Sunday, February 8, 2009

Niagara Falls Then and Now: Old Storefronts on Queen St. (Part 1 of 10)

This ten-part series of posts walks eastward along the north-side of Queen St., in Niagara Falls, Ontario, starting from Buckley Ave. towards St. Lawrence Ave. Click on photos to enlarge!*
below: Looking at the north-east corner of Buckley Ave. and Queen St. in Niagara Falls Ont., as it was on Oct.4, 1964. On the corner at left is the Old Vienna bakery, with its windows soaped, possibly moving out; next to the right (east) is Kindy's Furs; then Brocher's Pastry Shop at right.
above: Oct.4, 1964 - Brocher's is at left, then El Win Tiny Togs, then at right Brock's Music and Toyland, with a neon sign over the sidewalk.
above: still looking north-east along Queen St., in May 1965 - the corner bakery shop is still vacant; next store east is Kindy's; then Brocher's Pastry Shop; next to it is El Win Tiny Togs; next to the east at the far right is Brock's. On the rooftop of the next building (to the east of Brock's) is a large billboard ad for R.C. Young Realty and Insurance.
Above: date unknown; Kindy's is at the left, Brocher's Pastries has moved, El Win has moved, Brock's is at the right.
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Below: date unknown; closer view of Brock's Records and Toys, with its neon sign now gone.
above: Dec.22, 2008 - same building where Brock's Records and Toys had once been.
above: Apr.16, 2009 - same view, facade being painted white; the shingle siding has been removed, and the brick-arched side doorway can be seen again. above: Apr.17, 2009 - same view, a final coat of sky-blue paint now covers the brick storefront
above: same view, Aug.7, 2009 - a yellow awning, new black-lettered sign and trim added
above: Feb.8, 2009 - the same row of storefronts, standing on the north-east corner of Buckley Ave. and Queen St.
above: Sept.28, 1965 - continuing east along Queen St. is the Frontier business equipment store; upstairs were the offices of R.C.Young Realty and Insurance. To the left (west) was Brock's Records. To the right was a Sherwin Williams paint store.
above: same view, Feb.9, 2009
above: Oct.4, 64 - continuing east, Frontier is seen at the far left; next was Allemang's Sherwin Williams Paints, then R. Greco Tailors. Upstairs were the law offices of Logan and Knight.
above: same location, Dec.22, 2008.
above: Oct.4, 1964 - continuing eastward along Queen St., next to the right (east) from R. Greco Tailors is The Cinderella Shoppe; to the far right is a corner of the Mayflower Restaurant.
above: same location, Dec.22, 2008; The Cinderella Shoppe was once where the centre building, now with two floors, is seen.
above: Oct.4, 1964 - The Cinderella Shoppe is at the far left (west); next is the Mayflower Restaurant; next is Tom's Linens, seen with the house still behind it on whose front yard the store was built; and at the far right is the corner of Dag's Meats.
above: Dec.22, 2008 - same location. The gable of the home behind what used to be Tom's Linens can still be seen. Dag's Meats is long gone. To the left, atop its roof, beside today's satellite dishes, can be seen another iconic remnant of old Queen St. - the now-tattered and rusty metal stylized billowing sails, which once beckoned hungry landlubbers to the old Mayflower Restaurant.
above: Sept. 1966 - still looking at the same location; at the far right, Dag's had fresh sirloin steaks on sale for 89 cents a pound; Tom's had a fresh 'oriental-style' font on their store sign; the Mayflower Restaurant's sails are fronted by yet another sign - this one was hanging over the sidewalk, advertising corned beef on rye in glorious neon! Can it get any better?
above: Sept. 1977 - same view, eleven years later. The Mayflower has a new modernized facade, which now carries over to cover the old Tom's signage. Dag's Meats is still at the right (now without the round Coke sign which had been on the right-hand side of their sign, where the brackets are seen.)
above: same view, Feb.8, 2009. Where Dag's once was at the right, is vacant.
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below: Jun.29, 2009 - the former Dag's is now occupied by Voices, an Aboriginal arts and gifts shop.
below: Oct.4, 1964 - at the north-west corner of Queen St. and St. Lawrence was Oscar's Italian Imports, with the two Pepsi signs. Dag's Meat Market, with the Coke sign, is at the left.

above: same view on Mar.3, 2009 - the former Oscar's, now with a shallow gable roof, sits quietly curtained on the corner, with the two Pepsi signs long gone.

At the far right distance is the corner of Park St. and St. Lawrence Ave., where a house had recently been torn down during the week of Feb.16-20, 2009. (see: Niagara Falls Then and Now: house lost on Park Lane ) The mound of earth seen in was trucked in to fill the basement excavation after the house was demolished.

Recent photos by R. Bobak, older photos from Niagara Falls Ont. Library Archives (NFLA)
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For the next post in this ten-part series on old downtown Niagara Falls, Ont., see: Old storefronts on Queen St., Part Two
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