True Green Cities/Celebrating Ten+ Years: “Pointing About Town” with a Women-Owned Business

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True Green Cities/Celebrating Ten+ Years: “Pointing About Town” with a Women-Owned Business

Celebrating Ten+ Years!  It’s been twelve years since I launched Barbara A. Campagna/Architecture + Planning, PLLC and while many things have changed, my goal to work on “greening what’s already here” continues to be met, often in places I never expected. 

“Pointing About Town” as a Solopreneur

My office partner (and sister) writes a blog called Making a Point and writes a regular series entitled “Pointing About Town” about small business owners.  One of her first pieces was about BAC/Architecture + Planning, PLLC.  We did a photo shoot in front of my recent projects, the Buffalo Central Terminal.  With the Smith Group, I worked on the Master Plan for this towering Buffalo landmark.  The Master Plan and an accompanying Neighborhood Plan for the Broadway-Fillmore Neighborhood were completed in 2021.  

It’s been an interesting year, finishing some great projects and getting ready to start some even more terrific ones.  But the stresses of running a small business continue to be a struggle.  In fact several of my colleagues and I are running a panel entitled “Keeping Micro-businesses & Solopreneurs Relevant and Resilient” at this year’s AIA Convention in San Francisco in June.  My sister’s “Making a Point” weekly blog discusses these small business issues.  If you have a small business or are considering opening your own business, I would suggest you bookmark “Making a Point”!

All week I will be posting updates about current and upcoming projects.  My actual business anniversary is April 19th

True Green Cities/Celebrating Ten+ Years: Karpeles Library – A Church Conversion

True Green Cities/Celebrating Ten+ Years: Karpeles Library – A Church Conversion

Celebrating Ten+ Years!  It’s been twelve years since I launched Barbara A. Campagna/Architecture + Planning, PLLC and while many things have changed, my goal to work on “greening what’s already here” continues to be met, often in places I never expected. 

An Urban University Saves a Local Church

The former Plymouth Methodist Episcopal Church/Karpeles Library and Manuscript Museum was built in 1912, designed by Architect Cyrus K. Porter & Sons.  The Church and the adjacent Parsonage were listed as a local individual City of Buffalo landmark in 1989.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing component to the Fargo Estate National Register Historic District in 2016. It was recently purchased from D’Youville University.    It’s down the street from the University, which is embedded in the West side of Buffalo, and with its towering cupola and bell tower will be a wonderful new icon for D’Youville.

It’s National Register listing states:  Contributing primary limestone auditorium plan 2-story Romanesque-style former church, polygonal hip roof, with a pair of large gables with round arch stained glass windows flanking a 4-story square tower, limestone foundation and exterior walls, red tile roof with clerestory at summit surmounted by a polygonal cupola with pointed roof. Round arch windows throughout, many with stained glass. Triple arch entrance porticoes on Porter and Jersey streets.  

BAC is working with Cannon Design to restore this landmark and convert it into programming space for the University.  Fortunately, its large central auditorium lends itself for a new lecture space so few changes need to be made to its historic interior.