Restoration Legacy of Louis Sullivan’s Guaranty Building, Buffalo

Forty years beyond Guaranty salvation, a civic toast to the soul of our city

SOURCE: The Buffalo News
AUTHOR: Sean Kirst
DATE: December 6, 2023

The Hodgson Russ law firm’s upcoming holiday party on December 14, 2023, marks the 40^th anniversary of the Guaranty Building’s restoration in Buffalo, NY. Designed by Louis Sullivan, known as the “father of the skyscraper”, the 13-floor landmark was nearly demolished in the 1970s. The building’s rescue was prompted by a 1977 New York Times article by architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable, catching the attention of influential figures like U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

The restoration of the building in the 1980s signified a resurgence in the terra cotta industry within the United States. Following the meticulous repair of the Guaranty Building façade, Boston Valley Terra Cotta embarked on an extensive array of terra cotta restoration projects, encompassing diverse scales and complexities. This significant project proved the validity of Boston Valley’s work, and it put them on the map as a source for historic restoration in architectural terra cotta.

From the article:

Peter Flynn of Flynn Battaglia Architects has served as project architect on four Guaranty restorations in the last 40-some years. He describes the façade as evoking the delicate vines of a terra cotta grove of trees, “rising above the city and blooming at the cornice.”

That baked clay exterior was restored in hundreds of places, in scalpel-like-detail, by Boston Valley Terra Cotta of Orchard Park, whose chairman of the board, John Krouse, describes the painstaking challenge as “an honor.”

The Guaranty’s 40-year anniversary serves as a testament to the successful restoration and enduring legacy of this architectural masterpiece.

Read the full article here.

For a closer look at the details of the Guaranty Building, read this additional Buffalo News article.