Buffalo Place

In the late 1970s, downtown Main Street—semi-abandoned for years thanks to urban flight—was transformed into a pedestrian thoroughfare named Buffalo Place. A sleek, above-ground section of the Metro Rail was built through its center, and slowly business began returning to the downtown.

Entering Buffalo Place from Church Street [1], you’ll spot the Ellicott Square Building (295 Main St.) on the southeast corner. When completed in 1896, this block-wide edifice was the world’s largest commercial office building.

Two long blocks north, at Huron Street, is the M&T Bank Gold Dome Building (Main Street at North Division, 716/852-2356). Built by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect who designed New York’s World Trade Center, the rotunda features some of the finest murals in Buffalo [2]. On the north side is a scene depicting the city’s harbor in the 1940s; the east side shows the Seneca, headed by Red Jacket.