Went to Summer School here in 1978. Nice school. Rich Sullivan, your words on the Wilcox Mansion were almost prophetic! In 1961, the Wilcox Mansion was in disrepair and actually facing demolition, Liberty Bank stepped in and saved it. We also tear down the old Erie County Savings Bank and build the Main Place Mall.
joe kempkes
14-Feb-2011 20:50
Talking about tearing down historic buildings in Buffalo...one of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings, the Larkin Building, was torn down without a word of opposition several years ago. Again, that's Buffalo for you and that's why, though my antecedents have lived there since 1843, I moved to sunny San Francisco 40 years ago.
Oh, and my connection to Canisius...I ran on Timon's cross country team and track team against them in 1962-3.
Rich Sullivan
11-Oct-2008 18:58
I went here for one year in 1962. We referred to the Jesuits priests/teachers as "Nazis for Christ". I was never bullied —before or after— attending here, but the kids at Canisius were ruthless. Interestingly, local Jewish families sent their kids here as well. The old building is quite beautiful inside and out.
As a testament to the lunacy of Buffalo, the house where President McKinley died after being shot was located just out of frame to the left, on this property. The house was torn down [!!!] and replaced with...nothing. Any other city would have moved it to an honored location if indeed the real estate was needed for something. But to tear it down, for no reason? Yep. That's Buffalo. Just like Mark Twain's house further down Delaware Ave., which one day lay in a demolished pile as I walked by on my way home from Canisius. Even as a 13 year old, I realized how completely wrong that was, and how completely wrong it would be for me to make my home here as an adult. It's amazing the Wilcox Mansion [site of Teddy Roosevelt's swearing in as President] hasn't been razed to make way for a Burger King.
