Seeing that we’re deep into car show season, here’s one of my favorite photos, which I took at last year’s Canal Fest in Tonawanda. It’s a 1951 Studebaker Starlight Coupe. What a roofline, especially great from this angle! See the brochure from the similarly-designed 1950 model here. — Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

Seven years ago as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Dave Wannstedt would’ve been able to recite from memory what each of his AFC East opponents like to do offensively, play tendencies and the stre...

The Robert T. Coles House and Studio at 321 Humboldt Parkway has been recommended for listing on the State Register of Historic Places and will be forwarded to the National Park Service for National Register listing as well.  Architect Bob Coles designed the building as his own personal home and studio, and he and his wife Sylvia have lived in the house since it was constructed in 1961.  The combined house and studio is an excellent example of mid-twentieth century Modern residential architecture that incorporated some pre-fabricated and pre-cut components into its construction.

The following information was taken from the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form prepared by Architectural Historian Jennifer Walkowski of Clinton Brown Company Architecture.

The Robert T. Coles House and Studio is located on the south side of Humboldt Parkway between Loring Avenue and Oakgrove Avenue/Hughes Avenue.  This community is known as the Hamlin Park neighborhood and was designated a local historic district by the City of Buffalo in 1994. Designed and built by Robert Traynham Coles in 1961, the nominated building is a customized prefabricated house and office space composed of two rectangular units arranged in an 'L' configuration, with the main circulation core serving as a hyphen.

The studio is one-story in height, while the house or dwelling unit rises one and one-half stories above grade.  The later is partially recessed into the earth, giving it a "split-level" character.  The upper level is cantilevered above the lower visible half-story on its west, east and south facades.  The lot is approximately rectangular, with an angled rear property line, measuring approximately 50-feet wide by 174-feet in depth.  The building was constructed in a densely-built early twentieth century urban neighborhood. 

Although he had initially planned on building his home in Massachusetts, in 1961 Coles returned to his hometown of Buffalo to design and build the Ellicott District Recreation Center.  With a young family and a busy architectural practice to accommodate, the need for housing was imperative.  Coles quickly adapted the plans he had developed to his new situation and new setting, reflecting his belief in a universal design, a design theory that created a generic, flexible design for a building that could be translated to a variety of settings and sites.

Coles selected a parcel of land on Humboldt Parkway in the Hamlin Park neighborhood.  Using many of the materials, designs and concepts of the Techbuilt system, Coles was able to complete the design in only three months and construction in an additional three months.  Coles's house is unlike any of the surrounding houses in the early twentieth century Hamlin Park neighborhood, which is dominated by American Foursquare and Craftsman style buildings, typically with spacious front porches facing the street. 

With its low, non-descript, rectilinear presence, shielded from Humboldt Parkway by shrubs and fences, the Robert T. Coles House and Studio presents a contrast to its traditionally designed neighbors.  While adjacent houses were designed to feature public spaces fronting right onto the street, Coles's house and studio was designed with a rather utilitarian façade facing onto the busy Scajaquada Expressway/Kensington Expressway interchange and private areas located on the interior of the property.

For much of the early twentieth century, this area was comparable to other parkway neighborhoods in Buffalo, featuring the Olmsted-designed Humboldt Parkway, a lush green ribbon of grass and trees which served as a slice of parkland running throughout the neighborhood.  The majority of the houses in Hamlin Park were built during the parkway era, when the street was a spacious 150-foot wide park-like lawn used for socializing, recreation and outdoor activities.  In response, houses were designed with their primary façade facing towards the grassy green park, often with spacious porches that bridged the transition between the tranquil, public parkway and the building, welcoming people to linger there.

Coles's house reflects a new age in this neighborhood, where automobile traffic replaced the horse and buggy.  At the time Coles purchased the parcel in 1961, construction of the expressway had just begun.  In the span of a few years, the serene tree-lined ribbon of Humboldt Parkway was excavated for a sunken multi-lane roadway, which funneled traffic in and out of the city at a new pace. 

The new highway would not be completed until 1968; however, Coles anticipated that this new expressway would bring noise and pollution to the neighborhood.  In response, Coles designed his house and studio in a new and innovative way.  As the architect described it shortly after construction, "I deliberately understated the house from the street because I feel that a house should be primarily for the people who reside in it and their guests."

The Robert T. Coles House and Studio was designed with sensitivity to sheltering private spaces from the noise and traffic, while making the public spaces accessible to the street. On a large scale, the two units, public and private, are separate from each other, maximizing the separation of the two spaces in the overall building itself.

The public unit (the office and studio) is located adjacent to the street, making it accessible for the staff, clients, public and others to access at grade.  Private areas (the house) are located at the rear of the property, sheltering spaces such as bedrooms and family spaces from the noise of the street overlooking the rear court and garden.

In general, those walls that face the more public portions of the site (such as to the north, facing the road, and the east and west, which are in close proximity to the neighbors) are solid with no fenestration.  Those walls which are sheltered from the urban environment, which face more private areas of the property, such as the rear court or the sheltered courtyard, are composed of large windows, allowing ample light and fresh air to flood the house.

The two-level house is constructed of wood post-and-beam construction, with non-structural panels of either gypsum drywall on wood stud, a combination panel of drywall on stud and glass, or full-height sliding glass doors inserted as walls.  The studio unit is similarly constructed but one-story in height.  The posts and beams are Douglas fir from Canada and measure up to 4-inches x 16-inches in size.  The concrete block foundation on concrete slab serves as the walls for the lower floor, eliminating a basement, and there is no attic.  The lower level is partially sunken into the earth, which is excavated at the south elevation to create a sunken terrace accessible from the adjacent rooms.

The south-facing elevation is perhaps the Coles House and Studio's most impressive elevation.  Designed as the building's most dramatic elevation, the south elevation is two levels in height.  This south elevation reveals the building's post-and-beam construction and uses the non-structural walls between the members to full advantage, fitting large windows and glass doors in the openings. 

The interior of the Coles House and Studio has remained essentially unchanged since its original construction.  The main entrance to the building is through a relatively plain door, which opens into the transitional space of the hyphen.  This entry space opens to the north into the architectural studio, and has a stair to the private residential spaces to its south.  In a split-level design, one run of stairs accesses the lower level of the house, while another run leads to the upper level of the house unit.

Originally, the studio block contained a space used as an automobile garage, but the studio has now expanded to utilize the entire unit.

In 1963, the house was awarded the New York State Association of Architects' "Award of Merit" for its excellence in design.  Coles was recognized for his outstanding work in the category of excellence in design by his peers with this award.

Overall, the Robert T. Coles House and Studio is an excellent example of Modern Movement architectural design.  The entire property works to integrate a carefully planned and designed landscape, building and interior design into one comprehensive design.  Because it has been preserved and maintained for fifty years by its original owner and designer, the entire site reflects Coles's original goals and vision for his private residence and work space.

The house and studio maintain their unique separation of public and private space, as originally envisioned by Coles as both architect and resident.  It retains a high level of integrity of original materials, and its finishes, furnishings and accessories complement the overall feel of the house as a mid-twentieth century architectural design.
Historic images courtesy of Robert T. Coles.

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By Jessica Bagley:

As a health nut, Buffalo may not be the best place for me to live.  Don't get me wrong-- I love chicken wings and beef on weck once in a while, but most of the time I'm looking for something more nutritious. This can be a difficult task in the land of Anchor Bar and Labatt Blue.

Luckily for me, a few restaurants and cafes fill this vegetable void.

Liquid Energy is one of these places. Located on Main Street, the juice bar serves raw juices, smoothies, and lunch items, which are all made from scratch using organic and natural products. Customers can choose between breakfast smoothies, including the popular Early Bird, espresso smoothies, and wheatgrass shots, in addition to a wide array of lunch options, which include quesadillas, wraps, paninis, salads, and rice bowls.

The bar itself is quite small, and works for most customers who grab a breakfast smoothie on the go. Those who prefer to sit down and eat a meal can do so in the accompanying modern style lounge.

On my first visit, I felt an obligation to try something different. I ordered the Green Up juice, made out of kale, parsley, celery, spinach, cucumber, lemon, and green apple. I was stupidly hoping it wouldn't taste like a salad in liquid form, but I was let down and barely managed a few sips of the green sludge. I learned my lesson-- if it doesn't sound good, don't order it.

I chose a safe option for the lunch, the veggie-dilla, made on a tomato basil tortilla with diced avocado, roasted red pepper, garlic, onion, diced carrots, and mozzarella cheese. It was simple, yet tasty, as all the vegetables blended together perfectly. I ate almost the entire portion and was satisfied, but I could imagine those with larger appetites leaving hungry.

My mom was a bit smarter with the drink choice and ordered the Bahama Mama smoothie, made with pineapple, banana, orange, strawberry, probiotic yogurt, and coconut. It tasted like a normal smoothie, but with extra health benefits and less sugar.

She also had the mega-protein salad, with chickpeas, seeds, grilled tempeh, pistachios, and spinach with balsamic dressing. Unfortunately, she missed the "tempeh" on the menu, a soy based product that resembles tofu. We both tried it, but neither of us liked the strange texture, which was firm but chewy.



Despite our ordering mistakes, the food was prepared well and was extremely fresh. The prices are a bit steep for the amount of food provided, but the quality of the ingredients makes up for the few extra dollars.

If you're health conscious, Liquid Energy is the place for you. But be aware of what you are ordering, and be wary of things you might not like. If you're not used to tempeh or green smoothies but want to stop in, I suggest ordering a fruit smoothie and a turkey wrap or quesadilla. If you have a huge appetite and don't want to drop $10 on a salad or wrap, I'd stick to the taco truck - but if you're looking to spend a bit little more on quality, healthy food, Liquid Energy is right up your alley.

Liquid Energy is located at 298 Main Street and is open Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.