Lynda Schneekloth, University at Buffalo architecture professor emeritus and grain elevator preservationist

“They are so out of scale to anything that you see in your life that they are like a distant landscape right in front of you all the time.”

More than a grain elevator enthusiast, Lynda Schneekloth is a scholar of these giant concrete and steel structures. On a frigid and windy Buffalo day in February 2020, she braved the cold to point out their inner-workings, why they were built the way they were, why they’re considered architectural wonders – and why so many of us are intrigued by them. Schneekloth was interviewed in February 2020 by Kate Kaye.

NOTE: This story features detailed descriptions of Buffalo’s grain elevator architecture, Buffalo’s grain elevator and cultural preservation, internal grain elevator machinery and processes.