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Historypin: Bennett Grain Elevator

June 29, 2016

Bennett Grain Elevator (Screenshot of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s channel on Historypin)

After the Dart Elevator was destroyed by fire, the Bennett Elevator was built on its site. Located at the foot of Commercial Street, the elevator was the main elevator on the Buffalo Harbor. The elevator was built by owner and former U.S. Senator David S. Bennett (1811–1894) in 1885 and was designed by mechanical engineer Robert Dunbar. The elevator design was similar to the Dart Elevator but was much larger in size. 

The facility was used primarily to unload, store, and transfer grain while keeping labor costs low. Grain elevators began emerging everywhere in the city at this time and greatly influenced Buffalo society. The Bennett Elevator was demolished in the early 1900s.

For more historical information, visit the Albright-Knox’s channel on Historypin.