Technology in Western New York

The University at Buffalo Libraries are pleased to announce a new exhibit:

History of Technology in Western New York

2nd Floor, Oscar A. Silverman Library, Capen Hall

University at Buffalo / North Campus

Researched and written by Nancy Schiller, Engineering Librarian, and

produced by Rose Orcutt, Architecture & Planning Librarian, History of Technology in Western New York offers a fascinating and informative glimpse into Western New York’s rich industrial heritage. The exhibit pays homage to Buffalo’s iconic grain elevators, to Pierce-Arrow and its sleek automobiles and even sleeker advertising, to the region’s contributions to early aviation, and to the massive steel mills in Lackawanna, and the men and women who labored in them.

Photographs, text and images featured in the exhibit recall an era

when 50 percent of Buffalo’s population was engaged in industrial

endeavors of one sort or another, and factories, grain elevators,

blast furnaces and steel refineries dotted the local landscape.

Inspiration for the exhibit came from a recent UB Honors Seminar

taught by Professor John Van Benschoten, Department of Civil,

Structural, and Environmental Engineering. The course explored the

role of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Western New York in our nation’s

history, and provided students with an opportunity to consider the

history of Western New York and its future through an understanding of technology, and the benefits and costs that come with it.

The exhibit is open during regular library hours and runs through May 31, 2012.