Sunday, May 24, 2009

Niagara Falls, Then and Now: the Riviera Motel

The La Riviera Motel in Niagara Falls, Ont. was demolished on May 14, 2009. It was a two storey block structure with a coreslab concrete second floor, probably built in the 60's. It stood on the north-west corner of Buchanan Ave. and Ferry St.
Below: View of the La Riviera Motel as seen May 11, 2009

Above: same view, May 19, 2009, after demolition.
Click photos to enlarge!
Below: May 15, 2009, looking from Ferry St., the motel sign is seen laying amongst the debris.below: May 14, 2009 - looking at the north-west corner of Ferry St. and Buchanan Ave., the Riviera is half-demolished. (Ferry St. is in the foreground; west is to the left)

above: same view, May 15, 2009, the structure has been reduced to rubble.
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below: May 14, 2009, view of the Riv from Ferry St., looking at it from the south-west.

above: same view, May 19, 2009
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below: May 6, 2009 - looking south from Spring St.; interior pre-demolition is underway. The Skylon is seen at the left distance

above: same view, May 14, 2009, the heavy demolition is underway. The motel was knocked down by the end of the day.
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below: May 1, 2009 - a full view of the rear of the Riviera, as seen from Spring St., looking south. The Capri Restaurant is seen in the right distance.

above: same view, May 14, 2009
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below: May 11, 2009 - looking at the east-side of the Riviera Motel from Buchanan Ave., the windows, doors and interior already demolished.

above: May 19, 2009 - same view; some wood debris is all that remains of the old La Riviera Motel. Another Falls motel has fallen.

1 comment:

Caro said...

Wow! Trip down memory lane! While looking for the motel where my husband and I took our first ever vacations together (22 years ago!), I stumbled upon your blog. We stayed at the Riviera Motel at the time!! Thanks so much for this blog post! We are just back from Niagara Falls and were reminiscing about our first time there. :-)