Agway/GLF Elevator (Buffalo, New York)

 grain elevator / grain silos  Add category

Constructed in 1908 as a grain transfer elevator for the Wheeler Company, this facility's prime waterfront location led to it's purchase by the Grain League Federation (GLF) in 1920's. The new owners quickly constructed a feed mill onsite and a small storage facilty on the northwest end of the property adjacent to the original Wheeler elevator.

Responding to both the Second World War's demands and the large boom in grain traffic after the resumption of American farming in the late 1930's, GLF constructed a large railroad-based elevator designed by A. E. Baxter which proved to be very useful in the postwar economy, allowing both ships and rail to be loaded or discharged onsite. GLF was eventually bought out by the conglomerate group Agway in the 1960's who operated the combined mill and elevator through the mid-1970s before rapidly declining profits shut the plant down. After years of near-abandonment, all of the GLF's non-silo buildings were ordered demolished in early 2011 after inspections revealed they were structurally unsound and at risk of collapse. The Elevator's silos are slated to remain following the demolition, though aside from the yard space around the Elevator being utilized by various commercial entities for storage the site will remain inactive.