By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

A 44-year-old time capsule buried four decades ago during construction of One M&T Plaza in downtown Buffalo was opened Tuesday by bank leaders Robert Wilmers and Mark Czarnecki.

The time capsule was discovered during the ongoing $6.5 million renovation of the plaza. It was placed inside the stone of M&T Plaza by former bank Chairman and CEO Charles Millard Jr. during the plaza's construction in 1966.

A large crowd of M&T employees gathered to watch the opening of the capsule. Wilmers, board chairman and CEO of the bank, showed off items such as a $1 bill, a $2 bill, the bank's 1965 annual report and a copy of the now-defunct Buffalo Courier-Express newspaper.

The bank plans to gather new items - such as a Blackberry smartphone and an M&T debit card - to place in the capsule, which will be reburied in the plaza.