With the Johnnie Ryan building officially gone, local architecture buffs and historic preservationists are having a rough time. The pinnacle of Art Moderne in Niagara Falls is gone, and we have nothing left of the style’s influence…

…unless you travel up Buffalo Avenue to LaSalle, where an old dairy facility sits in quiet repose.

The Wendt’s dairy offices haven’t been touched in a while. Wendt’s itself went out of business in 2008, leaving the lonely building on Buffalo Avenue (along with the gorgeous original sign).

Well, after a foreclosure, the city currently owns this building. No chance of some wayward developer tearing down the building on a whim. The city actually put out requests for development proposals last year, so there is some buzz around the building.

So, while we’re mourning the loss of a historic Niagara Falls building, let’s face east and take a look at that orange sunrise (Wendt’s made juice, too!)

-Sheepie ❤