A Closer Look: Walter J. Mahoney State Office Building
From the Photo series: A Closer Look: Explore Western New York’s architectural treasures series
The Walter J. Mahoney State Office Building at 65 Court St. in Buffalo was erected 1928-1932. Architects of the neoclassical monumental building with art deco ornamentation were E.B. Green and Sons with Albert Hart Hopkins. The building was named for a local powerful state legislator who served for nearly 30 years. Walter J. Mahoney then became a State Supreme Court judge. In 1930, the building's cornerstone was laid by then-governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. The building will be put up for auction Oct. 7.
A state building
This is the south side of the Walter J. Mahoney State Office building with the front entrance.Â
Details of Buffalo
A seal on the front of the building has the lighthouse, a ship and the Erie Canal.Â
Neoclassical monumental style
The building was named after a local powerful state legislator who served for nearly 30 years. Walter J. Mahoney then became a State Supreme Court judge.
Entrance
The front entrance has the New York State seal.
Excelsior
The front entrance has the New York State seal. Excelsior, the New York State motto, is Latin for "ever upward."
The foyer
This is the front entrance.Â
Granite walls
The foyer has granite walls.Â
Art deco lighting
An art deco light fixture on the ceiling in the foyer.Â
Foyer
A sign in the foyer with art deco ornamentation. The wall is granite.Â
Radiator grate
Ornate radiator grate in the foyer.Â
Ornate molding
Decorative plaster molding in the foyer.Â
Ceiling murals
There are three ceiling murals in the lobby.Â
Sunburst design
Decorative plaster molding with a sunburst design around the ceiling murals in the lobby.Â
Center mural
The center ceiling mural in the lobby is called "Niagara 1680."Â
Erie Canal mural
The ceiling mural in the lobby called "Erie Canal Lock 1837" shows a packet boat.Â
Buffalo Harbor mural
The ceiling mural in the lobby called "Buffalo Harbor 1837" shows a barge.
Building's predecessor
A plaque displayed in the lobby tells about Central High School, Buffalo's first public high school that preceded the Mahoney Building. A new school was built on Elmwood Avenue that is now called Hutchison Central Technical High School. It was torn down to make way for the new building.
Building's namesake
A portrait of Walter J. Mahoney is hanging on the wall in the lobby.
Lobby lighting
Art deco lighting in the lobby.
View through lobby
Looking out the windows at the front entrance.Â
Office entrance
This is the Office of General Services on the first floor. Many of the doors on the first floor are made of bronze.Â
Bronze and wood
This is the Office of General Services on the first floor. The door is made of bronze with a wooden relief above.Â
Ornate molding
There is ornate molding around the room in the Office of General Services on the first floor.
Antique clock
This is an antique clock that is no longer in use in the Office of General Services on the first floor.
Uncovering the original
This small section of ceiling in the lobby had been painted over but restored by Swiatek Restorations. The original is canvas on concrete and the technique used is an artistic method known as sgraffito.Â
Marble and terrazzo
The floor in the lobby is made from marble and terrazzo.Â
Directions
There are old phone booths in the lobby.
Phone booths
There are old phone booths in the lobby.
Creative lighting
A light above the phone booths in the lobby.
Hearing room
Hearing Room 4 on the first floor was used as a courtroom when the Robert H. Jackson U.S. Courthouse was being built. It is now mostly used for news conferences.Â
Hearing room seating
Hearing Room 4 was used as a courtroom when the Robert H. Jackson U.S. Courthouse was being built. It is now mostly used for news conferences.Â
Elevator
Lobby elevator.Â
In the spotlight
This is the rear lobby. The room was used to shoot scenes for the film "Cabrini" on Aug. 9. It was also used for scenes for "Nightmare Alley" with Bradley Cooper in 2020.Â
Transaction stations
These are transaction stations in the rear lobby.Â
Lovely lighting
There's art deco lighting in the rear lobby.Â
Predecessor to the cubicle
This wall on the fourth floor is the predecessor to the modern-day cubicle. It will disassemble in sections and can be reconfigured.
Milk glass
Tile called milk glass in a fourth-floor restroom.Â
Movie stencil
This is the entrance to an office on the third floor used for the attorney's office in the movie "Marshall." This glass stencil was made for the movie.
Office in 'Marshall'
This is the entrance to an office on the third floor used in the movie "Marshall."
Building blueprint
This is a blueprint for the building from 1929.Â
1929 buleprint
This is a blueprint for the building from 1929.Â
Up for auction
This is the north side of the building. The building is going up for auction Oct. 7.
Limestone
The building exterior is limestone.Â
Buffalo relief
A relief of a Buffalo on the building.Â
Cornerstone
In 1930, the cornerstone was laid by then-governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This is the south side of the building with the front entrance.Â
Art deco ornamentation
Details on the west side of the building. The style of the building is neoclassical monumental with art deco ornamentation.
In this Series
Photo series: A Closer Look: Explore Western New York’s architectural treasures
This series has taken Buffalo News photographers inside, outside, above and, on occasion, underneath local landmarks and to places most people…
