The Fillmore-Leroy neighborhood is centered about 4 miles Northeast of downtown, East of Main Street and adjacent to the Central Park, Parkside, and Kensington neighborhoods. The last decades have not been kind to the residents and this area, but development activity has been accelerating along the Main Street corridor, and new developments are in work on long-neglected properties.
These photos focus on the areas of Main Street near the Tri-Main Center, one of the earliest and most successful recovery and conversions of former industrial space in Buffalo.
The Tri-Main Center was designed by Albert Kahn in 1915 and originally used to assemble Ford Model T's. In the 1930s, it was sold and became an aircraft engine assembly plant, including the then-secret design and build of early jet engines for Bell Aircraft. By the 1940s, it was taken over by Trico for auto parts manufacturing, until it closed when the company moved all of its factories to Mexico in the early 2000s.
Today, the building is fully renovated and occupied with over 100 tenants, and development has spilled over to adjacent industrial buildings and neighborhoods.
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by
bpawlik, on Flickr
Tri-Main as seen from Main Street bridge over the Belt Line railroad tracks, which have circled the city since the mid-1800s and still in use among area industries.
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by
bpawlik, on Flickr
Main Street entrance.
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bpawlik, on Flickr
Rear of the Center, now used as the main entrance.
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bpawlik, on Flickr
Adjacent outbuildings have recently been renovated and expanded to include additional commercial and some residential.
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by
bpawlik, on Flickr
One of the developers has converted the 1894 E.B. Green designed Engine 24 firehouse into his own personal residence.
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bpawlik, on Flickr
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bpawlik, on Flickr
Nearby neighborhood, Main Street.
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bpawlik, on Flickr
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bpawlik, on Flickr
Former Pierce-Arrow dealership, now a bank.
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by
bpawlik, on Flickr
They even have a Pierce-Arrow in the lobby.
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bpawlik, on Flickr
Across Main Street the homes follow along the railroad line, many on narrow lots built before autos were available.
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by
bpawlik, on Flickr
And which leads into the Parkside neighborhood, planned by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1876.
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bpawlik, on Flickr
Just a teaser from Parkside (note that Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House (not shown) is also in the Parkside neighborhood).
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by
bpawlik, on Flickr
Further south down Main is St. Mary's School for the Deaf.
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bpawlik, on Flickr
In the distance Sisters Hospital, Canisius College, and the apartments from the Delaware District can be seen.
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bpawlik, on Flickr
Main Street businesses.
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by
bpawlik, on Flickr
Activity along Main has been increasing as the area has been steadily improving all along the length of Main from Downtown to the City Limits and beyond.
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by
bpawlik, on Flickr
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by
bpawlik, on Flickr