Buffalo's Grain Elevators
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The grain elevators of Buffalo comprise the most outstanding collection of extant grain elevators in the United States, and collectively represent the variety of construction materials, building forms, and technological innovations that revolutionized the handling of grain in this country. (HAER)
| HAER - Historic American Engineering Record* | PRS Page | Current Status | Capacity, bushels | Dimensions | Year(s) Built | Note |
| NY-249 Page | Data | Photos | American | Adaptive Reuse | 3,650,000 | 1906, 1931 | Silo City | |
| NY-243 Page | Data | Photos | Concrete-Central | Vacant | 4,500,000 | 960'x72' | 1915 - 1917 | |
| NY-245 Page | Data | Photos | Connecting Terminal | Vacant | 1,048,000 | 223'x66' | 1914 | Light Show |
| No HAER report | Curtiss Malting | Vacant | ||||
| NY-260 Page | Data | Photos | Eastern States | Demolished | 2,327,000 | 1934, 1946 | ||
| NY-248 Page | Data | Photos | Electric | Vacant | 7,750,000 | 1897, 1913, 1940 | ||
| NY-244 Page | Data | Photos | General Mills | Grain Storage | 4,588,100 | 1909, 1913, 1925 | ||
| NY-256 Page | Data | Photos | George Urban | Demolished | 150,000 | 1903 | ||
| NY-247 Page | Data | Photos | GLF | Adaptive Reuse | 1,870,000 | 1909, 1936, 1941 | Riverworks | |
| NY-240 Page | Data | Photos | Great Northern | Vacant | 2,350,000 | 1897 | ||
| NY-257 Page | Data | Photos | H-O Oats | Demolished | 600,000 | |||
| NY-258 Page | Data | Photos | Kreiner Malting | Adaptive Reuse | 380,000 | 1925, 1936 | Architect's office | |
| No HAER report | Lafarge Elevator | Cement Storage | ||||
| NY-251 Page | Data | Photos | Lake & Rail | Grain Storage | 870,000 | |||
| NY-252 Page | Data | Photos | Marine A | Adaptive Reuse | 2,042,208 | Silo City | ||
| NY-259 Page | Data | Photos | Meyer Malting | Demolished | 261,000 | |||
| No HAER report | Nabisco Elevator (NF) | Vacant | ||||
| NY-250 Page | Data | Photos | Perot Malting | Adaptive Reuse | 931,000 | Silo City | ||
| NY-254 Page | Data | Photos | Saskatchewan Cooperative | Vacant | 2,000,000 | 1925, 1926 | ||
| NY-246 Page | Data | Photos | Spencer Kellogg | Cement storage | 1,000,000 | 283'-4"x56'-8" | 1909 | |
| NY-241 Page | Data | Photos | Standard | Grain Storage | 5,000,000 | |||
| NY-253 Page | Data | Photos | Superior | 3,700,000 | 320' x 67'-4" | |||
| NY-242 Page | Data | Photos | Wollenberg | Demolished | 25,000 | 1912 | ||
| NY-239 Page | Data | Photos | Overview |
*HAER is the Historic American Engineering Record, a project of the National Park Service. HAER provides documentation of engineering works and industrial sites. In the early 1990s, HAER produced twenty-one in-depth reports on Buffalo's grain elevators, with photographs and drawings. More information here.
Links
- Reconsidering Concrete Atlantis: Buffalo Grain Elevators, a project of the University of Buffalo's Urban Design Project (7mb PDF)
- Video showing unloading with marine leg and scoopers at work
- A Forgotten Atlantis, photo essay on early elevators at WNY Heritage
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Others Mentioned at HAER
The appendix to this document (photos) has information on some elevators that had been demolished prior to the time of the report:
| Elevator Name | AKA | Date(s) Built | Status | Capacity |
| Buffalo Cereal | 1910 | Demolished | 150,000 | |
| Cloverleaf Milling Co. | Eastern States Farmers Exchange | 1915 | Demolished 1934 | 100,000 |
| Dakota | Lehigh Railroad Elevator | 1901 | Demolished 1965 | 1,250,000 |
| Dellwood A | 1914 | Demolished | 264,000 | |
| Dellwood B | 1916 | Demolished | 800,000 | |
| Dellwood C | 1922 | Demolished | 800,000 | |
| Great Eastern | 1901 | Demolished 1948 | 2,500,000 | |
| Iron | Lake Shore Railroad Elevator | 1901 | Demolished 1940 | 500,000 |
| John Kam Malting | Black Rock Milling | 1901 | Demolished | 550,000 |
| Monarch | 1905 | Demolished 1950 | 450,000 | |
| Monarch Extension | Evans Elevator Annex | 1917 | Demolished 1950 | 350,000 |
| Pratt Foods | 1929 | Demolished | ||
| Ralston Purina | 1907 | Demolished | 400,000 | |
| Ralston Purina B | 1917 | Demolished | 300,000 | |
| Riverside Malting | Fleischmanns | 1907 | Demolished 1965 | 200,000 |
Elevator Dates, Capacities and Costs
From page 71 of this HAER document.
| IRON ELEVATORS | ||||
| ELEVATOR | DATE | CAPACITY BUSHELS | COST DOLLARS | UNIT COST CENTS/BUSHEL |
| Great Northern | 1897 | 2,350,000 | 400,000 | 17 |
| Electric | 1897 | 1,000,000 | 150,000 | 15 |
| Great Eastern | 1901 | 2,500,000 | 500,000 | 20 |
| Dakota | 1901 | 1,250,000 | 250,000 | 20 |
| J. Kam Malting | 1901 | 550,000 | 150,000 | 27 |
| Iron | 1902 | 500,000 | 100,000 | 20 |
| Monarch | 1905 | 450,000 | 200,000 | 31 |
| Monarch Extension | post 1912 | c.300,000 | ||
| Electric Extension | pre 1913 | 750,000 | ||
| Cloverleaf Milling | post 1915 | 100,000 | ||
| CONCRETE ELEVATORS | ||||
| ELEVATOR | DATE | CAPACITY BUSHELS | COST DOLLARS | UNIT COST CENTS/BUSHEL |
| American | 1906 | 2,250,000 | 400,000 | 17 |
| Perot | 1907 | 500,000 | ||
| Ralston Purina | 1907 | 500,000 | 150,000 | 14 |
| Riverside Malting | 1907 | 200,000 | ||
| Coop. GLF | 1908 | 700,000 | 148,000 | 21 |
| Washburn Crosby B | 1909 | 250,000 | ||
| Washburn Crosby Cl | 1909 | 750,000 | 125,000 | 16 |
| Buffalo Cereal | 1910 | 150,000 | ||
| Washburn Crosby C2 | 1913 | 2,388,100 | 200,000 | 8 |
| Meyer Malting | 1913 | 261,000 | ||
| Connecting Term. | 1914 | 1,048,000 | 227,000 | 21 |
| Dellwood A | 1914 | 264,000 | ||
| Superior A | 1915 | 1,500,000 | 317,800 | 21 |
| Concrete-Central A | 1915 | 1,050,000 | 226,700 | 21 |
| Dellwood B | 1916 | 600,000 | 111,150 | 18 |
| Concrete-Central B | 1916 | 950,000 | 176,000 | 18 |
| Concrete-Central C/D/E | 1917 | 2,500,000 | 475,000 | 19 |
| Ralston Purina Annex | 1920? | 300,000 | ||
| Dellwood C | 1922 | 635,000 | 200,000 | 31 |
| Superior B | 1923 | 1,100,000 | 275,000 | 25 |
| Superior C | 1925 | 1,100,000 | 250,000 | 22 |
| Marine A | 1925 | 2,042,208 | 510,500 | 25 |
| Saskatchewan A | 1925 | 1,100,000 | 800,000 | 72* |
| Washburn Crosby C3 | 1925 | 1,200,000 | 225,000 | 18 |
| Saskatchewan B | 1926 | 900,000 | 300,000 | 33 |
| Lake & Rail Mainhouse | 1927 | 1,600,000 | 300,000 | 18 |
| Standard A | 1928 | 3,000,000 | 450,000 | 15 |
| Lake & Rail N. Annex | 1928 | 650,000 | 100,000 | 15 |
| Lake & Rail S & SW Annexes | 1928 | 1,000,000 | 250,000 | 25 |
| Pratt Foods | 1929 | 210,000 | ||
| Lake & Rail N.W. Annex | 1930 | 1,150,000 | 220,000 | 19 |
| H-O Oats | 1931 | 600,000 | ||
| American Annex | 1931 | 1,400,000 | ||
| Perot Annex | 1933 | 431,000 | ||
| Eastern States Mainhouse | 1934 | 1,013,000 | ||
| GLF C | 1936 | 170,000 | 50,000 | 29 |
| GLF A | 1941 | 1,000,000 | 900,000 | 90 |
| Standard B | 1941 | 2,000,000 | 275,000 | 13 |
| Electric Annex | 1941 | 6,000,000 | 480,000 | 8 |
| Eastern States Annex | 1946 | 1,314,000 | ||
| Connecting Terminal Annex | 1954 | 600,000 | 400,000 | 66 |
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Added 2018-09-12 • Last changed 2022-01-21