Buffalo Silos Revitalized
Revitalization is a crucial part of nature: the regrowth of forests after a fire, a green spring after the dead of winter. The City of Buffalo is no exception. Along the banks of the Buffalo River, the gargantuan bones of grain silos speak to the prosperity of a bygone era. After several decades, life is returning to these massive structures both at Silo City and the Silos at Elk Street.
Rick Smith, third-generation president of Rigidized Metals, first became interested in the Buffalo Outer Harbor property that is now Silo City because it neighbors Rigidized which was expanding. When he realized the property was available in 2006, he purchased it, in no small part for the Buffalo community, as well as to put the iconic silos in local hands once again. But what to do with 100-year-old grain silos over 190 feet tall?