SILOS AT ELK STREET restored

FROM GRAIN TO GREATNESS: REVIVING BUFFALO’S HISTORIC SILOS INTO A THRIVING HUB

The Silos at Elk Street was originally constructed in 1894, with expansions in 1925 and 1936. The building has a storied past, serving as the Kreiner & Lehr Malt House from 1910 to 1971, and later occupied by Buffalo Malting Corp. until its abandonment in 1986. In 2015, Jerry Young and Shawn Wright (owners of Young + Wright Architectural (YWA)) purchased the Silos at auction, just before being slated for demolition. The site, contaminated and uninhibited, required extensive remediation. Jerry and Shawn had a vision and hired YWA to take on the challenge of rescuing and preserving this architectural gem. 

To transform the building, which had primarily been used for processing and moving grain, YWA added new floors, and walls and rebuilt roof areas. To comply with State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO) standards, YWA preserved some of the original malting equipment, including one of the six original tanks, which was transformed into one of the office’s small conference rooms – referring to it as the “Think Tank”. A trace of the other five tanks is represented by five “clouds” that float above the original tank locations, matched by five circles of reclaimed gymnasium flooring. 

Today, the Silos at Elk Street is a vibrant hub, housing offices, (Young + Wright Architectural and Appel Osborne), residential lofts, a barber shop (Cove + Mill), an event center, and a cutting-edge brewery (Briar Brothers Brewing Co.). This abandoned structure has embarked on a remarkable new chapter, nearly a century after its construction.