The Buffalo Harbor's Grain Elevators — Childs Street

The Buffalo Harbor's Grain Elevators — Childs Street. . , The Electric Elevator Annex , 1897 elevator. From the outside, the annex resembles conventional cylindrical bins. However, the interior is divided into just six interior storage halls separated by a central row of fifteen cylindrical bins. The grain was piled inside and moved by power shovels into tunnels below. This design was a radical departure from convention The original Electric Elevator, built in 1897, was one of the first elevators to use electricity as a power source. The original construction consisted of nineteen freestanding cylindrical steel bins capable of holding nearly two million bushels of grain. , In 1938, the Cargill Corporation bought the elevator from the Eastern Grain Elevator Corp. In 1940, with demand for grain storage high, the six million bushel concrete elevator annex was constructed with design and construction by Engineers H. G. Onstad. The Annex received its grain through the original al storage practice, and provided storage at a cost of only eight cents per bushel, less than half the cost of a conventional elevator. On the other hand, movement and transfer of grain was cumbersome and costly so the facility was best suited for long term storage. , Cargill continued to use the elevator for the next two decades, eventually closing it in 1968. The original steel bins were demolished in 1984. , The Lake and Rail Elevator , The Lake and Rail Elevator Complex was developed by International Milling Inc., which established a new milling operation in Buffalo in 1926. Within four years of the construction of the mill, a substantial elevating complex with a storage capacity of over four million bushels had been completed. , The entire complex was designed and built by the Jones Hettelsater Company of Kansas City. This was their only elevator in Buffalo. The site is characterized by an sharp bend in the river where the elevator takes a 90-degree turn. , International Milling Company produced several lines of grain products at the site, and milled flour that was marketed under the name "Robin Hood". During World War II, the company converted surplus wheat into alcohol grits used in making synthetic rubber. The site was sold to ConAgra Corp. in 1988, which later operated the facility with Maple Leaf Milling from 1992 to its closing in 2001. In 2006, it was purchased by the River Wright Corporation and rehabilitated. It is currently owned by Riverland AG Corporation and used as a transfer and storage elevator. , The American Elevator , The American Elevator was the first reinforced concrete grain elevator built on Buffalo's waterfront. It was designed and built by the James Stewart Company for the American Malting Company in 1906. It was constructed using slip form construction method. Slip form construction is performed by continuously pouring concrete into a form as it is slowly raised. Harry Wait designed an addition to the American Elevator in 1933. , The elevator was used to support malt production for beer until 1921, when the elevator and its owner fell victim to Prohibition. The elevator was then purchased by the Russell-Miller company and used to supply wheat for their new flour mill. In 1954, the Peavey Corporation purchased the elevator and mill and retained control until 1982, when the elevator was acquired by ConAgra. , The elevator has two marine legs, one stationary and one moveable. The original leg featured a rope driven power transmission system, an example of a once important, little known system that is now obsolete. The elevator closed in 2001. The site is now idle but is maintained by the River-Wright Corporation. , The Perot Malting Elevator , The Perot Company, dating back to the late 1600s in Philadelphia, relocated to Buffalo in 1907, and commissioned the construction of a malt house and 300,000 bushel elevator by the James Stewart Company. In 1933, an additional 300,000 bushels of storage was added by the Monarch Engineering Company. , The elevator was constructed without any marine legs, despite the malting company's desirable riverside location. Between 1907 and 1922, the malt house received all its barley via railroad. In 1922, an agreement was struck between the American Elevator and Perot that allowed the American to handle water-borne shipments for the Perot. Perot's barley shipments were conveyed to Perot from the American via an overhead belting system. , Perot Malting continued as Buffalo's largest malt house until 1962, when the facility was sold. It has since gone through a succession of owners. As of 2015 the elevator is idle but is maintained for future use. , The Marine 'A' Elevator , The Marine 'A' Elevator, constructed in 1925, is actually the third Marine elevator built by the Abell family of Buffalo. The original wooden Marine elevator, built in 1881, was located beside the Hatch Slip at its junction with the Buffalo River. It had a capacity of 150,000 bushels; a wooden annex added in 1894 added another 500,000 bushels of storage. , Harold Abell acquired an undeveloped site high up on the Buffalo River and constructed a new elevator in 1925. When the new elevator was completed, it became known as the Marine 'A', and the original wooden elevator was called the Marine 'B'. , The elevator was designed by the James Stewart Company, with A.E. Baxter acting as supervising engineer. The Marine 'A' had a capacity of over two million bushels. Its greatest advantage - the rapid handling of grain - made the elevator very desirable to shippers. In 1954, the elevator was purchased by the Norris Grain Company, which operated it until 1962.