Broadway Arsenal / Auditorium / Garage

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Photos: Campaign for Greater Buffalo, Christopher Byrd Broadway Fillmore Alive, Joe Sparacio

Location

201 Broadway, Buffalo NY 14204
Google Bird's Eye View
Ellicott Council District
SBL: 111.55-3-1.1
Erie County Property Info
County Tax Map (loads GIS page)
City of Buffalo Parcel Viewer

Across from: 167 Broadway, 166-176 Broadway, 180-200 Broadway, and St. Mary's Lyceum

Owner

City of Buffalo. This building is the City's Public Works Garage.

Physical Description

Current Condition

Functioning City Public Works garage, in need of restoration.

History

  • 1858 - Armory built on plot of land between Broadway and William
  • 1884 - Extension built out to Broadway
  • 1909 - Renovated as a convention hall and auditorium
    • Hosted concerts, boxing matches, lacrosse games, hockey games, bicycle races, circuses, masquerade balls, rallies, conventions, and conferences
  • January 1931 - 'The Buffalo Majors of the American Hockey Association played on a newly installed ice surface, the first pro hockey game within the city limits' Daily Public
  • 1932/1933 - Buffalo Bowmans compete in the first indoor pro lacrosse league Daily Public
  • January 11, 1937 - Joe Louis fights in front of a full house of 7,328 people Daily Public
  • Used by the Army in WWII.
  • 1952 - Converted to a Public Works depot
Historical information courtesy the WNY Heritage Press, NY Times, Daily Public, and Campaign for Greater Buffalo

Recent Events and Actions Taken

  • February 25, 2015, Buffalo News: "[Buffalo Mayor Byron] Brown said the plan would be to remove snowplows, garbage trucks and construction equipment from the burgeoning neighborhood near the current facility in the African-American Tourism Corridor. Not only would operations prove more efficient and workers be safer and more comfortable in a new facility, he said, but the removal of the vintage 1890 structure on Broadway would prove ideal for new development."

Other Pertinent Facts

  • Buffalo’s oldest continuously occupied civic building.
  • Remnants of the original armory and auditorium are visible from the interior. The original exterior facade may be intact underneath the garage additions.
  • World's oldest existing structure that has hosted professional hockey.
  • The building has 'hosted famous figures such as boxers Joe Louis (and Jack Dempsey), lacrosse player Harry Smith (the Six Nations star also known as Jay Silverheels), singer Ella Fitzgerald, jazzman Cab Calloway, and even President Woodrow Wilson.' Buffalo News

Links


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Added 2013-01-21 • Last changed 2018-04-25

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