TRICO BUILDING APARTMENTS

628 Ellicott Street

Buffalo, New York  

The TRICO Building was built in the 1890s as a large brewery for a German-American neighborhood.  The building expanded and became the first manufacturer of windshield wipers in the United States which at that time was the largest employer in Buffalo.

In 2002, TRICO closed its original manufacturing facility known as "Plant #1".  In 2024, the building has now been redeveloped into luxury apartments near the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.   Design fedatures throughout the building evoke the look and feel of the building's industrial past.  Residential corridors are lined with photographs of the Buffalo community and its historical architecture. 

The building is also known for once being the office of John R. Oishei (1886-1968), the TRICO founder and an industrialist who went on to become one of the most important philanthropists in the Buffalo Niagara Region.  In 1917, Oishei was the manager of the Teck Theatre in Buffalo.  At the time, while driving in a heavy rain he struck a bicyclist with his car. This inspired Oishei to team up with John Jepson to market the windshield wiper blade Jepson had invented.  

The business first rented manufacturing space in North Buffalo, but in 1919 the Pierce Arrow Motor Company contracted the manufacturer to supply manually operated wipers for its luxury cars and in 1920 Cadillac, Packard and Lincoln did the same.  The company continued to expand.  In 1922, the manufacturer became the supplier of automatic windshild wiper systems to Cadillac.  The entire TRICO complex included 10 buildings. 

During John R. Oishei's lifetime he started a charitable foundation that has become one of the most important philanthropies in the Buffalo Niagara Region.  In 2010, The John R. Oishei Foundation had $284 million in assets and contributed more than $14 million to community and medical causes in the region.  

TRICO Plant No. 1 was listed to the National Register of Historic Places February 2, 2001.