Buffalo Theatre District
The co-directors of the master plan were Harold Cohen, Dean of the SUNY Buffalo School of Architecture, and David Parry, Architect and Professor of the Urban Design Studio.There were over 50 theaters in the district in the early 20th C., when the city was called the "Gateway to the West", and served by railroads and the new Erie Canal.The plan called for the City to take ownership of most buildings thru tax foreclosure, then restore facades, and manage the district via a new nonprofit corporation.[5][6] A film explaining the 1978 planning process, titled "The Revitalization of Buffalo's Historic Theater District", can be seen on YouTube.From 1980 to 2004, in accordance with the area's land development terms, 25% of the net profit from the district was returned to the city by the nonprofit corporation.