48. Cyclorama Building
369 Franklin Street
 The Cyclorama Building was constructed on Franklin Street in Buffalo's Theater District to showcase the newest exhibit, "The Crucifixion of Christ." A German artist was commissioned to go to Jerusalem and do extensive research to create a panoramic view of what the city might have looked like on that day. It was hung in the Cyclorama Building, and the show opened on Saturday, September 6, 1888. The company was pleasantly surprised that the show was such a success, attracting over a thousand visitors a day. The building itself, though hastily built, proved to be solid and well constructed. Guests were impressed by the sixteen walls making up the circular room, the impressive stairway that led up to the platform around the panorama, and the large center column. The Buffalo Cyclorama Company invested in a boiler room for the edifice so that the exhibit could be more permanent
"The Crucification of Christ" ended up running for two years, and it was followed by two more years of another exhibit, "The Battle of Gettysburg."
After "The Battle of Gettysburg," the cyclorama began to lose popularity. The building was acquired by the City of Buffalo for about $40,000 in the year 1910. After that, it served a variety of different purposes, including a roller skating rink, a livery and a taxi garage. The building gradually fell into disrepair, and it was in such bad shape by 1937 that it was condemned. However, that year it was taken on by the Works Progress Administration, and new windows, a new floor and a new roof, as well as an additional room were added to the building. The total cost of repairing it was $36,000.
The Grosvenor Library took the building from the government and on February 15, 1942 they opened their circular reading room and lecture halls. It was used for twenty one years after by scholars, students and other library patrons.
In 1963, the Grosvenor Library closed and combined with other libraries, and the reading room was shut down. For the next twenty five years the Cyclorama Building stood vacant.
Hope for the Cyclorama Building arrived next in 1985, when Mr. Frank Ciminelli purchased it for $110,000. However, the next two years proved to be a battle with the state government over whether some changes could be made. The biggest concern was whether the windows could be taken out, despite the fact that they were only added in 1937, the original structure having only skylights. This argument prevented any work from being done until 1987, when an agreement was finally reached. The building opened in 1989, with the Ciminelli Construction Company occupying the second floor space. In 1991, the Cyclorama Building was recognized as the historical building of the year.
Text courtesy of Meg Healy. Photo courtesy of Chuck LaChiusa.
Credits
Scripts: Denise Prince and Jane Kwiatkowski
Voice: Christopher Jamele of Jamele Freelance Services
Audio production: John Davis of Eclectic Electric
This project was made possible in part with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Tour content courtesy of Buffalo Tours.
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