This building still stands proudly, cared for, in good condition. This makes me want to go to Buffalo. In the summer.

These photos are from HABS, and the HABS data pages provide this attribution of the sculptural program: "Presidents Fillmore and Cleveland statues, Bryant Baker. Friezes on the east and west facades and the lobby figures representing civic virtues, Albert T. Stewart, born in England. Various sculptured reliefs and decorative elements, Rene P. Chambellan and by Graf and McIlveen. Lobby murals, William de Leftwich Dodge and local craftsmen."

Judging from other sources, there are twelve integrated figural pieces around the building somewhere -- they were trying to decode their identities. Here wait, I'll find the web page again. Here it is. There are cool historic photos here. This building has other virtues: an octagonal drum-shaped tower with multicolored tile work, "eight massive columns in the shape of tightly bundled reeds," bas reliefs, bronze panels, the works. This central frieze, I believe, is the work of Graf & McIlveen (according to the above photograph). There are twelve figures emerging from spandrels, all the way around the building, and the author of this excellent page suggests that they represent the months, and that this chilly beauty with the incised snowflake might be Miss November.

I don't have photos of those spandrel figures, but I believe they'd be the work of Chambellan. I did want to draw your attention to the second photo below, which shows the placement of the lobby figures, and then please scroll down and have a look at Fidelity. That's the single coolest thing I've seen in a year.

The other three figures are called Virtue, Diligence, and Service, according to this civic website with a thorough exploration of the integrated art.

The figure of Portlandia on the not-entirely-satisfactory Portland Building in Portland Oregon crouches down towards street level in a way that suggests she wants to interact with you in some way. It's the playing against expectations that makes this such a postmodern joke, exactly in the same genre as the building itself, but the statue is loved, I believe, and the building is not.

Her size and posture and the ambient sense of humor in Portland make her a constant target of pranks. Her trident is sexy. She's 9 tons, and according to this site it was Michael Graves' idea to use the Percent-for-Art Program to bring the figure of Lady Commerce from the Portland City Seal into three dimensions.

Also in the category of postmodern jokes are the twelve figures high atop the San Francisco 580 California Street building, which dates from 1982. Ironically, given Philip Johnson's role in defining the modern style in America and eliminating sculptural elements along with the rest of ornament, it's a Philip Johnson building. I don't have a photo, sorry, but if you Google 'corporate goddesses' you'll see their creepy, unsettling forms, sort of guardians in reverse, attracting trouble, generating negative wonder. The sculptress was Muriel Castanis. My friend the Urbanist has a good post about them, here.