Zink Block, The
Why it's listed
Standing at the corner of Connecticut Street and Normal Avenue on Buffalo's West Side, this five-story red brick building was erected in 1896 as a furniture store for William T. Zink, to designs by Buffalo architect Charles Day Swan. Its Italian Renaissance details include stacked wooden bay windows, brick piers, rounded arches with terracotta egg-and-dart molding, and a dentilled cornice. Inside, exposed wood posts and beams rise within load-bearing brick walls. Over the years the building housed a grocery, a dry goods store, a paper products business and a seller of architectural artifacts. It was listed for its architecture. The nomination describes it as an intact example of late 19th century post-and-beam commercial construction and a rare survivor along a once-busy neighborhood shopping street. It is also considered the most intact surviving commercial building by Swan, whose other major commercial work, the Buffalo Evening News building, was demolished in 1973.
Significance in brief: The building is significant under Criterion C in Architecture as an intact late 19th century post-and-beam commercial building with Italian Renaissance styling. It is a rare surviving resource on the once-thriving Connecticut Street commercial corridor. It is also a noted example of the work of regional architect Charles Day Swan, and it is described as his most intact surviving commercial building.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 10000987, listed December 7, 2010. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 346 Connecticut St, Buffalo |
|---|---|
| County | Erie County |
| Listed | December 7, 2010 |
| Reference number | 10000987 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1896 |
| Architect / builder | Charles Day Swan |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals / Italian Renaissance |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Most recent long-term use was a retail business selling large architectural artifacts; the building is described as largely intact with a high level of integrity. Storefronts are altered and obscured. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Delaware Park-Front Park System |
| Coordinates | 42.90784, -78.88806 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 10000987.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7776884
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.