Spotlight Tour: The CAZ

This re-envisioned building was originally built in 1921 as the South Side Bank of Buffalo. It was designed by noted architect Harold Jewett Cook who was inspired by Louis Sullivan’s “jewel box” banks in the Midwest and was the first bank branch to serve South Buffalo. South Side was acquired by Liberty Bank in 1929. Over the years, the branch changed hands between various banks several times. The bank closed for good in November of 2016.

Schneider Development purchased the building in 2017 while the company was redeveloping the Shea’s Seneca project, located one block to the north on Seneca Street. Jake Schneider considered a number of concepts when re-envisioning a new use for the historic structure.

Jake Schneider will lead the tour showcasing the elements that the renovation work revealed including the stained-glass windows, skylights, architectural molding, plaster medallions and geometric-patterned tile & all part of Buffalo’s art deco style popular in the 1920s.