File:Barcalo Manufacturing Company building, Buffalo, New York - 20201004.jpg

English: The Barcalo Manufacturing Company Factory, 225 Louisiana Street, Buffalo, New York, October 2020. Occupying the entire block bounded by Louisiana, O'Connell, Kentucky, and Republic Streets, the architecture of this massive complex is undistinguished stylistically, but interesting nonetheless as an example of an industrial facility that grew and developed as need dictated and incorporated advances in architectural technology every step of the way. As such, the Barcalo complex is not wholly attributable to any one architect, though the prolific local firm of Green & Wicks is distinguished among them for having designed the original 1899 building (not visible from this perspective) and contributed to the designs of most of the subsequent additions. The complex was completed to essentially the form it takes today by 1919. Founded in 1896 by Edward J. Barcalo (1870-1963) and initially operated in partnership with Pennsylvania businessman Charles S. Boll (1868-1952), the Barcalo Manufacturing Company grew into one of the major industrial employers in Buffalo's Old First Ward neighborhood; they manufactured a variety of items including hand tools, forged metal products (being a major WWII-era supplier of aircraft parts for Curtiss-Wright), and above all, furniture: metal bed frames, mattresses, and the company's signature product, the Barcalounger reclining chair. The factory continued in operation until production was moved to North Carolina in 1965, after which point the buildings have been occupied by a variety of industrial and commercial tenants. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.