6,576,100 feet |
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STORES |
40 |
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COUNTING ROOMS |
16 |
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OFFICES |
60 |
