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Fairfield Library
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Photo credit: David Steele and Buffalo Rising
Location
1659 West Amherst Street, Buffalo NY 14214
Google Bird's Eye View
Masten Council District
SBL: 89.28-5-1
Erie County Property Info
County Tax Map (loads GIS page)
City of Buffalo Parcel Viewer
Owner
FAIRFIELD COMMONS, LLC per propertyviewer
NYS Corporation and Business Entity Database.
Physical Description
Current Condition
Renovated into 5 apartments and some office space. A parking lot was added to a portion of the front lawn.
History
- late 1890s - The building was designed by architect and nearby resident William Sydney Wicks.
- 1897 - Built for the Unitarian Universalist Church.
- 1912 - The Unitarian congregation disbanded and sold the building to Parkside Lutheran.
- 1924 - Parkside Lutheran built a more grand church for themselves at Wallace and Depew in Central Park and sold this building to the City of Buffalo for use as a library.
Recent Events and Actions Taken
- 2005 - Despite being the second busiest neighborhood library branch, it was closed due to county cut-backs in October of 2005 and received little or no maintenance since. Buffalo Rising
- 2012 - Two proposals for re-use surfaced. The first would have been for a private residence, making the building a landmark, and placing it on the state and national register of historic places. The couple with that proposal stepped out of the running for the building, leaving the second proposal as the winner. Creative Structure Solutions suggested turning it into apartments. Concerns with that plan arose with their opposition to making it a local landmark, along with interest in modifying the exterior and using vinyl windows.
- 2013 - The building undergoes a $1 million renovation and conversion into apartments. The exterior was not modified as originally proposed, but a parking lot was added on a portion of the lawn.
Other Pertinent Facts
Links
- Fairfield Commons Website
- BuffaloAH - Parkside Unitarian Church/Fairfield Library
- Buffalo Rising - Groundhog Day: Is This One Doomed Too?
- Buffalo Rising - The Fairfield Library
- Buffalo Rising - Fairfield Preservation Ready
- Buffalo Rising - Fairfield Landmark Meeting
- Buffalo Rising - Fairfield Conversion
- Buffalo Rising - Fairfield Commons Project Completed, Kenmore Avenue Conversion Underway
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Added 2013-01-08 • Last changed 2013-07-10