{"nrhp_refnum":"06000561","name":"Packard Motor Car Showroom and Storage Facility","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1325 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buffalo","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.90975270200005,"lon":-78.86626285799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-07-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story reinforced concrete auto showroom and service/storage building at 1325 Main Street, Buffalo, New York, at the corner of Main and Riley Streets. It was designed by Albert Kahn in 1926 and opened as a Packard dealership and distribution site.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a distinguished early twentieth-century automobile showroom and service building, designed by industrial architect Albert Kahn in restrained Neo-Classical Revival style. It was also the site of a large Northeast Packard distributorship for nearly 30 years. It is one of the few remaining showroom/service buildings from Buffalo's Main Street \"Auto Row.\"","narrative":"Located on the northeast corner of Main and Riley Streets in Buffalo, this three-story reinforced concrete building was designed by Albert Kahn in 1926 for the Packard Motor Car Company. The front third, clad in stone and bronze with fluted pilasters and a dentiled cornice, held the showroom and offices. The remaining two thirds, built of brick, held service areas and car storage reached by a curving interior ramp. A third floor was added soon after the 1927 opening. The dealership, led by Ralph E. Brown, moved here from Delaware Avenue and operated as a major Northeast distribution site for Packard. Its concrete \"daylight\" construction gave open, well-lit floors, and columns carried a vent system for auto exhaust. The showroom keeps its multi-colored Spanish tile floor and oak-paneled offices. The building is listed for its architecture and its role in commerce, as one of few surviving showroom and service buildings from Buffalo's Main Street Auto Row.","period_of_significance":"1927-1958","architect_builder":"Albert Kahn, Detroit, Michigan","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Neo-Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Retains a high level of integrity; the showroom is in remarkably original condition, though some windows were infilled in 1997. Part of the building is used as offices.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.259831-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/06000561.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000561/dfce5b709f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000561/dfce5b709f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shinerunner (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Packard_Motor_Car_Showroom.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Shinerunner (talk)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Packard_Motor_Car_Showroom.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317669","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_Motor_Car_Showroom_and_Storage_Facility","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7122922"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/packard-motor-car-showroom-and-storage-facility-06000561/"}