Curtiss-Wright Corporation was formed in 1929 when Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation merged with Wright Aeronautical Corporation. Curtiss-Wright Corporation had two Western New York factories located in Tonawanda and Cheektowaga, New York. The company was known for manufacturing airplanes, and played a significant role in the United States war effort during World War II. Many […]
AlliedSignal, Inc. was founded in 1985 when Allied Corp. and The Signal Companies Inc. merged. The origins of AlliedSignal date back to 1920, when Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation was formed. AlliedSignal began as a chemical company in Hopewell, Virginia and produced ammonia. In 1999 Allied Signal acquired Honeywell and it now goes by the […]
The Louis DeMarkus Corporation was founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1953 by Arnold Jacobowitz. Mr. Jacobowitz established his company after he purchased the DeMarkus Form (a carbon dioxide generation unit) from Hungarian physicist Louis DeMarkus. Mr. Jacobowitz opened the first DeMarkus Corporation manufacturing facility at 3080 Main Street in order to design and manufacture […]
Joy Manufacturing Company was established in 1955 in Western New York, and at that time, employed four engineers. Shortly after it was established, Joy Manufacturing opened a Research and Development facility at 3101 Broadway Avenue in Cheektowaga, New York, for the purpose of designing and developing gas turbines, steam turbines, axial flow compressors and other […]
St. Mary’s School for the Deaf was established in Buffalo in 1853, as the first academic school for the deaf in the U.S. In 1898 St. Mary’s was relocated from Edward Street to its current location on Main Street. St. Mary’s School for the Deaf is dedicated to providing an education that will prepare deaf […]
Wickwire Spencer Steel was located on River Road along the shore of the Niagara River in Tonawanda, New York. The steel plant opened in 1901 as Wickwire Steel Company. The million-square-foot steel plant had several buildings that housed blast furnaces, open hearth furnaces, blooming mill, billet mill and rod mills. In 1920, Wickwire Steel Company […]
Ferree Plastics was established in 1960 in Lockport, New York. The Ferree family purchased Sterling Molders Inc. and its plant on Van Burren Street after a massive fire nearly destroyed the building. Ferree Plastics acquired former Sterling Molders Inc. clients and continued to manufacture molded plastic parts for automobiles, electronics, small household appliances and personal […]
On April 20, 1916, Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation was created out of the reorganization of the International Steam Pump Company. The International Steam Pump Company previously merged with five steam pump companies, including the Henry R. Worthington Company, the Blake & Knowles Steam Pump Works, the Deane Steam Pump Works and the Laidlaw Dunn […]
The Carborundum Company was incorporated in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, in 1891 by Dr. Edward G. Acheson. The rapidly growing industry of hydroelectric power drew Acheson and his company to Niagara Falls, New York, in 1895. At this time, Carborundum employed 35 individuals and that number grew to about 6,000 by 1944. Carborundum has seen its days […]
In 1848, the Pratt & Letchworth Company was established by Samuel F. Pratt, Pascal P. Pratt and William P. Letchworth. The company initially manufactured cast iron hardware for saddles and carriages. Over the next few decades, Pratt & Letchworth diversified its product line to include cast iron hand tools, toys and railroad equipment. By the […]
In 1922, Lance Nicholson and Thomas Hall founded the Nicholson & Hall Boiler & Welding Corporation in what is now called the Cobblestone District of Buffalo, New York. With easy access to the Buffalo harbor, Nicholson & Hall originally serviced boilers onboard Great Lakes steamships. With the loss of shipping traffic into Buffalo Harbor due […]
In 1946, O-Cel-O was founded on Leslie Street in Buffalo, New York, by former DuPont employees Jack Bitzer, Chester Hardt and Gerard Murray. The company manufactured artificial cellulose sponges for household use and was formed in order to take advantage of a shortage of natural sponges due to World War II and a sponge blight […]
Constructed in 1971, the Thaddeus J. Dulski Federal Office Building (The Dulski Building) was once the epicenter of the federal government’s presence in Western New York. Up until 2006, tenants of the Dulski Building included the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Commerce, The U.S. […]
Located in Cheektowaga, New York, the Thruway Plaza opened in 1952, and it was one of the earliest post-war shopping centers in the Buffalo region. The shopping center was originally built for $7 million dollars and consisted of 300,000 square feet. The Thruway Plaza was initially built as an open-air, strip style complex and included […]
Linde Air Products was founded in 1907, as the American subsidiary of German industrial gas manufacturer Linde AG. The original Linde plant was located on Chandler Street in Buffalo, New York. It was the first plant in the United States to manufacture liquid oxygen, and it also manufactured other industrial gases, such as acetylene, nitrogen […]