Saturday's wind storm caused significant damage to Buffalo's historic Great Northern grain elevator.
The Great Northern grain elevator, located at Ganson Street in Buffalo, was built in 1897, but hasn’t been in use for about four decades. A portion of the outer wall collapsed Saturday during the strong wind storm that passed through the region, exposing steel bins found within.
The building is owned by Archer Daniels Midland, which also owns a flour milling operation right next to it. Preservationists and local history buffs look to the building as significant because of its size and its status as one of the only known brick-box structures still in existence.
On Monday, Western New York Rep. Brian Higgins (D-Buffalo) wrote a letter to ADM, asking the Chicago-based company rehabilitate the elevator. He also requested a meeting with the company to learn more about its plans for the structure.
Higgins said the Great Northern should be added to the National and State Registers of Historic Places. That would allow ADM to take advantage of federal and New York State Historic Tax credit programs, and potentially other incentive programs, to rebuild the facility.
In the meantime, published reports indicated the Brown Administration had scheduled a drone inspection to further evaluate the damage.
