Townsend Hall

  • Overview

    Facility
    TWNSND
    Number
    0022
    Function
    Adm/Serv
    Gross Square Feet
    25,095
    Construction Cost
    $178,000
    Completed
    September 1903
    Architect
    George Metzger (1903), E.B. Green & Son (1931)

  • Function

    LEED Gold Certificate Seal.

    Originally part of the Erie County Almshouse and Poor Farm, Townsend Hall is home to the Human Resources department.  This entire building was restored as a part of the South Campus Master Plan.

    The state-of-the-art facility features numerous sustainable building strategies, qualifying it for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification.

  • Namesake

    TWNSND.

    A prominent figure in Buffalo's progressive movement, Harriet A. Townsend (1839-1916) founded the Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Buffalo in 1884. The organization was dedicated to promoting "the material, moral and intellectual welfare of the women of our city," and did so with lectures, classes and vocational training at the original Townsend Hall on Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo. In 1915, this building was given to the University of Buffalo by the Women's Educational and Industrial Union. When the building was sold, the university moved the Townsend name to the Main Street Campus.