The Larkin Administration Building.

October 10, 2004 7:21 PM

The Larkin Administration Building. "It's not too much to say that this was the most significant demolition of an architectural landmark in the United States." A good read on one of Frank Lloyd Wright early masterpieces, and the history of Buffalo, NY architecture.
posted by punkrockrat (6 comments total)

Here is a nice image of the Larkin building.
posted by spartacusroosevelt at 7:45 PM on October 10, 2004

Thanks, spartacusroosevelt. I was just about to complain that that big, long article had no actual image of the building in question.
posted by Tubes at 8:26 PM on October 10, 2004

I might quibble with the "most signifigant demolition" remark (Penn Station comes to mind), but Larkin had such a profound affect on the planning of office buildings, that it definitely belongs in the top ten list of stupid demolition mistakes. At least we still have the Johnson Wax Building.
posted by plemeljr at 8:35 PM on October 10, 2004

> "I think I first consciously began to try to beat the box in the Larkin building [Wright said years later]. I found a natural opening to the liberation I sought when [after a great struggle] I finally pushed the staircase towers out from the corners of the main building, made them into freestanding, individual features.

"It is interesting that I, an architect supposed to be concerned with the aesthetic sense of the building, should have invented the hung wall for the w.c. (easier to clean under), and adopted many other innovations like the glass door, steel furniture, air-conditioning and radiant or 'gravity heat.' Nearly every technological innovation used today was suggested in the Larkin Building in 1904." -- FLlW

An architecture class case study, with some interior photographs. Overhead 3/4 view in relation to the factory site.

Many, many Wright masterpieces have been lost to history, including the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Midway Gardens in Chicago, and others; several other locations have barely escaped the wrecking ball, including the seminal Robie House on the campus of the University of Chicago.

All-Wright Site; Wright in Buffalo.

Johnson Wax makes an interesting comparison, another commercial structure done decades later after his style had matured from the boxy, seemingly Egyptian-influenced work of his earlier period to a lighter, more lyrical and recognizably modern architecture. Wright was nothing if not a master of materials, often pushing the envelope in terms of what a given brick, concrete, or steel element could do. A similar structure in many ways to Larkin was the 1906 Unity Temple in Oak Park.
posted by dhartung at 8:45 PM on October 10, 2004

This is all too typical of decisions made in Buffalo -- the article points out some of the other hideous structures, but I'd begin with the debate over where to place the second campus of the university. One possibility was the undeveloped and potentially very attractive waterfront downtown. A second possibility was the area conveniently adjoining the original campus on the outskirts of town.

The campus now stands on a nondescript plot of land ten miles from the city proper, untouched by the light rail system that might bring thousands of students into the city to spend money every night. (The university is home to its own architectural nightmares, but they're hardly worth mentioning.)

I'd be remiss in bashing Buffalo without a nod to Niagara Falls. As everyone knows, that town has the advantage of proximity to one of the most breathtaking wonders of the natural world, something that should ensure a healthy year-round tourism trade. Do you know what's directly across the street from the park? The last time I was there three years ago, it was an abandoned shopping mall.
posted by Epenthesis at 12:40 AM on October 11, 2004

"The last time I was there three years ago, it was an abandoned shopping mall."


Oh, it's still there, now they've added an empty office building, a crater, and more useless crap. It's just embaressing. It takes great effort and skill for Western NY to totally fail to make use of our lakes and Niagara Falls.
posted by Blake at 5:11 AM on October 11, 2004