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Tower lighting will allow Central Terminal to shine again

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WBFO News

Buffalo's landmark Central Terminal is celebrating plans to light up the exterior of the tower. Commercial power was lost when Amtrak ended passenger train service and moved out in 1979, but a new $250,000 state grant will help bring new light to the city's East Side.

The "to-do" list for the abandoned train station is filled with work, from electrical to solar panels to repairing the roof. It does not include turning the heat back on anytime soon.

When New York Central ran the building, it burned six tons of coal an hour. For Thursday's press conference celebrating major electrical work, speakers wore coats, hats and gloves to talk about the importance of the landmark on the city's East Side.

Electricity in the building will allow expanded use year-round. Central Terminal Restoration Vice Chairman Paul Lang said the public will see the building very differently when the work is complete.

"The most iconic and the most visible part of the project is obviously the lighting of the tower, from the crown down. Lang said. "It really allows to accent or highlight some of the architectural features and really brings the building back to be a beacon of the East Side. [It's] really visible from the Thruway, from the city, from the city, from the suburbs. It really kind of brings attention to this area."

For state Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes it reminded her of growing up nearby, with that building the skyline.

"As a person who grew up in and around this neighborhood and never had the opportunity necessarily to take a train out of this building, but certainly always had the visible recognition of it because it's so visible," she said. "You can't miss it if you come anywhere near here. The fact that my office was able to be helpful in the partnership that will create the opportunity to turn the lights on the tower is a very exciting notion."

Fillmore District Common Councilmember David Franczyk was an early supporter of saving and restoring the train station in his district. Franczyk said the new lighting is a sign of a neighborhood coming back.

"You just can't have this building in isolation. It's all part of the wider neighborhood and they believe in the neighborhood and I'm not sure a lot of the early people believed in the neighborhood. You have to believe in the neighborhood," he said. "One-hundred years from now, anyone who worked to save this building is going to thank us. They're going to thank us for this vision because this is our Pyramids. This is not a replicable building. You can't build a building like this again."

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.