Restoring the Roycroft by Dawn Marie Bracely, Editorial Writer
EDITORIAL Buffalo News dated December 12, 2007
Roycroft Campus - December 11, 2007 -- Dawn Marie Bracely/Editorial Writer for Buffalo News A few months ago I found myself standing outside the planned Genesee Gateway project talking with Doug Swift about another editorial idea. It sounded a bit "off the news" and tied into this area's cultural and historic past, and I was intrigued. Doug, along with many others, has been working hard for a long time on restoration of the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora. Would The News be interested in editorializing on the effort? Absolutely. I've only been in Buffalo nearly eight years, and that's still considered "new" to some folks. Perhaps rightly so. I'm ashamed to say I'd not yet been to the campus. So Doug and I headed out there, and along the way he gave a fascinating historical "talk" on its founder, Elbert Hubbard. Still, nothing could compare to the campus itself, with its serene atmosphere shaped by century-old buildings. Attempting to videotape the experience, I quickly realized my talents lie elsewhere. However, just the other day News videographer Lauren Mariacher came to the rescue and produced a marvelous video account of the campus and of the efforts by the Roycroft Campus Corp. An editorial published in The News conveys the importance of investing in the Roycroft restoration as a regional attraction and economic development tool. Indeed, the work being done by groups of volunteers, along with both private and public funding for the Roycroft Campus, Darwin Martin House, Graycliff and the H.H. Richardson complex, to name just a few, is an effort worth building upon. EDITORIAL Buffalo News dated December 12, 2007Restoring the Roycroft by Dawn Marie Bracely, Editorial WriterEast Aurora project rebuilds history and deserves community’s support
It’s never easy to rebuild history. Nor is it cheap. What it is, if there is any hope of realizing this region’s promising economic potential in cultural tourism, is essential — and that’s as true in towns and villages as it is in Buffalo. Such an effort is under way at the historic Roycroft Campus in East Aurora, and it deserves community support. Not only will the rebuilding of a destroyed piece of the campus and the restoration of other buildings linked to the magnificently refurbished Roycroft Inn benefit the village, it will add to the string of attractions that help make this area a showcase of cultural history and architecture. Free-thinker Elbert Hubbard created the Roycroft artisan colony in the late 19th century. Now it’s up to a 21st century populace to preserve, protect and promulgate that dream to a wider audience — including tourists. Members of the Roycroft Campus Corp. have volunteered time and energy to this effort, armed with a strategic plan that calls for self-sufficiency in 10 years. Meanwhile, fund raising and public support are necessary to the acquisition, restoration and rebuilding project, which targets all five major buildings in the complex at Main and South Grove streets. Investing in the Roycroft restoration is important to developing both a regional attraction and an economic development tool. The campus is part of a local legacy of architectural and cultural excellence that can leverage other development, both by offering an array of destinations for the tourism industry and by enhancing the regional quality of life that is key to attracting new people and new businesses. Buffalo’s Frank Lloyd Wright treasury is another example. It centers on the Darwin Martin House and other Wright structures — both restored and newly built from concepts — but it also includes Graycliff, the Martin summer home undergoing an ambitious restoration in Derby. Graycliff and the Roycroft have worked cooperatively on linked summer tours, and leaders of the restoration efforts increasingly see interest from out-of-town visitors in making the 20- minute trip from Buffalo to see these historically and architecturally related gems. The Roycroft and Darwin Martin House also are beginning to develop joint programming. Such attractions complement and enhance the value of an urban architectural legacy that includes masterworks not only by Wright but by the other members of America’s acknowledged trio of architectural greats, H.H. Richardson (whose state hospital complex on Forest Avenue is slated for reuse) and Louis Sullivan (whose Guaranty Building is a downtown landmark) — not to mention the Frederick Law Olmsted parkway system, Underground Railroad sites, the Erie Canal Harbor and other sites. The Roycroft is one of the handful of community attractions with worldwide appeal that needs a broader audience. The Roycroft Inn is the current magnet, pulling in weekend and weeklong visitors, but the campus also is a place to experience history. The current phase of campus restoration, a $3 million rebuilding of the Power House destroyed by fire some years ago, will help tell the story. When completed, the just-started work will enable the restoration corporation to relocate from the Copper Shop — next on the restoration list — as well as provide space for artisan demonstrations, ongoing classes in all forms of art and education, lectures and meetings.
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