Unit 6: Buffalo in the Gilded Age

Buffalo and Western New York History

UNIT 6: BUFFALO IN THE GILDED AGE

This unit will examine the critical period after the Civil War in Buffalo, New York and Western New York. We analyze the rapid ascent of a local politician named Steven Grover Cleveland. Grover the Good as he was known had a meteoric rise to national politics. We will also learn about one of the most popular First Lady’s ever, Buffalo’s own Frances Folsom Cleveland.

We will examine the many prominent architects and their iconic landmark buildings that have defined the Buffalo skyline. We also delve into the history of Frederick Law Olmstead, the genius behind our magnificent park system.

Grover Cleveland

• Read: Milton Plesur Essay Grover Cleveland Buffalo’s “Honest Politician” Goes to Washington

• Read: Grover Cleveland Biography

• Read: Susan Eck Essay: Grover Cleveland in Buffalo

• Read: Lewis Falley Allen History, Illustrations

Frances Folsom Cleveland

• Read: Frances Folsom Cleveland Biography

• Read: Frances Folsom Cleveland Biography

• Read: Frances Folsom Cleveland Biography

John D. Larkin

• Read: John D. Larkin Biography

• Read: Excerpt by Jennifer WalkowskiJohn D. Larking and the Larkin Company

E. B. Green

• Read: Edward Broadhead Green Biography

• Read: Excerpt by Austin M. Fox The Greening of Buffalo: How Architect Green Shaped the Profile of the City

• Examine: Surviving Buildings by E. B. Green and Associates

Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo

• Read: Frank Lloyd Wright Biography

• Read: Jerome Puma Essay: The Larkin Building, Buffalo: History of Demolition

• Read: Profile by Jack Quinan with Tim TielmanDarwin Martin House

• Read: Greycliff Introduction and History

• Read: GreycliffEstate; The Arts and Crafts Movement: The Larkin Connection

• Read: WBFO Article; Buffalo is Wright Place for Boathouse

Buffalo’s Historic Buildings: Henry Hobson Richardson

• Read: Henry Hobson Richardson Biography and Works

• Read: John Jacob Glessner House and Buffalo State Hospital Administration Building

• Read: Excerpt by Francis R. Kowsky; A Towering Masterpiece: H. H. Richardson’s Buffalo State Hospital

Buffalo’s Historic Buildings: Louis Sullivan

• Read: Louis Sullivan Brief Biography and Works

• Read: Guaranty Office Building and Auditorium Building

• Read: Guaranty Office Building and The Carson Pirie Scott Department Store

Buffalo’s Historic Buildings: Daniel Burnham

• Read: D. H. Burnham in Buffalo, New York

• Read: Daniel H. Burnham, Joseph Ellicott, and the Ellicott Square Building

• Read: Ellicott Square Building

Buffalo’s Landscape: Frederick Law Olmstead

• Read: Francis R. Kowsky Essay: Frederick Law Olmsted’s Buffalo Park and Parkway System

• Read: Jennifer Walkowski Essay: The Olmsted Parkway System and the Suburbanization of Buffalo

• Examine: Park System Map

Unit 6 Helpful Online Resources:

Buffalo as an Architectural Museum

Daniel Burnham

Edward Broadhead Green and Associates in Buffalo, New York

Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo

Frederick Law Olmsted

Grover Cleveland

Frances Folsom Cleveland

John D. Larkin

Louis Falley Allen

Louis Sullivan in Buffalo

Video Clip: Buffalo’s Architectural Treasures

Video Clip: Buffalo: America’s Best Designed City

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