The Concrete Central, Agway, The Great Northern, The Marine A, The Lake and Rail, Kellogg, Pillsbury, H&O Oats, Exchange American, Electric Annex — these are just a few of the “Grand Ladies of the Lake” whose fascinating biographies and arresting photos are the subject of a new book on Buffalo’s grain elevators edited by landscape architect Lynda Schneekloth.

“Reconsidering Concrete Atlantis: Buffalo’s Grain Elevators” (2007, Urban Design Project and Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier) tells a colorful and deeply researched historic, economic and cultural story of the elevators through essays and articles by Schneekloth, professor of architecture at the University at Buffalo, and several notable preservationists, urban planners and historians.

The book, rich with scores of photos, drawings, maps, floor plans, charts, history and anecdotes, also presents proposed projects for adaptive reuse of the 13 abandoned elevators that still stand on the Buffalo waterfront. The proposals are by 12 authors from the UB School of Architecture and Planning, Cornell University and Columbia University.