Buffalo Central Terminal

On a number of occasions, my travels through the city of Buffalo have always led me back to the Buffalo Central Terminal. I don’t know, maybe it’s my old soul telling me to stop there and pick up a friend who’s coming in from out of town. Unfortunately I won’t find a bustling train terminal inside, or even much of anything save for what relics remain from the Terminal’s hay day. But still, my appreciation for this building does not falter.
My first encounter with the terminal was actually back in high school, around 2009 or so. This was all before the preservation society began doing major overhauls with hopes of restoring this beautiful building. Our school was holding an art show, which actually took place inside of the main halls of the terminal itself; I remember being absolutely blown away by how beautiful the building was, even in its dilapidated state. At that point a lot of the walls were still ripped up and in shambles, and it was dangerous to try to explore any other area of the building. But, that hardly took away from its beauty.
(We also had a bit of an odd occurrence. While wandering to a part of the building, my cousin and I asked the open area, «if anyone is here, make some sort of noise.» We played back the recording she had made on her phone, and we actually heard some muffled sounds that we had not heard before. I am sure some of you are skeptical of the paranormal, but I stand by that story.)
After that point, it seemed apparent that Buffalo wanted to be sure that an important part of its history be saved, preserved, maintained. As a self-​proclaimed, sentimental history buff, let me say that I am SO relieved that we can still see the Terminal today.
I know that Dyngus Day celebrations are held here; I don’t think they hold the party inside of the terminal anymore, but I remember them having done so in the past. I think they just set up tents in the parking lot, but I still think it’s pretty cool that a yearly party can bring attention to this building.
It just makes me kind of sad that I haven’t had the chance to see what the interior looks like now, after having been treated with restoration. They do hold building tours, as well as ghost hunts and other events, but the only problem is the ‘Historical Building Tours’ only happen once a month, and the ghost hunt/​candlelight tours don’t start up until October! When there isn’t anything going on at the terminal, it’s just… shut up tight. And that sort of upsets me. I wish there were more opportunities to explore such an incredible building; I’m sure if we were given more opportunities to enjoy the Buffalo Central Terminal, people would take advantage.

If this were the Buffalo Dental Terminal, you could get your teeth fixed here. Whereas if it were the Mental Terminal, then they’d perform gruesome lobotomies. Come to think of it, this building seems just about haunted enough for that to be true. And if it were the Petal Terminal, well then it’d be a harmless Flower Market. Then again perhaps a Flower Market is a synonym for something gruesome. Hmm. Let me think on that one.
I’ve been here many times. I’ve taken a self-​guided tour (which I wasn’t supposed to), I’ve taken an actual tour (which was free, because I know someone who knows someone), and I’ve even done a photo shoot here (for my first CD). I used to live about 10 minutes walk from this place. It hasn’t changed much in all the time since I first saw it. Very run down. And yet it’s so haunting and perfect that I love it.
This is one of the most instantly recognizable buildings in the beautiful and remarkable old skyline of Buffalo. It towers above the East Side with its broken windows, it’s massive haunting dark open shaft (minds out of the gutter), and its glowing clock faces. There have been concerts here, as well as ghost tours, but it remains largely in disrepair. Everyone and their mother is hoping that it never gets demolished, and is eventually restored.
The sad thing is that once upon a time it was a truly great place, bustling and full of passengers heading to the other Central Terminal… Grand Central in NYC. The pictures of this place full of well-​to-​do Upstate New Yorkers getting on and off trains is very depressing. America has changed so much and not always for the better.
It’s one of my favourite places in Buffalo, and was featured in the booklet of my first CD for good reason. Let’s make sure it never gets knocked down.
In other news, my cat Harley just pooped all over my carpet. Scuse me while I kiss this guy. I mean clean the poop. Same thing really.

I have only been here once, and it was for a flashlight tour in October of 2013. It was supposed to be more of a «haunted» tour, as it was close to Halloween. It was pretty cool, because once the tour began, all of the lights were off and we were lead around by flashlight (obviously, as that was in the name). Hard hats were to be worn, because you never know what could happen in such an old building.
Once you stepped into the main room, it was like going back in time. It felt so cool, and it was like you could picture people walking around, going up to the ticket booths to buy their train tickets. I know my Papa used to use this terminal back when it was up and running, so I loved being able to put an actual picture in my mind of where he would go when my Nana would see him off.
We were taken through many rooms and floors, and it all had an eerie feel to it, probably helped by the fact that the lights were off. We were shown the old apartment of the man that ran the terminal, and were told that he used to throw many parties up there. There were several rooms that had debris or papers thrown about, so they do still have some work to do with the renovations.
I find old buildings in Buffalo to be fascinating, as I love learning about our local history. I especially like when the buildings still have their old look to them, because the architecture is incredible, and they have not been modernized yet. I wish I had been able to make it when they used to host a Halloween party here, but maybe someday in the future they will start those up again! This was a great experience to learn more about a building that I knew very little about.

Most amazing building. The restoration continues. Watch for upcoming events.

Okay so if you’re like me and you are totally into iconic Buffalo sites, Buffalo history, urban infrastructure and transportation (or any combination of the above) then you must come here for the tour or any other event that they offer that allows you to explore the interior and grounds of the Buffalo Central Terminal. It is really awesome that they offer tours of this place. I recently took the hard hat tour and I feel this is the way to go if it will be your first time going inside the terminal. They only offer tours from May through September (usually on Sundays) because they do not have working heat inside the building. They also offer some ghost walks in October. The hard hat tour really gives you the run down on the history of the place, takes you to all the different areas of the building, and finally shows you what they are doing to restore the terminal. Check it out on their website:
. This is one of the greatest tours I’ve ever taken in my life. This may be the native Buffalonian in me but I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoyed this tour. The best part for me was just exploring the remains of this timeless structure and picturing what it was like during its heyday when Buffalo was a boom town. While I was standing in the main hall in front of the old clock I couldn’t help but think of all the people who had stood in that exact spot way back when. If this interests you in any way I urge you to check out their website and consider attending one of the many events they offer here.

What building has a car hanging down the front of it?
The Buffalo Central Terminal.
This is an amazing structure. Built in the 1920’s and opened in 1929, closed a few times here and there in between, new owners, demolition of some parts of the complex in the 1960’s.
In 1984 the station is placed on the State and National Registers of Historical Places.
But its more or less neglected after that for two decades. Then, a group of people start to generate interest in restoring it in the late 1990’s.
in 2003 the terminal is re-​opened for tours
in May 2005 the concourse clock returns to Buffalo and is installed. Its been moved to the M&T headquarters since.
2006 sees the take off of tourism for the site. 2007 has Dyngus day there for the first time in decades.
Now there are tours to go take, which you should do, whether you live in Buffalo or are passing through.
The neighborhood is not great, but its improving daily. The site is safe if you just want to see the outside of the building.
(My father (an immigrant) was one of the last to arrive in Buffalo at this station in the 1960’s, when he first came to Buffalo. As such, it does hold a special place for our family.)

Even if you are not an architecture or restoration buff, the Central Terminal will grab your attention and you won’t ever be able to get it out of your system.
The building and the surrounding grounds are magnificent. Spacious, with intricate details. All with a story behind it. Not to mention, if you like haunted spaces, this place is right up your alley. I don’t easily subscribe to such things, but the stories they tell are pretty damn convincing.
What impresses me most about this building and the restoration, is the fact that there are people here who are really working their fingers to the bone to bring this building back to its former glory. Their expectations are reasonable; one step at a time. They are all working tirelessly to clean it up, fix the roof and create a space that can be used for multiple events.
I’m excited to see what is in store for this oft-​forgotten wonder right in our own backyard.

An aging starlet is waiting for her chance to shine once more.
Not unlike an aging starlet, Buffalo Central was once forgotten. Well, you don’t miss the water till the well runs dry. If the BCT were a water well, Buffalonians are parched.
What a fascinating tour. The art deco-​inspired BCT was built in 1929 for an astonishing $ 14 million. For those of you trying to envision what is on the inside, imagine what $ 14 million bought you in 1929. The building was adorned with art deco lights, vaulted tile ceilings, Bronze framed ticket stations, terrazzo flooring, walls made of Botticino marble and enormous arched windows surrounding the terminal. At it’s peak, there were 1500 employees and the structure could accommodate 3200 passengers. This is an imagine of what it was and what could have been.
What remains is a structure pilfered by vandals and destroyed by the elements. Oddly, the building slowly slipped into decay for decades, but was accelerated in the 1990’s. Unbelievable.
What’s left? Hope. The BCT is part of an ongoing preservation project and I believe the tours help to fund the preservation project.
Why should I tour? Many Buffalonians I spoke with weren’t aware that tours were available. BCT tour is a behind-​the-​scene look at the preservation efforts and the beauty of what remains. The tour guides tell the tale about an art-​deco structure throughout the decades, the folklore, evolution of the surrounding neighborhoods and most importantly, a story about Buffalo.
Here are a few tv and movie roles, collected from Wikipedia, that featured this lovely lady:
*The station appears in an episode of Route 66 (TV series) 1960 – 1964.
*The station appears in Best Friends. It was shot in 1982.
*The station appears in Vamping (film). It was shot in April 1983.
*The station appears in The Natural. It was shot in August 1983.
*The station is featured in the September 24, 2008 episode of Ghost Hunters.
*The station is featured in the December 2, 2009 episode of Ghost Hunters Academy.
*The station was featured on Ghost Hunters Live Halloween special on October 31, 2010.
*The station was the setting for the music video «The Frail», produced by Park School Media. *The entire video was shot on site.
*The station is featured in the June 27, 2011 Buffalo episode of Off Limits (TV series).

*tour review*
The Buffalo Central Terminal offers a tour of the facility from May-​September (since the building has no heat, this is when it’s feasible for them to do it) on certain Sunday’s (check their web site for schedule). The tour is filled with information about the building’s history, architecture and the countless human stories that are embedded within this space.
The tour is over two hours long and most of it will be spent on your feet. I found it interesting as a local, but it may be more challenging for tourists /​out-​of-​towners to relate. I was with someone who was visiting Buffalo and although she found the tour and information fascinating, she could not relate to a lot of the information (as there’s very specific Buffalo-​jargon, east/​west sides mentioned and street names that only locals may be familiar with). Despite that, it’s a damn cool building to walk through and learn the history of so don’t be afraid to bring your out-​of-​town friends. You will get the opportunity to take some amazing pictures.
The tour only costs $ 10 and the money goes back to the non-​profit organization in charge of preservation for this terminal. For the two hours that you will spend, you can feel great about contributing to the cause as well as learn a bit about Buffalo’s history. With that said, it’s a long tour so make sure you eat some lunch beforehand. We ended up rushing here and skipping breakfast and were not very comfortable, especially when the tour went 20+ minutes over its scheduled end-​time. So plan accordingly :).
This building is starting to be used for some events (such as Dyngus Day) and the development seems to be coming along nicely. It’s inspiring to see this organization stepping up and preserving this building. Can’t wait to see what they do with it in the future!

Now THIS was a fun tour.
Here’s a happy little slide show for your amusement (
).
The total duration of the tour took about 2 hours (there was a slight delay because of the rain and our tour group was over 100 people, so we had to split up a some point). And yes, two hours sounds daunting but hey, I have ADHD and even I found it interesting enough to want to pay attention (most) of the time.
If you love architecture, history, or just poking around a big, gothic terminal (or if you’ve seen that episode of Ghost Hunters) this will surely be the place for you.
Before you go:
1.) It’s best to call ahead and make an appointment. The tour itself costs $ 10 per head and goes right back to the preservation efforts of the terminal.
2.) Bring nice walking shoes. You’ll be standing, climbing and walking a lot so leave the clear 6 inch heels at home (for now).
3.) If you’re taking someone older or with health issues, the whole walking and standing portion will he hard on them. There aren’t many place to sit.
4.) Don’t forget your camera! You can get some beautiful shots here.