Old Buffalo train station makes global group’s ‘watch list’

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A long-defunct western New York train station being considered for redevelopment has made an international group’s list of cultural treasures that need to be preserved.

The Manhattan-based World Monuments Fund on Monday released its 2018 watch list of cultural heritage sites that are threatened by warfare, natural disaster, climate change or urbanization.

The list features 25 sites, including the Central Terminal in Buffalo .

The facility closed in 1979 after a half-century in operation. The property featuring the old station and its 17-story Art Deco-style tower was abandoned and left to deteriorate before local preservationists stepped in.

The nonnrofit Central Terminal Restoration Corp. is overseeing ongoing renovation work as redevelopment projects are sought.

The group’s Paul Lang tells WBEN-AM that inclusion on the list puts the terminal on “the world stage.”