Part of the Ellicott Complex, Red Jacket is an undergraduate residence hall but also home to academic and administrative offices, as well as the renowned MCEER earthquake engineering research center.

Namesake

Red Jacket (1758-1830) was a Seneca Indian leader who lived in the Buffalo area. For thirty years following the American Revolution, Red Jacket was a prominent voice in Seneca politics in Western New York. He believed that the Senecas should hold on to the old ways and, as the spokesperson for the conservative faction at the Buffalo Creek Reservation, opposed any sale of lands to the British or the Americans. The rift between him and his uncle came to a head over the sale of land, specifically the strip of land along the Niagara River known as the Black Rock Corridor. The Buffalo Creek Reservation is back in the news currently with the development of a Seneca casino in south Buffalo.

Historical research and photographs provided by University Archives.

Building Facts

Primary function: Residence

Tenants: Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER), Campus Dining and Shops, Dining Hall

Architect: Davis, Brody, and Associates of New York City; Milstein, Wittek, Davis Associates of Buffalo

Completion date: February, 1974

Gross square feet: 157,536

Construction cost: $1,777,000