{"nrhp_refnum":"10000027","name":"Buffalo Trunk Manufacturing Company Building","other_names":["Anthone Furniture Company Warehouse"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"125 Cherry St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buffalo","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.89582124400005,"lon":-78.86083208699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-02-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story, eight-bay red brick industrial building at 125 Cherry Street on Buffalo's East Side, built in two phases (1901-1902 and 1906-1907) for a trunk manufacturing company, with a six-story elevator tower added by 1925.","why_significant":"The building is locally significant under Criterion C in architecture as a rare and remarkably intact example of slow-burn masonry and heavy timber factory construction. It is also a representative example of the work of Buffalo architect Louis Saenger. The period of significance runs from the first phase in 1901 to the last contributing addition in 1925.","narrative":"Rising five stories along Cherry Street on Buffalo's East Side, this red brick factory was built for the Buffalo Trunk Manufacturing Company in two campaigns, 1901-1902 and 1906-1907, with a six-story elevator tower added by 1925. Architect Louis Saenger, a German immigrant, designed the first section, and the later addition matches it. Brick piers frame the bays, and segmental arch windows light the open floors. Inside, square wooden posts and heavy timber beams carry plank floors, a slow-burn system meant to resist fire damage. The factory was erected for Theophilus Speyser, a German-born former cabinetmaker and undertaker, and made trunks and luggage until 1930. Later businesses used it as a warehouse. It replaced a brewery on the site and stands in a neighborhood that was once largely German-American and has since lost many buildings. It is valued as a rare, largely intact example of slow-burn construction and as a representative work by Saenger.","period_of_significance":"1901-1925","architect_builder":"Louis Saenger","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: No Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Used as a storage warehouse by various businesses after the trunk company dissolved in 1930; the last named occupant left in 2009. Some original windows have been removed and many rear openings are boarded.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:47.936923-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/10000027.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000027/58dcb36d52-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000027/58dcb36d52-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Andre Carrotflower","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evergreen_Lofts_-_fmr_Buffalo_Trunk_Manufacturing_Company_-_Buffalo,_New_York_-_20200101.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Andre Carrotflower</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evergreen_Lofts_-_fmr_Buffalo_Trunk_Manufacturing_Company_-_Buffalo,_New_York_-_20200101.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317568","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Trunk_Manufacturing_Company_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4985887"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/buffalo-trunk-manufacturing-company-building-10000027/"}