Many American cities, especially in the Rust Belt, have decaying structures – relics of a bygone era. They serve as reminders of better times for those cities, the businesses that once thrived and the people they supported. In the case of Buffalo, the glory days were identified with mammoth grain elevators that reigned supreme on the Lake Erie waterfront near downtown. That is until the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959 and the need for them ceased to exist.

Built in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, they enabled Buffalo as the western terminus of the Erie Canal to become a distribution gateway for the Midwest’s bountiful supply of grain to the East Coast and Europe. The grain elevators helped Buffalo to become an economic success story that begat manufacturing and even more jobs. But in an instant it was over. The fortunes of the city changed and the decline began.

Today these once proud structures still stand like silent sentinels, unoccupied and alone … but still proud. They almost have a spiritual quality about them. While there is talk about their revitalization, that really hasn’t happened, short of some isolated efforts. This is a familiar problem facing many towns and cities across this country.

What needs to be done is to capture the beauty and honor of these great artifacts before they end up being torn down or “revitalized” into hotels, office buildings … or God help us … outlet centers.

I was aware of the elevators when I was growing up, but never really witnessed or cared about them. And I never thought about seeing them during the many times I had been back to visit after I graduated from college and moved away. I suspect this isn’t an atypical situation for many of us.

Now I want to see them and other monuments I neglected, but I will likely only come back here for visits to the cemetery to spend time with loved ones or attend the occasional high school reunion.

One of my favorite photographers is David Plowden, who describes himself as “an archeologist with a camera”, spending his life “one step ahead of the wrecking ball” to capture poignant images of the American landscape and historic American structures before they’re gone. All of his books are wonderful; I own several and have been fortunate enough to have met him at an opening of one of his many traveling exhibits.

Please think about the opportunities that exist to capture the power and beauty of these artifacts of a different … and perhaps better time. You may be rewarded beyond the images you make!