Buffalo had its heyday in the 19th century as a busy trade port that prospered with the opening of the Erie Canal. It was rich with architecture and culture. In the 20th century, however, the canal’s importance diminished, and the city suffered a long period of decline. Now it is trying to reinvent itself, in part through exploiting its architectural and civic assets—such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House Complex and a network of parks and parkways by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux—by breathing new life into them. The ambitious centerpiece of this effort is the revival of the Richardson Olmsted Campus. Once known as the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, the complex, now a National Historic Landmark, consists of a majestic 1,500-foot-long army of stone and brick buildings by Henry Hobson Richardson that are surrounded by 100 acres of grounds originally conceived by Olmsted and Vaux. The principal element of the first phase is the new Hotel Henry, a boutique “urban resort” and conference and event center designed by New York architects Deborah Berke Partners (DBP) that opened in April. Embracing the center’s past while reinventing it for modern use, the hotel and its stylish, minimal interiors provide a sympathetic counterpoint to the coarse and imposing walls outside.
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