By JAMES FINK
jfink@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1611

As she munched on a salad while sitting in the lobby of the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, Nancy Powell marveled at what she saw outside the window.

Workers were seen restoring the exterior of the nearly 90-year Statler City, former Statler Towers, and just beyond that she could see a corner of Buffalo City Hall.

Powell, a board member of the Historic Kansas City Foundation, was one of nearly 2,500 people in Buffalo last week for the annual conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For all the talk of the immediate and long-term impact on the region, the reality is that all it comes down to Powell and others iike her.

As they say, first impressions are the most important. And based on comments by attendees, the region is shining in a big way.

Powell said this is her first visit to Buffalo, and she plans on coming back.

"I can't believe how much there is to see and how friendly the people are," she said.

Powell said she was "blown away" by the architecture seen at places such as the Guaranty Building and Buffalo City Hall.

What also impressed her was a tour she took of neighborhoods on the West Side and the Allentown area. She said she saw, for the first time, doubles and flats - two early-20th century forms of residential development that never took hold in Kansas City.

"You just don't have that kind of housing in Kansas City," she said. "And what also amazes me is how people take such pride in their neighborhoods. All I saw were tidy homes taken care of by loving owners."

Amanda Crawley, Historic Kansas City Foundation executive director, said she, too, was impressed with the array of architecture, from landmark buildings such as Richardson Towers and Central Terminal to area neighborhoods.

Crawley, who also was here for the first time, said she plans to return because the diversity of the city's neighborhoods was eye-opening. Chief among them, she said: the Polonia District in the Broadway-Fillmore area, which she and others toured.

"There is such character there," she said.

U.S. Navy architects Jeff Dodge and Charlene Oka-Wong, who arrived here from Honolulu, said they discovered a city with strong potential to attract cultural, architectural and historical tourists.

"There's a good basis to build from," Dodge said.

Oka-Wong said she was impressed by the Statler and Shea's Performing Arts Center.

"Just to be in those historic buildings is so wonderful," she said.

Barbara Hall, third vice president for the San Antonio Conservation Society, said her first local visit was memorable indeed.

The architecture and Niagara Falls are impressive, she said, but what really caught her attention were "friendly and warm" people she met here.

"Texans are noted for being very friendly, but I think we've got some real competition here," Hall said. "Whenever I have a question, there's always two or three people there willing to answer it and help me."

In terms of landmarks, Hall said Niagara Falls - especially at night - was overly impressive.

Also, Niagara Square with the McKinley Monument in its middle and Gates Circle with its working fountain.

"It reminds me of Europe and particularly Rome," she said.