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Urban Elegance at Gates Circle
By Anthony Chase
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The apartment is filled with artwork, including this central living space. On the wall between the arches hangs a George Noel mixed/media, oil/acrylic on paper; and through the arch, a pair of lamps flank a David Mann landscape, oil on paper.
Photo by Jim Bush.
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Nestled on an upper floor of one of Buffalo’s oldest and most prestigious residential addresses is an elegant and sophisticated apartment, invitingly colored in a palette of warm cocoas and camels.
The condominium’s residents are committed city-dwellers. An interior designer and a commercial real estate broker, they recently sold their large Central Park home in North Buffalo. Eager to find “glamour without responsibility,” they chose the Park Lane on Gates Circle, a classical building which opened doors to its first occupants in 1927.
Original blueprints show that the residential structure was designed by the Manhattan firm of H.L. Stevens & Company. Construction began in 1924, prior to the lean economic years of the Great Depression. Initially named “The Parke Apartments” after a principal investor, the Park Lane has been part of Buffalo’s history for over seventy-five years. Gracious apartments still feature original hardwood floors, nine foot ceilings, plaster moldings and wainscoting; architectural details typical of the fine craftsmanship of the period—and which, on a larger scale, graced many of Delaware Avenue’s luxury homes.
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A recent renovation—joining two separate apartments—created a new space for the new owners. They saw the challenge of having the two spaces make sense as one, as if they were part of an original footprint. The building’s concrete and steel construction allowed the possibility to take down interior walls and create a sophisticated loft-like space, without abandoning the original architectural features.
The existent kitchen, powder room, and pantry were opened into a kitchen that would delight any gourmet. It is outfitted with quarter-sawn maple cabinets and chic appliances, and augmented by a butler’s pantry/server of a contrasting ebonized red oak. Accented with frosted glass and layered lighting, the handsome cabinets are capped with the stunning swirls of natural granite countertops.
By eliminating walls to the formal dining room and living room, the former rooms are now fully exposed and integrated into a breathtaking visual expanse. The new space is clean: it’s open, it’s organized, and yet, above all, it remains elegant. The owners sense that they “... are living differently, more casually, without feeling the confinement of traditional space”.
Despite its openness, the apartment is carefully zoned in its treatment of public and private spaces. The guest room and master bedroom are at opposite ends of the apartment, separated by a cozy den and a home office. The large living room of one apartment has been converted into part of a master bedroom suite, with its dining room having been divided into a separate laundry room and a walk-in closet. That apartment’s original kitchen now forms the master bathroom with walk-in shower and full tub. The living room’s original fireplace and mantel became the focal point of the bedroom and warmly anchors a sitting area. There’s a mixed media depiction of white hydrangea (the residents’ favorite flower) in a clear glass vase by Russell Drisch, hydrangea which at the time of this writing appear again as fresh flowers in another room.
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The retro mosaic tiles and sleek fixtures
of the bathroom.
Photo by Jim Bush.
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The owners re-used glass-paned French doors in places where solid paneled doors might traditionally have been chosen (the laundry, walk-in closet, and master bath). These glass doors allow the natural light from large windows to travel through all corners of the apartment and to emphasize the airy, open feeling.
Architects, notably Frank Lloyd Wright, are known for their device of manipulating space by creating a feeling of “compress/release” in many of their projects. That technique is here called to mind. Upon entry, the compression of a long and narrow vestibule directs the visitor on a straight path along an antique Oriental carpet towards a captivating fresco of the owner’s children. Painted on clay twenty years ago by a Buffalo artist who now resides in Luca, Italy, this hauntingly dreamlike portrait is done in warm shades of terra-cotta and aqua blues. A wide archway appears to the left of the fresco where the hallway’s compressed space releases, exploding into high-ceilinged loft-like space.
That openness expands greatly as large double-hung windows offer incredible views outdoors, over the treetops. The breathtaking views show the panorama of a beautiful city, a vista of rooftops, an array of church steeples. One can see the Niagara River, the Peace Bridge, the towers of Richardson’s State Hospital, as well as the fountains of Olmsted’s Gates Circle. Nature paints a backdrop to the urban streetscape, a canvas that evolves with the changing light of time of day, with the clouds or sunshine of each weather pattern, and with the colors of each of the seasons. At night, these views sparkle with lights.
The owners’ love and use of Asian pieces contributes to the calm simplicity and almost Zen-like quality of the space. Gradations of the same colors were chosen for the walls as serene backdrops to the primitive Tansu chests, mulberry bark shades, and oriental antiques
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A 6 Panel Japanese Screen (Black Ink on Paper, Edo Period,
Early 19th Century) is installed on an iron rail system,
concealing a 42-inch plasma television
Photo by Jim Bush.
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The farthest wall of the living room becomes the room’s focal point. A six panel Japanese screen (black ink on paper, Edo period, early nineteenth century) depicts mythical holy men whose devotion has bestowed them with immortality. In a contrast of eras, the screen is installed on a black iron rail system, cleverly concealing the technology of a forty-two inch plasma television. It hangs over a custom credenza which houses audio electronics, upon which sits a simple handpainted leather box.
The apartment’s unity of color and artful sense of continuity is enhanced by the repetition of materials and textures. For example, the slate-like porcelain tiles of the kitchen floor are used again in the master bath. Instead of the rugged eighteen inch squares of the kitchen, the same khaki colored tile is used in a random pattern of smaller-sized rectangles and squares in the bath. The balance of flooring throughout the apartment are the original hardwood strips which have been sanded, restored, and refinished in a warm taupe.
The unified colorations are interrupted in the den where chartreuse walls and bookcases envelope the space. The smashing use of chartreuse forms a very different backdrop to the furnishings and artwork and appears to have been a portent of the increasing use of this hot accent color—now popping out in decorating publications.
A sense of the history of the building is felt even in the bathroom renovations. Amidst gleaming glass doors, sparkling fixtures, and shiny chrome fittings, the two baths use retro white mosaic tiles accented with charcoal patterned borders. Mixed with ultra-sleek sinks, the old atoms of Art Deco collide with the new atoms of Italian Contemporary to create a sensational new fusion.
Now very much at home in their newly-renovated space, the owners enjoy the convenience of their walking-distance proximity to Delaware Park, great restaurants, the Elmwood strip, and some of Buffalo’s most delectable architecture.
Barry A. Muskat is a regular contributor to Buffalo Spree. He teaches Architectural History in the Department of Art History at Canisius College.
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