Torn-Down Tuesday: Before the Hampton Inn at Delaware & Chippewa

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.

Buffalo Stories archives

Buffalo Stories archives

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.

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This building stood on the corner for the second half of the 19th century. The Ford-Meadows home was torn down in 1922.

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Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.