Calumet Building, Buffalo

The Calumet Building, located on Chippewa Street in Buffalo is a striking example of early 20th-century commercial architecture and one of the city’s most distinctive terra cotta-clad landmarks. Designed in 1906 by the architectural firm Esenwein & Johnson, the three-story structure features a steel frame wrapped in gleaming white and burnt sienna glazed terra cotta, richly decorated with botanical motifs. The building’s name, Calumet, comes from the Canadian French word for reed, reflected in the stylized calamus plant motifs that adorn its façade and sides.

The building was commissioned by Robert Keating Root, a Buffalo businessman who sought to stimulate commercial development on Chippewa Street which was then largely residential. Root came from a prominent family and pursued careers in banking and real estate. His vision proved successful: the Calumet’s first floor was home to upscale jewelers and tailors, while professionals like dentists and artists occupied the upper floors.

However, the building's history also includes a darker chapter. In the early 1920s, the local Ku Klux Klan used a third-floor business-Kay-Bee Adsign Company-as a front for its operations during a period of political tension in the city. A 1924 police raid exposed the group’s activities, leading to the public release of its membership list.

Like many downtown properties, the Calumet declined in the postwar years, becoming fully vacant by 1980. It remained empty until 1990 when local historian Mark Goldman purchased and revitalized it by opening a restaurant. This move helped spur the broader revival of Chippewa Street.

Now home to a law firm and a restaurant on the ground floor, the Calumet Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. It remains a cherished piece of Buffalo’s architectural legacy, celebrated for its ornate design and role in the city’s evolving urban story.