(March 28th, 2012) Many Buffalo Niagara Regions location assets are included in a category that we at the Film Office like to call “The Big Stuff”.
One of the mostprominent members of “The Big Stuff” category is The Buffalo Central Terminal. The terminal has seen better days, yet is mounting a comeback under the stewardship of The Buffalo Central Terminal Restoration Corporation who are in the process of bringing this legendary assett back to life initially with events that have created awareness of this legendary location, and a long term masterplan dedicated to sustainable reuse.
According to the Buffalo Central Terminal Restoration Corporation “The Buffalo Central Terminal opened to the public on June 22, 1929. Built by the New York Central Railroad and designed by architects Alfred T. Fellheimer & Steward Wagner, the art deco style station was built to accommodate up to 3200 passengers per hour, or 200 trains per day. The complex consists of the main concourse, a 17 story office tower, a four story baggage building and two story mail building along Curtiss Street, and the now detached train concourse. The complex sits on a 17 acre site 2.5 miles east of downtown Buffalo.”
As far as a production location, from it’s presence in “The Natural” with Robert Redford, to later day horror movies like “Prison of the Psychotic Damned”, The Central Terminal has had a presence in many including* :
- Route 66 (TV series) 1960-1964.
- Best Friends. 1982.
- Vamping (film). April 1983.
- The Natural. August 1983.
- Prison of the Psychotic Damned – 2005
- The station is featured in the September 24, 2008 episode of Ghost Hunters.
- The station is featured in the December 2, 2009 episode of Ghost Hunters Academy.
- The station was featured on Ghost Hunters Live Halloween special on October 31, 2010.
- The station is featured in the June 27, 2011 Buffalo episode of Off Limits (TV series).
* from wikipedia
Some famous still photographs featuring the Terminal:
- World renowned photographer Spencer Tunick shot 1,826 naked Buffalonians for his “Central Terminal” Project.
- Robbie Robertson’s first solo album prominently features the Terminal’s platform’s on it’s cover.
For the most recent scout photos of the Buffalo Central Terminal shot by the Buffalo Niagara Film Office (click here)