About the Lipsey Center
The Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo explores excellence in architecture and city planning as demonstrated by Buffalo’s outstanding architectural heritage.
Located in the Richardson Olmsted Campus, the LACB will provide orientation, prompt inspiration, and serve as a gathering place to launch new ideas related to architecture, landscape, and design. Through exhibitions, tours, programs, and outreach, the LACB engages the public in Buffalo’s architecture, landscape design, and urban planning, and its role in culture and design literacy.
The LACB fosters collaboration with organizations with the similar goal of activating Buffalo’s architecture, planning, and landscape. By providing a center to host exhibitions, events, and programs, the LACB actively collaborates with aligned groups in dialogue and shared programming.
JOIN US FOR A TOUR
Historical Tours of the Richardson Olmsted Campus presented with Preservation Buffalo Niagara
Grab your hard hat and head inside the Richardson Olmsted Campus, a National Historic Landmark and one of the largest adaptive reuse projects in the nation!
Preservation Buffalo Niagara is thrilled to partner with the Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo to present historical tours of the Richardson Olmsted Campus from June through September 2023.
Tours will be offered every Saturday and Sunday from June 3rd through October 1st . Visitors will be immersed into the philosophies integrated into the Richardson Campus by architect Henry Hobson Richardson, landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, and mental health advocate Dr. Thomas Kirkbride.
Led by an expert docent, the 2-hour “In Depth Tours” will feature 2-3 historic buildings and explore spaces untouched since the 1970s. Tour routes will vary throughout the season based on active construction, so each tour is unique.
Pre-registration is required.
Tickets will be released in monthly batches throughout the summer and can be purchased at this link.
Join our e-list to get first notice when tickets become available!
A QUANTIFIABLE IMPACT
We are thrilled to announce the release of “Everyone’s Heritage: The Impact of Historic Preservation in Buffalo”!
This report is the first of its kind to quantify the economic and social impacts of historic preservation in Buffalo, and was produced by PlaceEconomics, a firm of world-renowned economists.
Learn why the PlaceEconomics team thinks there is “no city in the United States where the historic preservation movement has had a higher priority on making sure that historic preservation is diverse, inclusive, and equitable” and why local historic districts are an engine for growth in Buffalo.
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
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“The extraordinary collection of historic resources in Buffalo has attracted visitors worldwide and made heritage tourism a significant part of the City’s economy,” stated Donovan Rypkema, chief author of the study and Principal and Found of Place Economics. He went on to add: “Few cities in America have been more successful in making sure that historic preservation reflects the entire population than has Buffalo.”
State Senator Sean Ryan said, “The results of this study demonstrate what defenders of our city’s historic buildings have known all along. Historic preservation is about much more than keeping old buildings intact for nostalgia’s sake. A large part of Buffalo’s economic resurgence has been tied to the city’s architectural history. This report quantifies the impact historic preservation has already had on Buffalo and demonstrates just how far its benefits can reach.”
Jessie Fisher, Executive Director of Preservation Buffalo Niagara, said, “This report confirms what many of us have believed to be true, but didn’t have the numbers to prove. There can now be no doubt that historic preservation is a major part of making Buffalo a more sustainable, equitable, and successful city. We hope this report will give neighborhood leaders and politicians alike the tools to fight for the places that matter to them, because now we know that those places matter to all of us.”
Paris Roselli, Executive Director of the Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo, said, “Western New York hosts a wealth of architectural marvels and, through the data collected in this valuable report, we can point to the importance of preserving our architectural heritage for the community. We are very pleased to have collaborated with PBN in this endeavor and grateful for the excellent work of PlaceEconomics.”
Buffalo’s historic preservation efforts were found to play a significant role in supporting economic diversity, property values, tax revenues, jobs, and incomes. The “Everyone’s Heritage” report found that:
- 41,000 Buffalonians live in a historic district.
- Historic districts are both economically and racially diverse— neighborhoods in local historic districts were found to be more fully integrated and less segregated than neighborhoods in the rest of Buffalo.
- Properties in historic districts contribute a disproportionate share of the city’s property tax revenue.
- Property values in historic districts have increased at a rate far greater than the rest of Buffalo.
- Vacancy levels in local historic districts have fallen due to population growth while vacancies in the rest of the city have fallen largely through demolition of vacant or abandoned properties.
- Nearly half of all job growth in Buffalo took place in historic districts, even though commercial historic districts represent a tiny fraction of Buffalo’s land.
- Over the last decade, an average of $54 million has been invested in historic district properties.
- That investment has generated on average 272 direct jobs and 247 indirect jobs, totaling an averaged $15 million in labor income.
- Heritage tourism is a major contributor to Buffalo’s economy: 13.4% of visitors to Buffalo come for our history and architecture.
- More than $658 million in local spending is generated by heritage tourists each year.
- Heritage tourism has created 6,000 direct jobs and 2,100 indirect jobs in Buffalo.
This work was made possible with funding from the Baird Foundation, the John R. Oishei Foundation, New York State Senator Sean Ryan, and Erik Stenclik and Steven Deitz.
Clinton E. Brown, FAIA and Ramona Pando Whitaker - Olmsted’s Elmwood
Clinton E. Brown, FAIA, in partnership with the Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo, received a prestigious Furthermore Grant in support of the publication of his latest work, ‘Olmsted’s Elmwood: The Rise, Decline and Renewal of Buffalo’s Parkway Neighborhood, A Model for America’s Cities.’
The fascinating story of the historic Elmwood District is told for the first time, from the arrival on the Niagara Frontier of Joseph Ellicott, through the role played by Frederick Law Olmsted’s parks and parkways, and into the decline and renewal during the modern era. This lushly illustrated book educates and enlightens, telling the stories of the people who gave Elmwood its enduring character, transforming it from dense forest into one of America’s top ten neighborhoods. With a preface by Anthony Bannon.
Find Olmsted’s Elmwood at your local bookshop, or online here.
The Lipsey Team
Board of Directors
Stanford Lipsey
Founder / Former Publisher, The Buffalo News
Judith C. Lipsey
Chair
Paul Hojnacki
Vice Chair / Former President, MacLean Curtis LLC
Christine Wiktor, CIC, CRM
Treasurer / Area Vice President, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, LLC
Christopher Greene
Secretary / Partner, Barclay Damon LLP
Michael S. Anthony
SVP Commercial Real Estate & Financing, M&T Bank
Anthony Bannon
Former Executive Director, Burchfield Penney Art Center
Dottie Gallagher
President and CEO, Buffalo Niagara Partnership
Ed Healy
Vice President of Marketing, Visit Buffalo Niagara
Anthony B. Martino, CPA
Staff
Paris Roselli
Executive Director
Patrick Ryan
Cultural Coordinator