Today, my friend Anne and I took a tour of the area of Buffalo known as Larkinville. It is situated between downtown Buffalo, Canalside, and South Buffalo. Originally, many of the factories, as well as an administration building, belonging to the Larkin Soap Company were in that area. Streets in that area include Smith Street, Hydraulic Street, Van Rensselaer Street, and Seneca Street. It was an industrial area, and a great deal of manufacturing occurred there. The administration building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who also designed two buildings belonging to Johnson Wax in Racine, Wisconsin, that serve as the company’s headquarters.
Unfortunately, the Larkin administration building, which was constructed in 1904, was demolished in 1950.
This is part of a mural, which shows what Larkinville looked like early in the twentieth century, when the Larkin Soap Company was in business. They were one of the first companies to get involved with multilevel marketing, which is controversial and can be illegal (pyramid schemes). They hired “secretaries,” who purchased a good amount of soap and other product and then held parties and sold the product to their friends and neighbors. Larkin Soap Company wanted to eliminate any unnecessary expense of getting product from the company to the consumers. That was one technique. Another was that they offered all sorts of prizes to people for purchasing the products. In addition to the sales by secretaries, Larkin Soap Company was a mail-order business. The Great Depression of the 1930s hastened the demise of the Larkin Soap Company, and the business was sold in 1942.
This was one of the Larkin Soap Company’s cars.
After the soap company closed, the area around the former factories fell into disrepair, due to neglect. In 2002, the Zemsky family sold their business, Russer Foods, which produced meat. They began to purchase properties in the area, and they are in an ogoing process of redeveloping and rehabilitating the decrepit properties. It is now considered a destination, with live music, groups of food trucks, breweries, restaurants, and street fairs. The industrial style buildings are now considered to be an interesting type of architecture that adds to the appeal of the area. It is a very walkable community that attracts many visitors to the events held there.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed your tour of Larkinville. Who knows what’s coming tomorrow? I actually don’t have a clue!
This reminds me of an area of downtown Toronto called the “Brewery District”. There is at least one brewery still operating there * but many of the old factory buildings are now restaurants and a place to experience art, culture and entertainment.
* One website talks about the eleven best breweries in the Distillery District.
The Brewery District sounds like a super interesting place to visit!!!