The 14 hulking grain elevators along the Buffalo River are the largest concentration of such structures in one place in the world, but they're normally off limits to the public.

That changed for several hours Friday, when visitors were allowed into three of the colossal fortresses -- the Marine A, American and Perot elevators and the connecting Perot Malt House, once used to manufacture Genesee beer.

The visitors looked up at the 120-foot-high silos, stood around cone-shaped hoppers and former malting kilns, and contemplated Buffalo's industrial past.

For Margaret Raab of Williamsville, just going inside was a revelation.

"You drive by these massive structures all your life, and you just have no idea what's inside," she said while standing in the Marine A silo. "It's beautiful and it's massive, it's just unbelievable, the size of it."

Grain elevators, which were invented in Buffalo by Joseph Dart in 1843, are seen by some as dilapidated ruins from the city's faded industrial past that are large blights on the landscape.

Those views were not evident among the National Preservation Conference attendees, or those affiliated with the University at Buffalo's School of Architecture and Planning, the host of the event.

Ruth Connell, who chairs the Department of Architecture at Morgan State University, said she was surprised at how emotional she got after entering them.

"One of the photographs I took was of a handle on a machine. When you're recognizing these structures, you're also recognizing the labor of the people for whom it was their workplace. They're very powerful, emotionally laden structures, plus they have their own total aesthetic," Connell said.

That aesthetic was embraced in the early 20th century by European Modernists and also influenced the Bauhaus style of art and architecture.

It prompted Reyner Banham, the late University at Buffalo writer and architectural critic, to famously say of what is now the General Mills elevator, in "A Concrete Atlantis":

"It could be argued, and with very little exaggeration, that Elevators A, B, and C of the Washburn-Crosby complex constitute the most internationally influential structures ever put up in North America."

Lynda Schneekloth, a University at Buffalo professor emeritus who edited "Reconsidering Concrete Atlantis: Buffalo Grain Elevators," said they should still be seen as a vital part of Buffalo today.

"These structures are giant machines and iconic features on the Buffalo landscape. ... They're not just about the past. They're here right now, and are an extraordinary icon of the City of Buffalo," Schneekloth said.

In the Marine A elevator, a large crowd encircled a trio performing a soundscape by John Cage, as the sounds from cello, xylophone and percussion reverberated through the hollow space. Photos of grain elevators by Bruce Jackson, a UB American Culture professor, also hung on the walls.

Robert Shibley, dean of UB's School of Architecture and Planning, used the conference to announce the department would be offering a continuing education program in preservation and sustainability, beginning in the spring.

Shibley said a new master of science degree in architecture could evolve to have a specialty in that track as well, and a future doctoral program in planning preservation also is a possibility.

"It gives us a chance to test the waters in terms of interest and excitement, and also establish our reputation," Shibley said.

At CEPA Gallery, three shows on grain elevators, including photographs by Jet Lowe and Mark Maio, went on exhibit in conjunction with the conference and will be up until Dec. 17.

Earlier in the day, conference tours included going to the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora on the subject of protecting small-town identity; to Boston Valley Terra Cotta, in Orchard Park, to learn how architectural terra cotta is fabricated; and several tours to Niagara Falls that included the Niagara Reservation and Schoelkopf Power Plant ruins.

The conference will close today with a session featuring author Isabel Wilkerson in the Statler Golden Ballroom.

There also will be a number of daytime sessions, and "on your own tours" in the afternoon.

The list of those sites, both free and for a charge, include Delaware Avenue mansions, Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, Humboldt Parade, Shea's Performing Arts Center, Black Rock Historic Village, Buffalo City Hall, Connecticut Street Armory, Temple Beth Zion and the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site.

Lauren Belfer, author of "City of Light," will speak at Buffalo Seminary at 7 p.m., preceded by a reception at 5 p.m. Tickets are $25, and are still available.

msommer@buffnews.comnull