Bloviator Begins Redevelopment Project
The Buffalo Bloviator enjoyed the opportunity this weekend to “break ground” on our redevelopment project. First, I got all of the basic heat, water, and electrical systems up and running. Actually the house was working on me rather than the other way around. ”Big Blue” already knew how to do all of those things. So I guess you can say that the house got me up and running. The house also knew how to get me to run my rear end off. I haven’t worked this hard in years.
 
Buffalo Bloviator Publishing will be able to keep an eye on City Hall when this window is restored. Of course, eventually this view will be replaced with a new Federal Court House that will look like the giant container that the Statler came in. The charming brick building is the old Erlanger Theater.
Next, the house ordered me to get my Scout and run to Home Depot to lay in a basic inventory of lumber so that I could prepare for Tuesday’s insurance inspection. I have learned that there are different types of insurance carriers for different risk properties. My agent suggested starting with a less expensive, low risk carrier but he warned me that I may get dropped because of the major renovation issues. Hence the lumber. The people that sold me the property, Carl and Bill Paladino of Ellicott Development, had been using the building as a nightclub. When they removed their sound and lighting equipment mounting fixtures, there were dangerous holes left in the upstairs floors. There were also a couple of “windows” that required securing.
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This is the same window after my handiwork. This gives new meaning to the term, “room and board”.
January 8th, 2007 at 4:51 am
Congrats, Blov!
This is a great building….
January 8th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Thanks Mike. Have you been investing any time over at Arty’s Grill Lately? It was great meeting up with you last summer.
January 8th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Hey Blov,
In case you are unaware, I believe your building was once The Roundtable Restaurant. It was a classery eatery favored by many.
Hope you keep updating the blog with your restoration progress. It does my heart good to see such an old and revered building slowly regain its grandeur.
January 8th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Christina Abt. Thanks for the historical info and the encouragement. I went ahead and did some research on the Round Table Restaurant and found the obituary of owner James H. Naples. Mr. Naples was a scout for the Yankees.
“In 1965, together with his friends Max Margulis and George Steinbrenner, he opened the Round Table Restaurant on Delaware Avenue in Downtown Buffalo, which became a popular gathering spot for local businessmen. …After 10 years of owning the Round Table, he bought the Locker Room on Delaware Avenue near West Delavan in 1981.”
I may have been in the Round Table as a kid with my father. Dad used to work in the Statler. He had a group of friends that referred to themselves as “The Trustees”. Once a week without fail, they would all get together for lunch and hit a different downtown lunch spot.
January 8th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
GOod luck!
January 8th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
I’d give my left nut to rehab that property! Obviously you have a lot of work to do, and I wish you much luck. That picture of the Scout in front of the chithole is priceless.
In the past week I had my landlord insurance policy cancelled because of cosmetic damages. Allstate was gung-ho to add an additional property to my homeowners, landlord, and auto policy a couple of months ago. Now they want me to repair the ceiling on an unused porch that doesn’t pose any safety hazards. Go figure. They told me to make the repairs and take a picture of it to reinstate my policy. I asked if I could just airbrush the repairs onto an adobe photoshop picture. They said “No” (emphatically), and were far from amused at my attempted humor. Now my agent is required to take the picture. I guess no smart-ass comment goes unpunished.
Good luck!
January 8th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Way to go put your money into investing in the City and it’s future! Best of luck and keep us updated.
January 8th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Well BLOVIATE ME DOWN…
Awesome…
If you ever need a spare hand to help, give me a shout…seriously…looks like it would be fun…
Also…would you want to do a podcast interview about your purchase for WNYmedia.net?
Zip me an email…
January 8th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Nicely done, Bloviator. My wife and I once remarked that that space, surrounded by parking lots, has great potential. Glad to see it’s in good hands.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:35 am
wow! you did it..keep us posted on your progress and best of luck to you my friend:)
January 9th, 2007 at 7:11 am
Good luck and best wishes for much success.
January 9th, 2007 at 7:48 am
Holy smokes ! Is that an International Scout I see hauling materials ? Those things are awesome. I’ll bet it’s never been “stuck”, huh ?
Good luck !
January 9th, 2007 at 9:00 am
Congrats for taking the plunge- I’m late to the party, what will you be doing with the building?
January 9th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Hi HG
Awesome!
What are your plans for the building???
January 9th, 2007 at 10:04 am
No, but we should do that again. It was nice meeting you and Mrs. Blov too!
I’ll talk to Chris and Michele and we’ll try to plan something at Arty’s….
January 26th, 2007 at 11:08 am
This must be so exciting for you! I wish you the best of luck!
>>> Thanks for the good wishes Jen. It is great fun! -As long as the pipes didn’t freeze during last night’s deep freeze. I have heat on but that old stone basement gets mighty cold. Â
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February 14th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Do you have the original digital image of the first picture in this post. I would like to buy it.
I find the contrast poetic!
Chris
March 5th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Chris,
Thanks for the nice comment about the Buffalo City Hall picture. I have received several requests to print posters. A local interior designer offered to take the jpg to his photographer buddy in California this week. He is going to produce some sample posters.
I will put up a post when they are available. Proceeds from the poster will go to a Buffalo not-for-profit organization that I will be promoting in the near future.
March 8th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Please send me an email. My company has a tool that I can donate to assist in selling the print.
CJD
August 24th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Amusing. I’ll reccommend my friends to visit you. How long did you write it??
September 7th, 2008 at 2:12 am
Cam on nhiu nghen.
September 7th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
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