Well is there a market for grain elevator tourism?

[WNYresident]

Well lets see when we get all googly about it.

Search

grain elevator tourism

We get

In the google #1 spot
Saskatchewan Grain Elevators Study

An icon of the prairies, the country grain elevator has been a symbol of agriculture, transportation, and prairie communities since the late nineteenth century. It is a landmark in the Canadian west. But closures, demolition, and rail-line abandonment have become the new reality for these rural structures.
Where there were once about 3,300 in Saskatchewan alone, by 2006, there were only 540. Their disappearance has not gone unnoticed. In 1999, the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation commissioned a study and inventory of the remaining, operational wooden grain elevators in the province. At that date, approximately 800 grain elevators remained in operation in the province.
In 2005-06, the Foundation, with the Heritage Resources Branch, built on the earlier study and commissioned a second inventory, which includes modern inland terminals. This inventory will form a baseline for tracking the on-going demolition of grain elevators. It will be of interest to researchers, communities where elevators are still located, the media, and the general public, all of whom continue to have an interest in the fate of this unique architectural form. The study identified approximately 525 remaining historic wooden grain elevators, and an additional 70-75 modern terminals.

[WNYresident]

In the #2 spot

“The Sentinel” Grain Elevator Tour

[WNYresident]

I don't think I'd invest in a grain elevator tourism company.

I also searched "grain elevator vacations"

Pretty bleak. If there was a "DEMAND" for this type of vacation there would be more people offering it.

[Linda_D]

Google "ruined castle vacations" and I bet you don't get any hits, Rez.

People don't often book "vacations" to view specific historic structures the same way that they book cruises or beach vacations. Most tourists who come to Buffalo for historic or architectural tourism just don't want to see the FLW houses; those are on their itinerary, but so are Buffalo's other significant historic and/or architectural sites. The grain elevators, especially because of the effect of them being clustered around the Buffalo River, form a significant historic and architectural site.

Do people go to Washington, DC just to see the Lincoln Memorial? Probably a handful do, but most tourists go to Washington, DC, to see as many of the "sites"/"sights" as the can, including the Lincoln Memorial. That's what Buffalo needs to do if it wants to cash in on historic/architectural tourism: have a bunch of sites. You can't build up an inventory of historic/architectural sites unless you save them in the first place -- and that "saving" may be no more than as industrial ruins (like ruined European castles) in the case of the grain elevators.

[WNYresident]

Linda. I really don't know what to tell you.

"People don't often book "vacations" to view specific historic structures the same way that they book cruises or beach vacations. "

yes they do.



Castle vacation

http://www.fantasy-ireland.com/Irela...-vacation.html

http://www.cc-villas.com/tuscany_villa/castello.htm

http://www.viviun.com/Rentals/Vacation/Castles/

http://www.dooleyvacations.com/vacat...astle-vacation

http://www.dooleyvacations.com/vacat...astle-vacation

castle tourism


http://www.casteland.com/indexuk.htm

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html


http://www.romaniatourism.com/castles-fortresses.html

[300miles]

Well lets see when we get all googly about it.

I don't see why you'd google the globe and yet not see what's under your nose here in Buffalo. There is decent interest in seeing the elevators, given that they're not even marketed, and you can't even go inside them. Imagine if one of them was fixed up to go inside and see how they worked?


River Boat Tours on the Miss Buffalo II
Don’t miss the Buffalo River’s unique collection of monumental grain elevators, view the Niagara River’s historic reminders of prosperity in the heyday of lake commerce, learn about a war that tore apart a continent, or see modern efforts to clean up our rivers that are the first of their kind in the USA.

The War of 1812: July 3 at 10am (ship boards at 9:30)
Buffalo River: August 1 at 10am (ship boards at 9:30)
Niagara River: September 5 at 10am (ship boards at 9:30)

Reservations recommended. Meet at Miss Buffalo Cruise Boats on Marine Drive $20 or $10 for students ($15/$5 for members) Sorry, no Tour Bucks accepted for this event, and no refunds for cancellations. Tour routes may change for inclement weather.


Gold Medal Grain Elevators
Join us for an update on the Cobblestone District and Commercial Slip developments. Walk over the Michigan Avenue lift bridge for a close-up view of our majestic grain elevators. While on tour, munch on General Mills product samples.

May 15, June 20, July 24, Aug 29, Oct 24 at 10am

Meet at the tent at the Erie Canal Harbor
$10, or $5 for students


http://www.preservationbuffaloniagara.org

[WNYresident]

I don't see why you'd google the globe and yet not see what's under your nose here in Buffalo. There is decent interest in seeing the elevators, given that they're not even marketed, and you can't even go inside them. Imagine if one of them was fixed up to go inside and see how they worked?

I truly don't believe there is.

I love to see how things work and stuff.. Not those. Who would fix it up? NOT tax payer money. Learn priorities...

If there is a market why don't we see a private investor jumping on it?

Or just pick one. ONly one and demo the rest. Use your money to fix it up.. OH here's a thought. Ask the owner of River Boat Tours on the Miss Buffalo II if he would like one for free. He has to pay to fix it up. See what he says.

[DR_GONZO]

Knock it all down. There are too many vacant, dilapidated, buildings in and around the city and waterfront. Might as well not stop there either. Too many vacant, dilapidated, plazas strewn throughout the 'burbs as well. In both cases these rotting structures have eyesored the region far too long!

Corner milk vending machines were never preserved and those were a part of our past as well.

[300miles]

I'm not sure why we needed 5 threads on the same topic to split up the conversation. There are already plenty of shovel ready sites in Buffalo. When developers insist on tearing down historic structures instead of just buying an empty site, I have to question the reason and purpose. If they didn't want the grain elevators, they shouldn't have bought them.

[WNYresident]

Each is a topic.

Is there really a tourism market fora grain elevator..

Is a grain elevator holding up progress on the water front.

How do you restore a grain elevator..

etc etc etc..

OH and is a grain elevator in the league as a 300 or 1000 year old castle..

[WNYresident]

Do the people who we pay to promote buffalo tourism have calls asking about our grain elevators?

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

I'm not sure why we needed 5 threads on the same topic to split up the conversation. There are already plenty of shovel ready sites in Buffalo. When developers insist on tearing down historic structures instead of just buying an empty site, I have to question the reason and purpose. If they didn't want the grain elevators, they shouldn't have bought them.

So all sites are equal in your opinion?

A acre on the East Side is equal to an acre on the Buffalo River? Ya...that makes a whole lot of sense.

Also what you are really saying is if someone purchased the grain elevator for a purpose that does not suit you...you have a problem with it.


The conversation(s) about grain elevators summarizes precisely why Buffalo and WNY is in the state it is in.

[300miles]

So all sites are equal in your opinion?

I don't see how that comment has anything to do with what I posted.

Also what you are really saying is if someone purchased the grain elevator for a purpose that does not suit you...you have a problem with it.

Um, no. What I'm saying is that the developers should have known that the site they purchased was determined 7 years prior to be eligible as an historic preservation site. And therefore if they wanted a site just to bulldoze what was on it, they should have gone elsewhere. Also they should have been smart enough to know that bulldozing an historic site would raise some eyebrows and that it would require extra documentation of their intentions, which they were not able to provide. If they were not aware of the historic designation before they purchased it, then they must not be thorough enough to research their own investments.

[WestCoastPerspective]

Knock it all down. There are too many vacant, dilapidated, buildings in and around the city and waterfront. Might as well not stop there either. Too many vacant, dilapidated, plazas strewn throughout the 'burbs as well. In both cases these rotting structures have eyesored the region far too long!

Corner milk vending machines were never preserved and those were a part of our past as well.

Knock 'em down? Are you going to pay for it? Going to seize private property? Stop with your nonsense.

[WestCoastPerspective]

I don't see how that comment has anything to do with what I posted.


Um, no. What I'm saying is that the developers should have known that the site they purchased was determined 7 years prior to be eligible as an historic preservation site. And therefore if they wanted a site just to bulldoze what was on it, they should have gone elsewhere. Also they should have been smart enough to know that bulldozing an historic site would raise some eyebrows and that it would require extra documentation of their intentions, which they were not able to provide. If they were not aware of the historic designation before they purchased it, then they must not be thorough enough to research their own investments.

Exxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxactly!