Buffalo's Evolution, continued

In my post last week about Ten things I love and hate about Buffalo, I mentioned Buffalo's glorious architecture under "Things I Love", but lamented the lack of striking modern architecture under "Things I Hate". That may be changing, though, with the unveiling two days ago of the design for a new courthouse in downtown Buffalo. Here's what it looks like:



This building, once funding is secured, will be erected on a corner of Niagara Square, the central square in downtown Buffalo that is the hub of the city's radial street pattern. (That's the obelisk visible in the distance.) The building to the right, not seen in full, is Buffalo City Hall, which is the city's most visually-striking building, not only for its architecture but for its positioning: the building is very prominently located, and is "front and center" in any view of the city skyline from the west.

The new courthouse will rise to roughly the "shoulder" of City Hall, so as not to overshadow the city's most distinctive landmark. Of course, buildings don't tend to look the same in reality as they do in artist's renderings, but it would be nice if Buffalo had a beautiful building that didn't date from before the FDR Administration.

(For a good example, you can see the HSBC Center, Buffalo's tallest building, here. Snore.