Concerts and other special events are bringing crowds to Buffalo's Central Terminal.
"Last year there were 8,000 individuals who attended the events there," said James Morrell, President of the Board of Directors for the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation.
"It's a great start for reactivating the Central Terminal."
Opened in 1929, the massive, Art Deco-style landmark fell on hard times after it stopped handling railroad passengers in 1979. It seemed destined to disappear like many other architectural gems once part of the Buffalo landscape. Volunteers worked to prevent the decay and raise funds to secure the site.
Now, with New York State pledging $61 million to the restoration effort, the Central Terminal may have a future as glorious as its past. Morrell says he's feeling that optimism as crowds gather again this summer for events on the Terminal's Great Lawn.
"This is really nice to just come out, place a blanket down and the kids can run around," said Morrell. "There's activities for kids, big blocks for them to play with, face painting."
The restoration is exhaustive work. Battling the effects of weather is an ongoing issue. Assessing the facility's ceiling tiles is a painstaking job. The parking garage, the parking deck, and the roof all need to be secured. Morrell believes it's a worthwhile effort.
"We want to make the Central Terminal a destination," he said. "A destination for entertainment. A destination for jobs. A destination for individuals to come experience the East Side, experience the Broadway-Fillmore area."
The question he hears most often, of course, is: When will it be completed?
"Will it happen during my tenure? Probably not," Morrell acknowledged.
"But just as our previous volunteers on the board, they moved it to a point and handed it off to me, my team, my board, and this executive director," he said. "And now what we're going to do is take it to the next level. And then, at some point, I would say within three to five years, that front area (of the Central Terminal) will be activated and you will be seeing activity within it."
