While out walking on Northland Avenue yesterday, we came across this sign on an old vacant factory. The building is part of our Northland Central complex which includes the Northland Workforce Training Center, Buffalo Manufacturing Works and Insyte Consulting. The building has a storied past.
The construction of the railroad beltline encircling Buffalo by the NY Central Railroad opened up new areas of the city for industrialization. The Otis Elevator Company purchased 35 acres of land along Northland Avenue and Grider Street. This building was built by the Otis Elevator Company on that site in 1907 and enlarged in 1913 when a foundry was added. Other additions were added in 1939 and 1942. The company eventually relocated to Sonwil Drive in Cheektowaga.
Curtiss-Wright purchased the 35-acre site, and this building, from Otis in 1951 to house its metal-processing division. This division manufactured aerospace and aircraft components and later parts for General Electric engines. When the commercial aviation industry declined in Buffalo, the company sold this site. A portion of the site along Grider Street was purchased by Sodexo to house its hospital laundry operations. The Buffalo Urban Development Corporation eventually purchased the remaining abandoned portion of the site in 2005 and the site was included with other industrial parcels along Northland Avenue to create the Northland Central campus. This Curtiss-Wright site is targeted for a future business park.
We will highlight other buildings in this industrial corridor as we continue our walk along Northland – stay tuned.
http://abandonedonline.net/location/otis-elevator-company-buffalo-works/