Provided images – This shows a drawing of the massive Armory in Buffalo, which last Thursday was inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.

Press Release, New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs

BUFFALO – The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs Connecticut Street Armory was one of four structures inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Thursday, Oct. 22.

The massive 116 year-old building was recognized by the Medina Sandstone Society during a ceremony in which it’s photograph and a short history was added to the Hall of Fame located in the Medina City Hall.

Other structures honored by the group, which is dedicated to noting the importance of the local sandstone in the architectural history of the region, are St. John’s Episcopal Church in Medina; Martin Manor, a private residence in Buffalo; and St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Holley.

Like most monumental 19th Century buildings in western New York and Buffalo, the Armory, which occupies 4.87 acres on Buffalo’s west side, was constructed of a specific type of sandstone which was discovered in Orleans County during the 1820s as the Erie Canal was being built.

“It was a very popular building material because of its strength and beauty,” explained Donald Colquhoun, one of the Medina Sandstone Society trustees and a member of the hall of Fame committee. “At one time there were over 30 quarries here in Orleans County.”

The Connecticut Street Armory is a perfect example of Medina sandstone construction on a massive scale, he said. The building is 280,362 square feet.

When picking nominations for its Hall of Fame, the group looks for historically and architecturally significant buildings that have weathered the period of time. It also needs to be a building that is beautifully maintained, Colquhoun said.

For these reasons, the Armory was an easy pick to make the 2015 list of outstanding Medina sandstone buildings maintained by the Sandstone Society, Colquhoun said.

The Medina sandstone is an amazing building material, said Joe Murray, the regional superintendent for the state armories in western New York. The stone in the Connecticut Street Armory looks just as good today as it did when the structure was completed in 1899, Murray said.

The Armory in Buffalo is monstrous at nearly 300,000 square feet.

Taking its name from the village of Medina which was in the heart of the quarry area, the sandstone was durable, came in shades ranging from white, to red, to brown, to pink, and was fireproof.

“It last literally forever,” Colquhoun said. “In buildings that were built 150 years ago the sandstone looks the same.”

In the days prior to steel framed, concrete structures, Medina sandstone was the go-to material for large-scale construction, Colquhoun said.

The famous “Million Dollar Staircase” in the New York State Capital is constructed of Medina sandstone and blocks were shipped across the country. There is even Medina sandstone incorporated into work in Buckingham Palace in London, Colquhoun said.

So when the New York National Guard’s 74th Regiment began building its massive new home in 1897, it was only natural that the building designer, Williams Lansing, who was a captain in the 74th Regiment, decided to use sandstone from the nearby quarries around Medina.

The initial cost of the building was too high. The state was willing to pay $400,000 for the armory and the low bid was $600,000 for a Medina sandstone building.

But Lansing didn’t want to build the armory of brick, so the modified the design to get the contractor to come in under budget.

When it was finished in 1899 the Connecticut Street Armory was the largest National Guard armory in the United States. It was also empty inside.

The state had agreed to pay for the building, the interior details had to be paid for by the 74th Regiment. So from Oct. 23 to Nov. 6, 1899 the soldiers hosted a bazaar inside the armory, which included food vendors and exhibits.

This picture shows the Armory under construction during the horse-and-carriage era.

Among those exhibits, according to the book New York’s Historic Armories were a 30-foot-high replica of a medieval castle filled with period weapons and armor and a reproduction of San Juan Hill, which was stormed at regular intervals by the Guardsmen of the 74th.

One of the selling points of sandstone construction was its resistance to fire. When the massive drill hall of the armory caught fire in 1982 – 120 trucks were stored there – the Medina sandstone pretty much performed as expected, Murray said.

While the roof and interiors of the drill shed burned, the Medina sandstone walls remained mostly intact.

The sandstone walls didn’t go totally unscathed, Murray said. When DMNA rebuilt the structure some sandstone on the west end of the building had to be replaced. Doing so meant reopening the quarry the stone came from in 1898 and cutting stone to match, he said.

Murray, who is responsible for 31 armories from Gloversville to Jamestown, thinks it was worth it.

“It is a castle that is incredibly kept up by DMNA,” he said. “It is a showplace of the community, of an era when things were outstanding in the 1880s and 1890s.”

MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Society today inducted four new members into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame, including St. John’s Episcopal Church in Medina.

St. John’s is the oldest building made of sandstone in Medina. Construction started in 1832 and was completed in 1838. The stone was quarried from the banks of the Erie Canal.

Other members of the third class to be inducted in the Hall of Fame include St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Holley, Martin Manor in Buffalo, and the Connecticut Street Armory in Buffalo.

The Sandstone Society started the Hall of Fame in 2013 and now has inducted 14 sites. The plaques, all designed and donated by Takeform Architectural Graphics in Medina, have in the main meeting room at City Hall.

I’ll have more on today’s program posted either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Here are the other new inductees:

The St. Mary’s Parish in Holley dedicated its new Catholic church in 1905. The church has been meticulously kept the past 110 years. This year happens to be the 150th anniversary of the St. Mary’s Parish. The sandstone church replaced a wooden structure.

The Martin Manor residence is the first privately owned home to make the Sandstone Hall of Fame. This 8,000-square-foot mansion was built in circa 1900 at 395 Linwood Ave., Buffalo. The site fell into disrepair, but in the past 26 years has been restored by Peter Martin and his wife, Margaret Paroski. The couple raised their three children in the home.

The Connecticut Street Armory is a massive structure at 280,362 square feet. It was built from 1896 to 1899 to house the 74th Regiment of the New York National Guard. When it was built, it was the largest Armory in the United States. It continues to be used by Army and National Guard units.

File photo by Tom Rivers – St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Medina was one of the inductees in the first class for the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame in 2013. A new class with four sites will be inducted on Oct. 22 and includes two buildings in Orleans County.

MEDINA – Four new magnificent structures will be inducted in the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Oct. 22.

The Medina Sandstone Society welcomes the public to the induction ceremony from 1 to 3 p.m. in City Hall, 600 Main St.

The Sandstone Society created the Hall of Fame in 2013 and has inducted 10 sites in the first two years. Another four will be inducted on Oct. 22. The new class includes two sites in Orleans County and two buildings in Buffalo, said Don Colquhoun, a member of the Hall of Fame Committee.

“All four are terrific examples of Medina Sandstone and I think the public will be pleased,” Colquhoun said this morning.

The 68-foot-high tower in Mount Albion, a Civil War Memorial, was inducted in the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame in 2014.

The Sandstone Society wants to highlight the long-term stewardship with many of the buildings, and Herculean restoration efforts for many of the sites that likely would have been demolished.

The first class in 2013 included six structures: Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion, St. Mary Catholic Church in Medina, the Medina Armory (now Orleans County YMCA), the Richardson Olmsted Complex in Buffalo, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo, and Saint Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester.

The following were inducted in the Hall of Fame’s second class: Delaware-Asbury Church (Babeville) in Buffalo, St. Louis Church in Buffalo, Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Mount Albion Cemetery, and St. Peter Cathedral in Erie, Pa.

For more on the Sandstone Society and its Hall of Fame, click here.

Our Sandstone Heritage

Photos by Tom Rivers
MIDDLEPORT – In this small village in Niagara County, the top of a large church made from Medina sandstone looms over trees and downtown buildings that are blocks away.

St. Stephen’s Catholic Church may be on a side street, but it is a dominant building in the community. I was passing through Middleport on Tuesday evening, and I had to get a few pictures of this church at 21 Vernon St.

I’d like to get inside to see what the big stained-glass windows look like.

St. Stephen’s in Middleport and St. Mary’s in Medina merged their parish in 2008 to become Holy Trinity Parish. The two churches share a priest, the Rev. Daniel J. Fawls.

I wasn’t able to find out when the church was constructed but I think it was from 1908.

Based on this stone, I would guess the sandstone church replaced a building from 1854 to 1908, with the new church openeing in 1908.

St. Mary’s in Medina, one of the most awe-inspiring church buildings I’ve ever seen in a small town, was built in 1902.

The rounded windows and arches is a feature of the Romanesque architectural style, which was popular in medieval Europe.

The church even put a stone cross up high on the top of the building.

This is an impressive site in a tiny village. Some other buildings nearby have sandstone in their foundations, but with this one it looks like every block, from top to bottom, was made of sandstone.

The Medina Sandstone Society is accepting nominations for the next class of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame. Click here for more information.

‘Landmark structure’ key to Medina’s growth in the late 19th Century

Photos by Tom Rivers – Robert Waters, president of the Medina Sandstone Society, speaks at the podium during an unveiling of a new stone historic marker for the Bent’s Hall, the building in the back. Others on the stage include, from left: Medina Mayor Andrew Meier, GCC professor Tracy Ford, Sandstone Society member Jacob Hebdon, Kathy Blackburn, Lynne Menz, GCC professor and Civil War Encampment Coordinator Derek Maxfield, and Chris Busch, chairman of the Orleans Renaissance Group.

MEDINA – As the Civil War was nearing its end, Don. C. Bent of Medina was preparing to open the Bent’s Hall, a three-story structure made of Medina sandstone at the corner of West Center and Main streets.

Bent acquired the land after a previous frame building burnt to ground on Oct. 7, 1863.

The new building included space for stores and offices, with an opera hall on the third floor. It opened to great fanfare on Feb. 28, 1865.

The building is mostly vacant now, but a group of preservationists are working to stabilize the building with plans to again have the site be bustling with businesses and a home to concerts and other performances.

On Saturday, the Medina Sandstone Society presented a historic marker made in sandstone to the owners of the building, the Orleans Renaissance Group.

Robert Waters, president of the Sandstone Society, thanked the ORG for working to bring back Bent’s Hall and not let the landmark structure fall into ruin.

Jake Hebdon, left, and Chris Busch remove the cover from the stone marker that commemorates the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and the opening of Bent’s Hall – “This Grand Edifice.”

Waters spoke with many Civil War re-enactors gathered on Main Street in front of Bent’s. The events in Medina on Saturday – the unveiling of stone marker and a surrender ceremony to mark the end of the Civil War – was a celebration of “strength and durability,” said Waters, wearing a top hat.

“First, we salute our nation which rose from the Civil War stronger than ever and with growth in all directions,” he said. “Second, we honor this fine sandstone block provided by Don C. Bent giving early strength and movement for the growth of Medina. It was a landmark structure that led decade-by-decade to an entire commercial district of long-lasting stone and brick buildings. They still remain.”

Chris Busch, ORG chairman, thanks Robert Waters and the Sandstone Society for the marker.

The Orleans Renaissance Group last year completed important stabilization of the front corner of the building. The group needs to have the roof fixed and is working on plans for design and construction estimates for interior renovations at Bent’s Hall.

The Sandstone Society has presented several sandstone markers for historic sites and community efforts in recent years. The society wanted to show its support for ORG and its efforts with Bent’s.

“Thus the public will always know that Bent’s Hall is something special,” Waters said in unveiling the marker.

Chris Busch, chairman of the ORG, said the stone marker and the Bent’s building should remind Medina citizens, now and into the future, of the great sacrifices made by the community – serving in war and building enduring structures.