{"nrhp_refnum":"08000865","name":"General Electric Tower","other_names":["Niagara-Mohawk Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"535 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buffalo","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.88871198000004,"lon":-78.87274390399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Industry"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A fourteen-story octagonal office tower with two seven-story wings at 535 Washington Street in downtown Buffalo, New York, built in 1912 for the Buffalo General Electric Company; the wings were added in 1926-1927.","why_significant":"The nomination finds it significant under Criterion C as an outstanding Beaux Arts office tower in downtown Buffalo, and under Criterion A for its link to commerce and the electric power industry. Its form recalls the Pan-American Exposition's Electric Tower, and the building housed the power company that distributed electricity across western New York. It also retains Art Deco interior work from a 1930 remodeling.","narrative":"Occupying a triangular lot where Washington, Genesee and Huron Streets meet in downtown Buffalo, this office building combines a fourteen-story octagonal tower with two seven-story wings. Built in 1912 for the Buffalo General Electric Company, it has a steel and reinforced concrete frame clad in glazed white terra cotta with classical ornament such as foliated swags, pilasters and arched hoods. A three-stage cupola crowns the tower. Esenwein and Johnson designed the original building, and E.B. Green and his firm added the Genesee Street wing and the upper wing floors in 1926 and 1927. The lobby was redecorated in Art Deco style in 1930, and surviving elements were restored in a renovation after 2004. The building was listed for its Beaux Arts architecture and for its role in Buffalo's commerce and electric power industry. It later served as the Niagara Mohawk Building and remains in office and retail use today.","period_of_significance":"1912-1930","architect_builder":"Esenwein and Johnson (1912); E.B. Green & Sons (1924-1927)","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a business and office building; the lobby and mezzanine were renovated after a 2004 purchase and upper floors have been refitted for tenants since 2005.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.129999-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/08000865.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000865/514627f342-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000865/514627f342-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:General_Electric_Tower.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:General_Electric_Tower.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317625","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Tower","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5357520"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/general-electric-tower-08000865/"}