The Design of City Hall
It has been customary in the past to erect triumphal arches memorializing the victories of war, but the architect and builders of Buffalo City Hall have endeavored to portray the constructive rather than the destructive side of life. Their focus was to accomplish in stone, steel and glass what the ancient Greeks did in stone and timber.
The importance of this Art Deco masterpiece is immediately relevant upon viewing its command of the downtown Buffalo and the waterfront. When approaching City Hall from Niagara Street, one is impressed with an architectural style which is modern without being modernistic and which depicts the age in which it was built. Also, it generally balanced its modernism with a taste of the symbolism normally associated with classical architecture. The exterior and interior are adorned with symbolic figures and decorations, which in bold relief portray an industrial theme.
In keeping with this approach, the main entrance of City Hall is made up of symbolic units forming columns and lintels. The shafts of the columns represent large octagons nut with rivet heads and stud heads applied there. The molding of the lintel is styled to depict a saw, thus portraying the power in Buffalo's industry.
When approaching the main entrance, the central figure perched above represents a historian, with pen in hand, ready to open the book of Buffalo's history and write the next hundred years.
The first group on the left of this portrait is representative of past generations of Buffalonians passing knowledge and guidance onto Buffalo's youth. The second group on the left is representative of the steel industry and is portrayed by an ironworker. The advancement of Buffalo's universities in science and medicine are depicted third from the left. The fourth image is representative of electrical energy and is portrayed by electricians and linesmen with a dynamo in the background.
When looking to the right of the central figure above the main entrance to City Hall, the first group shows a man, woman and child. They are representative of the stability and fertility of the community. The second portrays stevedores and lake crews which represent the importance of Buffalo's lake shipping. The third depicts law and education (note the figure reclining on the owl-adorned couch); while the fourth is representative of a locomotive engineer, ship captain and aviator. These represent the diversity of this waterfront community.
Underneath the entrance frieze and behind the columns are four sandstone panels. Those panels represent the hardship of the American Pioneer. First, there is a woman doing the harvesting; next a man is hunting deer; thirdly, a woman is depicted weaving a basket; lastly, a man is shown constructing a log cabin.
The Iroquois Indians are a vital part of the Western New York history. Their importance was at one time symbolized by decorations on four bronze doorways, since removed to make way for the now present revolving doors. The carvings represented aspects of the Native-American culture of Buffalo.
Within the vestibule, immediately inside the entrance doors are four columns with the Indian symbols of The Four Winds. To the left, thunder and storm depict the North Wind, while to the right the South Wind shows sunshine and happiness. In the rear of the vestibule, the same figures represent the East and the West winds.
The height of the domed ceiling makes quite an impression upon those entering the main lobby. The bright colors of the tile that make up the Dome create an Indian Chief's bonnet laid out flat. The center of the ceiling depicts the sun.
There are four statues in the lobby, each which represent the characteristic of good citizenship, Virtue, Diligence, Service, and Fidelity. There are four corridors off the lobby, each holding colorful murals depicting Buffalo's industry.
The painting at the front of the main lobby is entitled "Frontiers Unfettered by Any Frowning Fortress" and depicts Buffalo as an international gateway to Canada.
The central figure in this mural is a woman representing peace between the United States and Canada. In one hand she has the United States and in the other hand is Canada, uniting the two. On the side of the United States there is an offering of farm implements, sewing machines, textiles and automobiles. On the Canadian side is an offering of furs and fisheries. The mother of Canada, on the Canadian side, is pointing toward the United States as the land of opportunity and youth.
The painting in the rear of the main lobby is entitled "Talents Diversified Find Vent In Myriad Form". It depicts the farmer, a man with a sickle, venturing into fertile fields.
Close examination of this mural shows the steel industry and the building industry emblematically portrayed in the background, while dredging machines, airplanes and many other Buffalo products are also depicted. Also, the boom of a ship represents the vast shipping interests while Buffalo is depicted giving up the fruit of her land. While Wade and Dietel were doing one of their final inspection tours, they noticed that the titles of these two main murals had been carved underneath the wrong mural. The stone was chiseled out and placed under the appropriate murals, which explains why the inscriptions in the lobby are deeper than the rest of the entire building.
The four smaller murals at the end of each corridor represent the public services that are rendered to the taxpayers, such as construction under Department of Public Works. They are more properly called lunettes. Other services depicted include Education through the Board of Education, Protection in the form of Police and Fire Department, and Charity in the form of a Welfare Worker. Of note in particular is the Construction lunette. The central figure of a massive, male Public Works has to the left of him a small male working on a model of the Art Deco City Hall. This figure is architect John Wade!
The figures portrayed on the Elmwood side of City Hall are representative of nine important events in the development of Buffalo's history. In this manner the story of Buffalo is told. It included the surveying of the city, development of her economy including symbols of both agriculture and industry, the building of the Erie Canal and the opening of the previous City Hall (the old City and County Building) on the United states' one-hundredth birthday in 1876. The past is represented on the back of the building, while the future is on the front.
City Hall is so rich in artwork that there is much more throughout the building. Though the most significant murals are in the first floor lobby.
Each floor was carefully laid out. The City Council had previously commissioned a study of the City's present and future needs in regards to the new City Hall. Albert Hopkins had completed this over the period of a year and, according to Chauncey Hamlin, "it was Mr. Wade's bible in preparing his plans." Thus each floor had designed into it the needs of the department that would call it home.
