AUTHORITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Honoring the Memory of World-Renowned Architect Robert T. Coles
NFTA Unveils Robert T. Coles Tribute Signage at Its Utica Station
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 29, 2021
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The NFTA was joined by government and civic leaders as well as members of the Coles Family to unveil the new tribute signage at the Utica Station on Main Street in honor of Robert T. Coles, the famed Buffalo Architect who passed away last year.
Coles was a true pioneer in architecture, a community activist, and a founding member of the National Organization for Minority Architects (NOMA). Coles designed numerous modernist landmark buildings in his native Buffalo including the Alumni Arena and Natatorium at the University at Buffalo, the Frank E. Merriweather Jr. Library on Jefferson Avenue, as well as the Utica Station on Main Street, where the special event took place.
“This is a day I have looked forward to since July 2020, when I reached out to the NFTA Board of Commissioners to request the Utica Street Transit Station be renamed in honor of its trailblazing designer, Buffalo Architect Robert Traynham Coles,” Mayor Byron W. Brown said. “Today’s renaming is a major step forward in using our City’s public spaces to honor the history and contributions of Black artists, thinkers, clergy, inventors, architects, government leaders, educators, and others who are critical to understanding the diverse heritage of Buffalo, New York State and our nation. It also leaves a lasting mark and serves as a continuing inspiration in the community Robert Coles lived in and loved so much.
“Highlighting Mr. Coles’ lifelong advocacy for social justice and his extraordinary life and contributions to our community is important,” said Kim Minkel, NFTA Executive Director. “We are proud of our agency’s ability to use our public space to celebrate and recognize Mr. Coles’ work and legacy.”
A trailblazer in architecture and a vocal activist, Robert T. Coles was truly a changemaker. He was deeply committed to his community, and to making a difference where it mattered most," said Senator Tim Kennedy, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. "While he may no longer be with us, his legacy undoubtedly lives on. We see his fingerprints everywhere we look in Buffalo, including at the Utica Station, where he will now fittingly be honored in perpetuity."
In July of 2020, Mayor Byron Brown reached out to the NFTA and UB’s School of Architecture and Planning to honor the late Robert Traynham Coles, an African American architect who had recently passed away. Their collective decision was to rename Utica Street Station, a building the architect designed in a joint venture with University of Minnesota classmate Randy Vocbeck (of VVKR) in 1984, in honor of its architect. This station is a major example of Coles’ modernist design style, which incorporates the use of concrete to develop the waffle grid construction system that structures the upper foyer and lower concourse levels and students at UB helped design the new exterior lettering.
“I am deeply honored to speak on behalf of Robert Coles,” said Sylvia Coles, who was married to Robert T. Coles for more than 6 decades. “Were he here today, he would most certainly express his appreciation for the recognition of his significant contributions to Buffalo's public architecture, including this station, by renaming the station for him.”
Coles earned a master’s degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following a fellowship in Europe, Coles returned to his native Buffalo, working for multiple firms before opening his own firm in 1963. Coles was a Professor of Architecture at both the University of Kansas and Carnegie Mellon University. Coles was the first African American Chancellor of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the first AIA Vice-President for Minority Affairs and was named to the College of Fellows of the AIA in 1981. Coles was 90 when he passed away on May 16, 2020.
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