By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
The initial planning of the Hampton Inn at Delaware and Chippewa was met with some degree of skepticism in the years before it opened in 2001.
“We’re talking about a development that would have an impact on an entire downtown block,” said Mayor Anthony Masiello before later endorsing the plan which also called for the demolition by implosion of the former Ford Hotel to make room for Hampton parking.
It wasn’t the first time that city block had undergone a transformation.
The Hampton Inn was built inside the structure of the Willis K. Jackson Building—a six-story Bley & Lyman fireproof structure first opened for occupancy in April 1923.
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The concrete, steel and brick building with ornamental terracotta was designed by the same firm that created the plans for the downtown Hens & Kelly store and the Saturn Club.
The erection of the Jackson Building saw the demolition of one of Buffalo’s classic, typical looking structures of an earlier era.
This building stood on the corner for the second half of the 19th century. The Ford-Meadows home was torn down in 1922.