In celebration of the successful completion of the first phase of redevelopment at the Richardson Olmsted Campus and as a special thanks to the community for its support, the Richardson and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, led by JoAnn Falletta, will illuminate the night and invite Western New Yorkers to witness a "first" for this region at 9 p.m. July 28.
"enLIGHTen" will feature an outdoor concert on the renewed south lawn of the Richardson. Music by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Rachmaninoff and others will be choreographed to a custom-designed light show projected onto the Richardson Towers. Displays of color, images and light will trace the history of the Richardson and reflect the music being performed.
Local projectionist crew PROJEX will design the light show, with artistic direction by Keith Harrington and partnerships with local artists and the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Using the latest light mapping technology and unique architecture, PROJEX will transform the historic Richardson with vivid visuals and lighting, while highlighting its architectural elements and the history of the campus.
The 145-year-old Richardson Olmsted Campus is being renewed after years of neglect. Designed by one of America's premier architects, Henry Hobson Richardson, in concert with the famed landscape team of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the building was completed in the late 1800s as the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane. Over the years, as mental health treatment changed and resources were diverted, the buildings and grounds began a slow deterioration.
Today, the Richardson Olmsted Campus is being transformed into a cultural amenity for the city. Key features of a massive rehabilitation and adaptive reuse project began in 2017 with Hotel Henry Urban Resort Conference Center and the Lipsey Buffalo Architecture Center in the iconic Towers Building and two flanking buildings (about one third of the campus). Future phases of renovation and landscape improvements are continuing and will be directed by the nonprofit Richardson Center Corporation.
"enLIGHTen" will spotlight the history of the Richardson as a place of healing and innovative treatment. It will feature music by famous composers who lived with mental illness and created historic music, often finding healing properties in their work.
This event is free and open to the public. More details will soon be available at
enlightenbuffalo.com. The BPO's performance at this event is made possible in part through a Regional Economic Development Council Arts implementation grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, with additional support from Iroquois Bar Corp. and National Grid.
