Buffalo City Court

PRES 6120 | History of American Architecture
Professor Brook Tesler

Completed as part of a weekly architectural description course modeled after National Register standards, this detailed study focuses on the Buffalo City Court Building (Frank A. Sedita City Court), a 17-story Brutalist courthouse completed in 1974. Located in downtown Buffalo within the Joseph Ellicott Historic District, the building’s symmetrical concrete façade features fluted precast panels, bronze-framed reflective windows, and oversized rectilinear eaves. A connected parking ramp mirrors its concrete materiality while remaining visibly distinct. Public art, time capsule monuments, and carefully delineated landscaping contribute to its civic presence. The documentation emphasized architectural features, materials, spatial organization, and the building’s role in Buffalo’s broader urban and historic fabric.

Catherine Restrepo

Meet Catherine, the former architect who traded blueprints for scuba suits and found a love for exploring ocean depths. Armed with a Nitrox specialty certification she tinkers mad-scientist style to concoct safer gas mixtures for sassier dives below. Currently honing her preservation skills by the river, this captain-in-training dreams of becoming a marine archaeologist out on the high seas. Drawn to water ever since she can remember, Catherine is perfectly proof that you can ditch a landlubber career to survey underwater artifacts and still keep your head above water. Whether cheerfully cursing floods in New Orleans or mapping lost treasures, this future underwater adventurist shows you can be anything your heart and diving compass point to next. The depths are calling and this seafaring conservator intends to dive right in!

New Orleans, LA, USAinfo@madameguignol.com
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