Buffalo Savings Bank & Electric Tower by Jman Photography - Wall Art

Related Information

This Buffalo, NY image was personally photographed and digitally edited by myself, Bill Jman-Jman Photography

About the Buffalo Savings Bank

The Buffalo Savings Bank building opened in May 1901. The building's signature feature is the gold-leafed dome, which measures 23 feet tall and 56 feet in diameter. It is covered with 13,500 terra-cotta tiles. The tiles originally were overlaid with copper, which took on a greenish hue. The tiles have been gilded three times. The last restoration required 140,000 paper-thin sheets of 23.75-carat gold leaf at a cost $500,000 (more than the initial cost of the building). The building contains a 9-foot clock above the main columned entrance. In 1991, the Buffalo Savings Bank company became insolvent and was dissolved. The building currently serves as a branch of M&T Bank and has been designated a City of Buffalo Landmark.

The Electric Tower (or General Electric Tower) is a historic office building and skyscraper located at the corner of Washington and Genesee Streets in Buffalo. It stands 294 feet and 14 stories tall and is in the Beaux-Arts Classical Revival style. It was designed by James A. Johnson and built in 1912. The tower was based upon an earlier Electric Tower constructed for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. Additions were made in 1923 and 1928. The white terra-cotta clad was originally built as the Niagara Mohawk Building and features an octagonal tower which steps back three times to terminate in a large lantern.