Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart's first church, built in 1875, was located between Seneca and Swan Streets. Just half-a-block down the street was the Larkin Administration Building, built in 1904 and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1911, the Larken Soap Company purchased the church and school buildings to make room for further expansion. The parish then acquired new property a few blocks away, between Emslie and Watson streets, where the present church and school buildings are located. The Larkin company went out of business shortly after the Great Depression, and in 1950, the infamous Larkin Building was torn down to put up a parking lot.

Below are pictures of the remaining Sacred Heart Rectory and a partial wall, all that is left of the Larkin Building.

David Smith wrote and sent two newspaper articles from 1936, at the time that the Larken company demolished the original church. The first article writes about how Larkin used the former church as an auditorium for employees. The second describes the contents of the churches cornerstone.

Landmark Being Razed, Buffalo News, March 27, 1936

Hydraulics Landmark Goes as Old Church is Wrecked, Courier Express, May 13, 1936

LANDMARK BEING RAZED Buffalo News dated March 27, 1936 Larkin Auditorium, Once Site of Church to Provide Parking Space. "A wrecking crew today was tearing down one of Buffalo's landmarks, the Larkin Co., Inc. auditorium in 700 Seneca street. "The building housing the auditorium originally was the Sacred Heart church, in which residents of that vicinity worshipped for years. Twenty years ago, when the new Sacred Heart church was built in 214 Emslie street, the old edifice was taken over by the Larkin company. "Since that time it has been used for Larkin club meetings, cooking schools, dramatic presentations and as a gymnasium for company employees. "The building is being razed, according to officials of the company, to provide additional parking facilities for customers of the Larkin company's department store. Increased patronage of the store has made additional parking space necessary, they explained, adding that the new parking area will accommodate 80 to 100 automobiles." David added this postscript to the news article: "So, that's why the church was torn down. The Larkin Administration building had been converted into a department store, and the company said it needed parking space for customers. The company had already torn down the Sacred Heart school to make a parking lot."
Behind the rectory is the former St. Mathew's Evangelical Church on Swan Street (1868). Today it is the Delaine-Waring AME Church.	The former Sacred Heart Rectory still stands between Seneca and Swan Streets. The church stood next to the rectory followed by the school and then the Larkin Building. This link to Buffalo History Works shows a picture of the Larkin Building with part of the school showing on the right. The school was razed in 1929. Today all that remains of the Larken Building is this brick wall.


Hydraulics Landmark Goes As Old Church Is Wrecked Courier Express, dated May 13, 1936 Larkin Auditorium, former Sacred Heart edifice, demolished, reveals relics "The old Hydraulics, the Seneca-Swan Street district which figured largely in Buffalo's early history, gradually is losing its landmarks. One of the last of these, the Larkin Auditorium, which formerly was the Church of the Sacred Heart, was demolished yesterday. When wreckers opened the cornerstone, some of the flavor which characterized the old settlement was revealed. "The Church of the Sacred Heart was built in 1875 and the cornerstone was laid on June 10th of that year. Incidentally the Larkin Company also was founded in that year. "In the bronze box within the cornerstone was found a copy of the Daily Courier. one of the ancestors of the Courier-Express, of the day the cornerstone was set. There were three pages of the Old Testament telling of the building and destruction of Solomon's Temple and three small statuettes, representing the Sacred Heart, the Virgin Mary and St. George. The latter statue was of the patron saint of Msgr. George Weber, who was pastor of the church. Msgr. Weber died last year when he was rector of St. Mary of Sorrows Church. Also in the box was a badge of the Hydraulic Exempt Firemen's Association, a replica of an emblem proudly worn by scores of relatives of families now prominent in various parts of Buffalo. Copies of the Catholic Union and times of 1875 and German daily papers also were included. The old church was sold to The Larkin Company in 1916 and the congregation built a new edifice at Emslie and Bristol streets, which it occupies now. The relics will be kept in records of the company, John D. Larkin, 3rd, said last night."
	Frank Lloyd Wright is know for having designed buildings that fit into their surrounding landscape. This picture leaves me with the impression that nature is now taking back what is left of the Larkin building.