1
200
258
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d35178e03627d73a4f4eaf904f873b78.jpeg
d582d845152c23b8989453d5caaca2f0
Postcard
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Title
A name given to the resource
South bridge to Grand Island, Tonawanda, postcard (c1935).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1935
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/47fa6158e41c90d6f5f9066bfd4cb012.png
9b4d586d14c3c6bddf4def440e8b605d
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Niagara Silk Mills postcard" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/44.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Niagara Silk Mills plant once dominated Sweeney Street, standing where Gateway Center is today. Postcard c. 1912.</span> The Niagara Silk Mills (later Van Raalte Silk Mills) produced ladies' undergarments, gloves, and similar fineries. They marketed their materials with the iconography of Niagara Falls (reminiscent of the Pan Am Exposition imagery), and with appearances by silent film sirens.
Postcard
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A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills Glove Guarantee Card (c.1920).png
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3b6be0eefa33acb2abad80be0bb58db6.jpg
f177ef6bf267473dd4cccaf647ea8111
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Title
A name given to the resource
North Tonawanda Public Market
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="The market, c.1909" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/147.jpg" /><span class="cover-caption">The North Tonawanda Public Market brought thousands of customers on its first day of operation. Photo date unknown.</span> The first official date of operation of the market near the corner of Robinson and Payne is August 23, 1908
Postcard
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Public Market, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1910).jpg
Description
An account of the resource
North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works in the background before its 1911 expansion.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
ntmiw
person
village
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0beec5d7c27ab5db30316d5edfc1a875.jpeg
dea28f764a01d29dfa3d563da0778c0e
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8e143d0a4ffd5915eb7926562f184962.jpeg
708c86b8ed4ec4802e8302f6005869be
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Title
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Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Wurlitzer: 100 Years of Musical Achievement</em>. Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Chicago, Illinois. 1956.
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/52.jpg" alt="The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters." /> <span class="cover-caption">The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters. Postcard, c.1940.</span> <span style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.7em;">Its iconic tower has presided over Sawyer's Creek and Martinsville for almost 100 years. The sprawling industrial campus left behind by the world-famous Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company produced merry-go-round organs, band organs, church organs, theater organs and jukeboxes that have left an indelible mark on the world, and on generations of North Tonawandans. </span><br /><br />Wurlitzer founder Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831-1914) was a German immigrant who (after stops in New Jersey and Philadelphia) landed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854 at the age of 23. He worked for a bank, and down the street was a musical retail store. His father, Christian, was a successful music retailer in Germany, and Rudolph's experience told him the Ohio store's instruments were of poor quality, and priced too high. In 1856 he begins importing quality musical instruments from his family in Germany to sell at a profit in American retail stores. The business grows; Wurlitzer begins making instruments themselves for the U. S. military and for retail. The company branches out into "automatic" musical instruments, such as music boxes and player-pianos. Rudolph's three sons, Howard, Rudolph H., and Farny become involved along the way, and take on aspects of the growing family business.<br /><br />The youngest son, Farny, is sent to North Tonawanda to run the former <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/24">de Kleist Musical Instrument Mfg. Co.</a> shortly after it is purchased by Wurlitzer in 1908. (de Kleist was building player pianos and band organs for Wurlitzer and others since 1893). Farny brings eccentric English inventor Robert Hope-Jones to the plant in 1910, initiating the worldwide success of the "Mighty Wurlitzer" theater organ, which provides sound for the silent films of the day, and entertainment in its own right. This business evaporates when sound comes to movies, and electrical sound amplification permits musical entertainment to be furnished to venues of all types much less expensively. <br /><br />When the Wurlitzer company finds itself overextended in the wake of the Great Depression, Farny fights to keep the North Tonawanda facility open. In 1934 he strikes a deal with Homer Capehart to manufacture his automatic phonograph, which becomes the iconic Wurlitzer jukebox. Under his leadership the company also produces a successful line of electronic organs for home use, and the North Tonawanda plant becomes the flagship of the Wurlitzer factories, with 3,000 employees. After his death in 1972, jukebox and organ production are phased out, leaving 200 employees in 1974. By 1975, all manufacturing at the North Tonawanda plant is stopped, and by August 1976, all company activities are removed to other locations.
Postcard
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Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer entrance court, postcard (1936).jpeg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1936
martinsville
wurlitzer
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ba913912de40dcb9c72a58ecb114aecc.jpeg
953b41d2c7e49888e734ffec8c227ae4
https://nthistory.com/files/original/59f78b27295cbed814a9bf485ac23a0e.jpeg
ae83b4ba0cba558648400a214a3e3ed6
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Title
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Tonawanda Iron and Steel
Description
An account of the resource
You wouldn't know it from the site today, but the massive plant of the Tonawanda Iron and Steel Company once occupied all the land along the Niagara River from Wheatfield Street to present-day Fisherman's Park. <br /><br />Iron is first produced on this site in 1872 by the Niagara Furnace Company. After about a year, production stops. In 1889, Tonawanda Iron & Steel buys and modernizes the plant. President McKinley fires up its mighty Furnace B with great ceremony and the flip of a switch from his home in Ohio in 1895. <br /><br />The iron plant draws workers to the area, many Hungarian and Polish, who settle in a village called "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/83">Ironton</a>," just north of North Tonawanda proper. <br /><br />Somewhere around 1912 poor management and a poor economy stop the furnaces again. The plant lies unused until purchased by Tonawanda Iron Corp. in 1922.<br /><br />By 2017, the site has been cleared and converted into a small medical park and Fisherman's Park.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
"Tonawanda Iron Corp., Is One of Largest Manufacturers of Pig Iron." Tonawanda News, 1929 (in this collection).
Postcard
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Title
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Tonawanda Iron Works, postcard (1909).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1909
avenues
boat
ironton
river
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ce5cbe1f2b8be7550036bffae929dd2f.jpeg
e10c7989f25049289755f49a0f29e283
https://nthistory.com/files/original/399746074c9c1834ef55d86aa87e5429.png
e4d2a64274495ec4448c303d260523a9
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Niagara Silk Mills postcard" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/44.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Niagara Silk Mills plant once dominated Sweeney Street, standing where Gateway Center is today. Postcard c. 1912.</span> The Niagara Silk Mills (later Van Raalte Silk Mills) produced ladies' undergarments, gloves, and similar fineries. They marketed their materials with the iconography of Niagara Falls (reminiscent of the Pan Am Exposition imagery), and with appearances by silent film sirens.
Postcard
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Niagara Silk Maid, postcard (c.1920).jpg
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8ab4efca5a1d24f22f6713f28cadd337.jpg
a7bf4376fe9d2696ffd037668f62be47
https://nthistory.com/files/original/71dc656df51c14a33c8c75d0d7e5c95c.jpeg
7a06b5a40dcf555e4ab43dc6912aaa8e
Postcard
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Title
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Megown's Cabins (Niagara Falls Blvd near Kreuger Rd), postcard (c.1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
boulevard
cabin
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/30d055f0e87635f2f3a25edab15dde10.jpeg
85562e94fdf6cd8bab140178e998d033
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5d021f79e952b3c82bb8571610948046.jpeg
a21275991ddf1dfb16c0721a10ad3b07
https://nthistory.com/files/original/465b2854b2356d4cd4eae31d23e5f24b.jpeg
3bc153deff309fe8cd2e34cd0e40358e
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f1db06f58fe5248f3bc5022786d99211.jpeg
5db31090af90300ff17bb8d3ffe951e9
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Title
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Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
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Title
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Goundry Street, looking east from Paynes Avenue, postcard (c1910).jpeg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910-06-17
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/859e0b476db8f4a1a7037f27ac5b3cb1.jpg
5e4721dca4356275cebb1c847cbc6e1d
https://nthistory.com/files/original/6a20478bc94d9b5fd1f688e9c099efd3.jpg
56ae6a066400af4af73d07d08972c0d8
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Title
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Motels
Postcard
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Title
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Ellicott Park Court, 2470 Niagara Falls Blvd, postcard (c1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f28e84fc8dd0b43b7a2f9945af0589de.jpg
708c2af6c5135d770cf5c73ddcdad1c3
https://nthistory.com/files/original/180469cb5ab5cb895097e22325451cb1.jpg
4d9d2e47f453d46cf9ba036764ed56f9
https://nthistory.com/files/original/57d5ca4ce9a4d35b698301840cb1ec9f.jpg
786a4cd5793841f98102fd3033252be2
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Creo-Dipt, Weatherbest Stained Shingles
Description
An account of the resource
In November 1929 Island Street facility nearly wiped out by a disastrous blaze that does an estimated $250,000 in damage and destroys 100 carloads of shingles.
Creo-Dipt used creosote to hold the color within the shingle.
Postcard
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Title
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Twin City Service Station, Tydol, Weatherbest Shingles, pamphlet (c.1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
automobile
gratwick
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4d7e82798c9c2e420944b4b6ff8bd395.jpg
188bbeff13c584707622fa0889257626
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Niagara Silk Mills postcard" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/44.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Niagara Silk Mills plant once dominated Sweeney Street, standing where Gateway Center is today. Postcard c. 1912.</span> The Niagara Silk Mills (later Van Raalte Silk Mills) produced ladies' undergarments, gloves, and similar fineries. They marketed their materials with the iconography of Niagara Falls (reminiscent of the Pan Am Exposition imagery), and with appearances by silent film sirens.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Niagara Silk Mills, postcard (c.1905).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1905
collection
factory
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8cf63342dac8a53d4ae7bea8e85ac95f.jpg
b164af02a9b0b77265ae3498d045ca01
https://nthistory.com/files/original/210e3e3a26917426c3b88b93744361d8.jpg
7916f52b6539b36ad3de5642ad2132fd
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Family and dog, Grand Island excursions, postcard (c.1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
dog
grandisland
person
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/a2d87ba8f62b69a8939542c6de409be2.jpeg
130a85621eb79c89722d94c49fdb9306
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Goundry Street, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
goundry
house
village
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/875c7bb5740cc5fdea886e1b4170e669.jpg
b8c5736357e9a868c3154acc664c5849
https://nthistory.com/files/original/bad812dfca0615249b9f29cb553199bb.jpeg
d96de0ddfe16d24aa19bff87ead93b76
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Niagara Silk Mills postcard" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/44.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Niagara Silk Mills plant once dominated Sweeney Street, standing where Gateway Center is today. Postcard c. 1912.</span> The Niagara Silk Mills (later Van Raalte Silk Mills) produced ladies' undergarments, gloves, and similar fineries. They marketed their materials with the iconography of Niagara Falls (reminiscent of the Pan Am Exposition imagery), and with appearances by silent film sirens.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Niagara Silk Mills - Solk Gloves, postcard (c1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/acdd7fdbc810498d92f98ed36d7c51f3.jpeg
1f7a5a41369331ba28f833bc08764305
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4d2dc9075e0e693067425bed06952d13.jpeg
c6ae9be66de638d6b316ea4c83db2b64
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Niagara Silk Mills postcard" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/44.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Niagara Silk Mills plant once dominated Sweeney Street, standing where Gateway Center is today. Postcard c. 1912.</span> The Niagara Silk Mills (later Van Raalte Silk Mills) produced ladies' undergarments, gloves, and similar fineries. They marketed their materials with the iconography of Niagara Falls (reminiscent of the Pan Am Exposition imagery), and with appearances by silent film sirens.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills, postcard (c1910).jpeg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
factory
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/91d89848fcc9a3d646b5f9351e7a2c0a.jpeg
9f5cc369ebee3d4110050030cf29d0db
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5e61f114024b6ef272313a9379e5fb44.jpeg
86b8c3024e8ff84a8f88a053dfd32c82
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Niagara Silk Mills postcard" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/44.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Niagara Silk Mills plant once dominated Sweeney Street, standing where Gateway Center is today. Postcard c. 1912.</span> The Niagara Silk Mills (later Van Raalte Silk Mills) produced ladies' undergarments, gloves, and similar fineries. They marketed their materials with the iconography of Niagara Falls (reminiscent of the Pan Am Exposition imagery), and with appearances by silent film sirens.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Maid silk gloves, Louise Gunning, postcard (1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/98e7483258d429aaef820214078da52c.jpeg
7717bbc135fa47b59927eeebbd4ead6b
https://nthistory.com/files/original/2e46208cdec5f251d8367885ffc7bcd0.jpeg
8cd7afa93587af4a976ced3746970d26
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Title
A name given to the resource
Allan Herschell Companies
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/files/original/0a8137a27b9978ab2f72819b2bd699cf.jpg" alt="" /> <span class="cover-caption">An 1894 Armitage-Herschell advertisement shows a not-at-all-dangerous-to-children-looking steam boiler and pulleys providing motive power to the company's signature device.</span>
<div>On gilded signs posted at its southern and northern entrances, North Tonawanda introduces itself to visitors as "The Home of the Carrousel." The still-ubiquitous fairground staple was not <em>invented</em> in North Tonawanda (some version of it had been around <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dizzy-history-carousels-begins-knights-180964100">since at least the 12th Century</a>), but thousands were produced here and the highest levels of craftsmanship were attained here under the guidance of Scottish-born Allan Herschell.<br /><br /></div>
In 1872 (<em>Landmarks</em> says 1873), the Armitage-Herschell Co. begins as a small brass and iron foundry on Manhattan Street, comprised of Englishman <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/889">James Armitage</a>, and Scottish brothers <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/880">George</a> and <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/877">Allan Herschell</a>. The firm survives devastating fires in 1874 and 1875, and expands to a location off Oliver Street (whence comes the name, "Mechanic Street"), adding engines and boilers to their specialties. Youngest partner Allan sees a carousel while traveling, and recognizes ways it can be improved. By 1887, his "Improved Steam Riding Gallery" captivates the world, and people from India and France demand the modern amusement. The merry-go-round-makers at first import the accompanying band organs from the old European master-builders of Germany and France, but high tariffs decide them to instead import German organ maker <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/936">Eugene de Kleist</a> from England (de Kleist begins making organs at his <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/24">North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory</a> in 1893). They organize in 1890.<br /><br />James Armitage and George Herschell die in early 1900. The Armitage-Herschell Company is succeeded by Herschell, Spillman & Company, and the Allan Herschell Company. Allan Herschell dies in 1927. The latter company continues making amusements, including miniature trains, boats and airplanes (some of which can be played upon at the <a href="http://www.carrouselmuseum.org">Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum</a> in North Tonawanda) as late as the 1960s.<br /><br />There is a large Herschell family plot in Sweeney Cemetery.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/607"><em>Landmarks of Niagara County</em> (1897)</a></li>
<li><span class="_Tgc">“<a href="http://carrouselmuseum.org/site/about/allan-herschell">Allen Herschell History</a>.” <em>Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum,</em> 2014.</span></li>
</ul>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Allan Herschell Company Paint & Storage Room, postcard (HCFM, 1991).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1991
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/da6490fd4e2a4c887574bb00a1227ef7.png
4229fe3cd78d24c501c5e0820f6a3621
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8b5197f3c5070d45d87f2b483dbdf7da.png
72b36b9119c6228e9c6228e67b4ff1dc
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street International Railway waiting room, photo (c1910).png
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
downtown
goundry
person
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/20ea1b7bd010478de9ab3a3782bd7a77.jpg
6a3f4f2a596f9ff886d120bc6852b007
https://nthistory.com/files/original/459bb895da64fc4480ac2e360e7d60fe.jpg
b5a7c890a133384cd5f450ec3a562fb5
https://nthistory.com/files/original/56c8f7725993382a48973afb74748098.jpg
4d60ce5bfb8b5273e763c6204b1568f5
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Oechsner's Dream Island Castle in Williamsville, postcards (c1930).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1930
postcard
williamsville
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5ba5ff5b9152c7941b95cdb7def91120.jpg
e7c62aee6cdd44f4646f9cc676ac1c1f
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Martinsville
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/56.jpg" alt="Postcard view looking north up Old Falld Blvd" /><span class="cover-caption">Old Falls Boulevard, looking north from Lockport Ave. to Niagara Falls Blvd. Postcard detail, c.1900.</span> The northeast part of North Tonawanda known as "Martinsville" is named after the father of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. It is settled by German Lutheran farmers, beginning around 1843. They settled in narrow farms along the west bank of Tonawanda Creek. As the area developed, a "downtown" emerged along William Street, present-day Old Falls Blvd, near Lockport Rd. (pictured above). The village boasted its own post office, stores and places of entertainment. <br /><br />Most of Martinsville was incorporated into the then-booming City of North Tonawanda in 1897. The sections of Martinsville east of present-day Old Falls and Niagara Falls boulevards are considered part of Wheatfield.<br /><br />The real estate transaction that brought many of the settlers to the area, its early growth, and the contentious religious devotion of its people are described in <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606"><em>History of Niagara County 1821-1878</em></a>:
<blockquote>In 1843 Carl Sack, Erdman Wurl and Fred Grosskopf purchased of William Vandervoote 400 acres, at $15 per acre, on the Tonawanda creek, in the southeast corner of the town, four miles east of Tonawanda village, in what is now known as the village of Martinsville. Lutheran religious antecedents caused the adoption of this name by the disciples of Martin Luther. The original purchase was divided into small lots of three acres and up- ward, as others were able to purchase, to provide for the location of thirty families the first season. They erected ten log houses in the autumn, each of which was occupied by three or four families during the winter and until joint efforts relieved the immigrants by building others. The families remained in Buffalo until the first houses were built, obtaining the best accommodations they could find. Forbidding as the prospect in the beginning must have been, it has been changed to the appearance of prosperity. The church organization is the controlling element in the government of the community, now consisting of one hundred families, connected with the two now existing, the result of divided feeling, but not an abandonment of the Lutheran faith.</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
The Villa, 682 Falls Blvd, postcard (1924-08).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1924-08
hotel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f29f6ca0c842d6f2c85a81c8d63fde60.jpg
7a435998999d85a42794df5598f14fc1
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ba7d29a8df3a1d80debc7cb3357b0b76.jpg
20d3f607f9d1f26e2dd7957d67c9b4c1
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Jack Ayrault, postcard (c1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
Description
An account of the resource
A Jack Ayrault lived in Tonawanda and went to Lehigh in Pennsylvania; this is not necessarily a Lumbermen player (as was advertised on eBay)
person
sports
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/41206b7714743fa4edeffac0a780d985.jpg
446b3044224e89c17cf6cfc052f73ad8
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5f468740fd3e821d1e552d7c8dc55129.jpg
ceb634cb4e9e77bbc7d1a67ec4f3ae55
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
R. T. Jones Lumber Company truck, postcard (1949-03-30).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1949-03-30
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5048f3d5cf3405d46a1ee1c582c194d7.jpg
681563021fdda5ff6d958bf10020c134
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Ellicott Park Court Motel, postcard (c.1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e4e962559445f195cb68b7929d252cc7.jpg
e410aa504a69ffc4c2d9a25f6bcc1159
https://nthistory.com/files/original/93d52512dcad895f7924ede38aa7b711.jpg
695aa46f10d6d43f9fa924f282fab288
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Red Hill, postcard (c1935).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1935
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c304c7d9313e8016fc98b1fd15545b1a.jpeg
b848301f3366271c2f0707dfcb945f3f
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9dc1625eae678debc18f9f47ee3392fd.jpeg
d00a193b4317b4005121eab9a5fe97d8
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Village Inn (869 Oliver)
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Village Inn, postcard (c1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
interior
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9208c36b62dd4f2b5634a2dcbe6f29f0.jpeg
e4d6959053a623db421db531fcfba8cf
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c99a64e8543b67dd2fac4706abd07496.jpeg
82acfb7696702625ec2cfd8a3d90dd3e
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ellicott Creek Park, postcard (1952-09-06).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1952-09-06
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d23ab6e887eb8f08c433b25d8c8d4c11.jpg
00c08d234226206ae44aa35296dd64a5
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Packet Inn interior, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f68367501361c4a574873ae30aeb69a7.jpg
9e6d538fef621c0760fe3ff475087d8b
https://nthistory.com/files/original/bf4467672fb0015ca466e770abf9fb01.jpg
1bee9bd315cd458f8c27c31b87b43139
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Niagara Silk Mills postcard" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/44.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Niagara Silk Mills plant once dominated Sweeney Street, standing where Gateway Center is today. Postcard c. 1912.</span> The Niagara Silk Mills (later Van Raalte Silk Mills) produced ladies' undergarments, gloves, and similar fineries. They marketed their materials with the iconography of Niagara Falls (reminiscent of the Pan Am Exposition imagery), and with appearances by silent film sirens.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Maid Silk Gloves, Emma Carus, postcard (c1915).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1915
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/fa67618e9c0d9913f9823fd16ab6d421.jpg
625efcf97b2dde43537a24b7a4825dd9
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7301378f27216e439e050c98283bd931.jpeg
7e27fbece88a813d3e73182a3d1befd0
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Martins Motel, 2931 Niagara Falls Blvd., postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c3cb8551173d7ca94247397bba8078aa.jpg
ba6303eb76804119e04e091e83790868
https://nthistory.com/files/original/cd5d4dcf8fdc35c1d9c8c06a67aa8c96.jpeg
efbf1c21653ff2eb56c9d33d7c42d7e6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Beckers Tourotel Motel, 2468 Niagara Falls Blvd, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f58a268d914d80b3329a3888c3d61124.jpg
1252b43b8af1d10ec8e1739eb3b8c288
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7876b62d8331caba47b18d232b1b5664.jpg
7cc1c82fe10496f85cd70287ed431a33
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Tonawanda Iron and Steel
Description
An account of the resource
You wouldn't know it from the site today, but the massive plant of the Tonawanda Iron and Steel Company once occupied all the land along the Niagara River from Wheatfield Street to present-day Fisherman's Park. <br /><br />Iron is first produced on this site in 1872 by the Niagara Furnace Company. After about a year, production stops. In 1889, Tonawanda Iron & Steel buys and modernizes the plant. President McKinley fires up its mighty Furnace B with great ceremony and the flip of a switch from his home in Ohio in 1895. <br /><br />The iron plant draws workers to the area, many Hungarian and Polish, who settle in a village called "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/83">Ironton</a>," just north of North Tonawanda proper. <br /><br />Somewhere around 1912 poor management and a poor economy stop the furnaces again. The plant lies unused until purchased by Tonawanda Iron Corp. in 1922.<br /><br />By 2017, the site has been cleared and converted into a small medical park and Fisherman's Park.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
"Tonawanda Iron Corp., Is One of Largest Manufacturers of Pig Iron." Tonawanda News, 1929 (in this collection).
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Tonawanda Iron and Steel, postcard (c.1905).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1905
factory
ironton
niagara river
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/155420ab0392c9dd81eea9d1835c5621.jpg
f4ef1589241a896a370385fa43ae21f5
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Boathouse Park, Weatherbest Slip
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Boathouse Park" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/124.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">PHOTO: Dennis Reed Jr.</span> Around the junction of Tonawanda Creek and the "Little River" three small slips cut into the land. The slips were dug in the 1870s to accommodate Great Lakes and other vessels necessary to North Tonawanda's world-class lumber industry (<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/2668">Buffalo <i>News</i></a>, 2006). Great piles of lumber towered around them.<br /><br />That lumber industry, as residents know, eventually moves elsewhere. By the 1950s* dozens of private boathouses occupy the area. The city owns the property; the boaters own the structures, pay taxes on them, and lease the land annually.<br /><br />In 1965 the city of North Tonawanda sells the land to the boathouse owners at their request, only to have the sale almost immediately deemed illegal by Mayor Durkee, and nullified. Still, the annual lease continues.<br /><br />In the 1970s the boathouse residents' status becomes contentious when the county health department threatens to fine the city steeply for the <em>effluvium</em> the boathouse residents are releasing into the Little River. The city threatens to evict tenants, to stop renewing leases, and—at the nadir of the clash—to turn off water service to the area. After all, the city argues, the lease does not permit use of the boathouses as living quarters. The park residents' right to enjoy the waterfront property at the exclusion of all other city residents is also called into question.<br /><br />One mayor wants to evict the tenants and turn the area into a carousel park. In the 1980s developer Wilbur Holler wants to turn the area into townhouses. None of these plans is successful. In 2008 a row of boathouses is demolished, as they are built over a city sewer. But in 2021 the community appears to be all but intractable.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">*It is unclear how long the structures have been there; </span><a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/2688" style="font-size: 0.8em;">a similar slip at Gratwick</a><span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> (since demolished for the wastewater plant) appears to have had boathouses since at least 1905.</span>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Birds-eye view of some of the dockage, postcard (c1900).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1900
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9f35491b31c255314f1832f30b7910cf.jpg
a82535a2457026a8cc834c44c81fa2c0
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Richardson Boat Company
Description
An account of the resource
From the <a href="http://www.richardsonboats.com/">Richardson Boat Owners Association website</a>:
<blockquote>In 1909 G.Reid Richardson founded the Richardson Boat Company in North Tonawanda, New York to build high quality boats at a fair price. History has shown that he was quite successful in this undertaking. Over the years many types of boats were produced including not only cruising vessels but sailboats, runabouts, racing boats and military craft during the war years. The Richardson Boat Company organized "Sailaways" where the owners of newly purchased boats were encouraged to congregate in North Tonawanda and join in a cruise down the Erie Canal to New York City. Sadly, Mr. Richardson passed away in 1937 and his wife Ethel took over management until 1941 when the company was sold to a group of local businessmen.</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Reid and Ethel Richardson, holiday card (c1925).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1925
home
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/38af06f8c19ea686b7e28938494d12a3.jpg
334858e5c5f43fee634eb17c9090f884
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
View of Harbor, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b66e518db2813ec6335b2321ad8b1a37.jpg
10f51b5ee9d384b2107ae476489aac8a
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9a5a59cf24ba830eac1cbaab82c42a73.jpg
83d703f0d030cf2ca4708d9fdbc6065a
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Twin Cities, postcard (1912-09-12).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1912-09-12
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/53b3bf1da44ccc5a8265a444ba6a0349.jpg
b1e798c2687ca2f3ee69b7e8e5240bf5
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0d12eb8064efc6cc88591c72dc991d6d.jpg
9540bc0ae015ba1f9d5313f6f4cddcbe
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Trolleys and Trains
Description
An account of the resource
Before everybody in North Tonawanda could afford their very own muffler-less Honda Civic to run up and down Oliver Street, trolleys and trains were an important means of personal transportation. Several lines ran throughout the city, moving people to and from their jobs, churches, or just out for a look around.
Though they may seem romantic to us now, people griped about the trolleys the same way we complain about snow plows today. Apparently their slow speed was sometimes targeted: An item in this set describes a "well-known peddler" in the Gratwick area who is injured by a trolley car. The author drolly observes, "'Twould have been a real miracle if a Gratwick car could have got up enough speed to have killed him" (Tonawanda News, 1908-2-13).
The trolley era did not last long. By the 1920s, the electric streetcar had been passed by the gasoline-powered bus as the most prevalent means of public transportation. Another article in this set from the Tonawanda News, "Carpenter now operates 14 busses in the Tonawandas," outlines the rise of the Carpenter Rapid Transit buses.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
EL depot, postcard (c1970).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1970
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/653dff9a463362789fc9511ad36e7317.jpg
02b0f758db00074006b01359ba3cc9e3
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
State National Bank (14 Webster Street)
Description
An account of the resource
This former beauty of a building on the northwest corner of Webster and Sweeney Streets housed the State National Bank and other businesses. James H. DeGraff is president, J. S. Thompson vice president and Benjamin L. Rand, cashier (in 1922, W. M. Sutton). "Lumber Exchange Bank" has same leadership and address in 1900. <br /><br />A November 22, 1932 item in the <em>Buffalo Evening News</em> reports the historic building is being razed, and somewhat affectively describes stalled efforts by demolition crews to remove the "4,000 pound lion which has gazed out over the Tonawandas from its perch atop the the...building for the last 40 years...Efforts to get the huge statue of the jungle beast down to earth have been considered...[it was] decided to break it into pieces on the roof rather than risk bringing it down intact." <br /><br />Ads for a "North Side Liquor Store" appear by 1938. For many years the address was associated with Frank's Liquors, in 2022 it is Canalside Wine & Spirits.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
State National Bank, postcard (1906).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1906
bank
collection
hd
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/90b6aa370979b31717ba66dbe308161d.jpg
866af44cc970bc2437aed52f3840fd78
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
South Niagara Street, postcard (c1900).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1900-03
tonawanda
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7e6f2db6b62e1d2b09c182efbdb98669.jpg
bb06a95a6d01b7b9f0eed1b597040d4f
https://nthistory.com/files/original/194d9970eec96f089b5962832eebba59.jpg
0f79625b8dfefe09194846c556e1626a
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Megown's Cabins, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/823a6026b9e010dcafe1b214dbc28f94.jpg
ff48153d3f0c541affb945abc87e59cf
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Locking boat, Erie Canal, Lockport, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
lock
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/6cd06139bf1af99d1741810ea8ae7b1f.jpg
6f951602af7000d0ec90e4b0cbd909c2
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Harbor View, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ca6ea875ae2e065a34b5d4a68beb66d5.jpg
e8c91f17ef97ad7bda8bd02774df5fb3
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e97a2272c07a722ac027e6270b578b96.jpg
38f7db52a589bd6e2c296239ea9fe466
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Frontier Chocolate Factory
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Frontier Chocolate Factory, postcard (1924).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1924
factory
hd
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4793f31e65ca120d07491dbe95e1d33e.jpg
76bfe512adbf1b45f151157864581089
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Webster Street, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
collection
hd
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f948f8df818b6e108e9a303f334c070d.jpg
55f9dc116adb434c85eaa33a526fe9f7
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7276c2dfc64ff9aedc47258642acc3e3.jpg
4366646cbf6e3b23f21855e3c43e2337
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
View on Ellicott Creek, Tonawanda, postcard (c1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
Ellicott
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/df0902cb0877de012bec81bdd370b1e5.jpg
e7d88faca3c8edea837d926178fd5284
https://nthistory.com/files/original/00d19a77943aa9972726848897dca363.jpg
1b9488725c92190418234a4c45c5f8c5
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
View on Webster Street, postcard (1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/08e3fdb91f13199e22cc8f38c5f26fe2.jpg
3218fc22ec5b8e24452fe199882aa5a0
https://nthistory.com/files/original/10c0361339d363f0e25c4ba29a6584a6.jpg
30ef532ef95166ffdfecc591d61bb741
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Genesee Brewing - Tonawandas Distributing Corp., postcard (1958).jpg
Description
An account of the resource
In 1933, Tondisco Inc. was founded by Norman Ackerman and Roy Glawf as the Tonawandas Distributing Corp., at 91 Scott Street, Tonawanda. In 1952 it moved to 80 Thompson Street. Source: <a href="https://archive.org/stream/cityofnorthtonaw00sond/cityofnorthtonaw00sond_djvu.txt">Centennial Celebration, 1897-1997</a>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1958
village
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/71c24b05d29d9265cd746cdb91513a2a.jpg
c11e8c0154b63da324b09f43e9fa3c0a
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Falls Boulevard Motor Hotel, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/57cdd4f39c9d5ee43cc575f0fc3bdf07.jpg
13de18f04fd8327a31e3ec7158c3aa0b
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
South Niagara St Showing Erie Canal, Tonawanda, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
canal
tonawanda
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d9a44895225d0413f9ceb75f8872a39f.jpg
41d0060e0ee5387046c03b6b5d5236e7
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5db26e71a32ca91e3be29762b31ebf84.jpg
15eb48f180330f7a48ac2052871f03c1
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Biplane at Curtiss Aerodrome, Tonawanda, postcard (1917-08-20).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1917-08-20
airplane
tonawanda
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4d7dbcd01252ef74bbf8aa43ede8917a.jpg
71123d1f0418f0d3fc7d43c2584853d0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
South Niagara Street, showing Erie Canal, postcard (1909).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1909
canal
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d7b8da6a097f12433bb17a028e531604.jpg
c523d956f4392ca99c2e4215b5d11ab1
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Odd Fellows Temple, Tonawanda, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
tonawanda
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/64e04924ce4fbc734129f54a910fba70.jpg
81b7e4d8b11d5ff330410d13a6479f1a
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Niagara Silk Mills postcard" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/44.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Niagara Silk Mills plant once dominated Sweeney Street, standing where Gateway Center is today. Postcard c. 1912.</span> The Niagara Silk Mills (later Van Raalte Silk Mills) produced ladies' undergarments, gloves, and similar fineries. They marketed their materials with the iconography of Niagara Falls (reminiscent of the Pan Am Exposition imagery), and with appearances by silent film sirens.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Silk Mills, postcard (c 1907).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1907
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/1630e861b12c3c9bd04cb3cea37c1d48.jpg
77c6cae95be6f6addd5c4e61a897a21e
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Kenelworth Race Track, Buffalo, postcard (1905).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1905
buffalo
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4b4c286e804a3f17ac656fc7697cf676.jpg
97fc214456f84f9e8e3d217a30d06694
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7489547397096a1acdbaf3bfeaa42b92.jpg
6fdc10cc96133103ae576081a209de4c
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5aeeae04e18433cd09871d3991b2f8a9.jpeg
14608892d97d76ad0d5113efc24fffa4
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d8ff1c6742a4859f9e6bb48904cc08f6.jpeg
9219e667733d09853dfa3bd2f8157f50
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Entrance to New Barge Canal, postcards (1912-1917).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1912
bridge
canal
collection
creek
hd
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9709cb043f2b9eab9e68c57e320055af.jpg
dbea1f0b741a4c3a6ba8dbf9089f4194
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Ship building in the Tonawandas, shipyard of W. H. Follette, postcard (c1907).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1907
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4248398669d62a2ebe4abc88895b5bdb.jpg
b6d422a91acefd4cc46e7f59b4c872d0
https://nthistory.com/files/original/532f6ce1d4d5b7f1c7d83d539f271f7d.jpg
57f227915441f34087229df047dd34b4
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Ives Ice and Coal Company
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Our Ice Houses in 1898, Ives Ice and Coal, postcard (1915).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1915
ice
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f686f9cea3253b8cbd63a534e70aa01f.jpg
63d92b964c3c1f80c606e8e35d820542
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b1c19042893af3b37f145eec4e7522db.jpg
6991255faa2067f795661c94dff1e31a
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4465037f7560be39ceeb5f79bdfaa424.jpg
a2e9a124e402c4e19770beaded7ff6d5
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4f34db0b03f27e41f7bbff6f8a055887.jpg
7f3f09ffc5231a8966d031e410dc6cd1
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9457100c7599beed4db423b63117b9b6.jpg
d461925b4dde4206127043abfe903971
https://nthistory.com/files/original/cb494e8338305180faec94d512b6c7c7.jpg
e8cda7a5be801012d7ef6408bfd333b7
https://nthistory.com/files/original/23628d9c7e542fe3c188bc3510c2a971.jpg
ef36a594dcef775bd300af61bb7bda47
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Wurlitzer: 100 Years of Musical Achievement</em>. Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Chicago, Illinois. 1956.
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/52.jpg" alt="The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters." /> <span class="cover-caption">The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters. Postcard, c.1940.</span> <span style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.7em;">Its iconic tower has presided over Sawyer's Creek and Martinsville for almost 100 years. The sprawling industrial campus left behind by the world-famous Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company produced merry-go-round organs, band organs, church organs, theater organs and jukeboxes that have left an indelible mark on the world, and on generations of North Tonawandans. </span><br /><br />Wurlitzer founder Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831-1914) was a German immigrant who (after stops in New Jersey and Philadelphia) landed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854 at the age of 23. He worked for a bank, and down the street was a musical retail store. His father, Christian, was a successful music retailer in Germany, and Rudolph's experience told him the Ohio store's instruments were of poor quality, and priced too high. In 1856 he begins importing quality musical instruments from his family in Germany to sell at a profit in American retail stores. The business grows; Wurlitzer begins making instruments themselves for the U. S. military and for retail. The company branches out into "automatic" musical instruments, such as music boxes and player-pianos. Rudolph's three sons, Howard, Rudolph H., and Farny become involved along the way, and take on aspects of the growing family business.<br /><br />The youngest son, Farny, is sent to North Tonawanda to run the former <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/24">de Kleist Musical Instrument Mfg. Co.</a> shortly after it is purchased by Wurlitzer in 1908. (de Kleist was building player pianos and band organs for Wurlitzer and others since 1893). Farny brings eccentric English inventor Robert Hope-Jones to the plant in 1910, initiating the worldwide success of the "Mighty Wurlitzer" theater organ, which provides sound for the silent films of the day, and entertainment in its own right. This business evaporates when sound comes to movies, and electrical sound amplification permits musical entertainment to be furnished to venues of all types much less expensively. <br /><br />When the Wurlitzer company finds itself overextended in the wake of the Great Depression, Farny fights to keep the North Tonawanda facility open. In 1934 he strikes a deal with Homer Capehart to manufacture his automatic phonograph, which becomes the iconic Wurlitzer jukebox. Under his leadership the company also produces a successful line of electronic organs for home use, and the North Tonawanda plant becomes the flagship of the Wurlitzer factories, with 3,000 employees. After his death in 1972, jukebox and organ production are phased out, leaving 200 employees in 1974. By 1975, all manufacturing at the North Tonawanda plant is stopped, and by August 1976, all company activities are removed to other locations.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Factory, postcard set (c1925).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1925
factory
martinsville
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/86e9a7df5008625f86fe0bcc1c3e6cbd.jpg
c134381def4c8f038215f593bb1d0fa8
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7e2e60a6d7aea04d6969b0305df79460.jpg
235579301edfba257bbb977fddc569a9
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Lumber Business of the Tonawandas
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/48.jpg" alt="Map of the Lumber District of the Tonawandas, 1893" /><span class="cover-caption">In the heyday of the Tonawandas' lumber years, practically every available inch of the Niagara riverfront and Tonawanda Island is covered in lumber (shown as lettered, colored portions in the map above). <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1848">1893 Sanborn Insurance map</a>.</span> In the mid-to-late 19th century, vast forests of Midwest timber are cut, dressed and shipped by water to the exploding towns and cities of the east, largely through the Tonawandas. The villages' advantageous location (between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal) and the natural harbor afforded by Tonawanda Island make it one of the largest lumber ports in the country by 1890. A lock allows small craft to jump between the Niagara River and the Erie Canal via the non-canalized portion of Tonawanda Creek.<br /><br />Scores of lumber comanies spring up here, and their yards vaccum up almost every available inch of real estate along the Niagara River, Tonawanda Creek, and Tonawanda Island. Docks are built over the water, and millions of feet of lumber stored in great blocks are stacked to the sky. They are brought here largely on lake vessels from Lake Erie, where they are moved onto canal boats by lumbershovers and stevedores and hauled by canal boat captains (along with other goods) to points east.<br /><br />The big business means big money, and conflict between the laborers and employers sometimes turns deadly. Articles in this collection describe the lumbershovers strikes of 1892 and 1893, the first of which resulted in the death of a police officer, and both of which required the National Guard to be deployed. A separate collection, "<a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/136">Murder at the Docks</a>," digs into the 1895 double murder of canal boat captain Lorenzo Phillips and his son Charles as the captain attempted to haul a load of lumber from P. W. Scribner's Tonawanda dock in defiance of a boatmen's union agreement.<br /><br />As the forests of the midwest were depleted and shipping routes and technology changed, the lumber heyday of the Tonawandas receded into the past.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Portion of Harbor, North Tonawanda, postcard (JW Root, c1900).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1900
gooseisland
lumber
tonawandacreek
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8b2fcd7309ccdf4fdf137126c18157e3.jpg
927a5b8695cb8db30509b9c0bf810392
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8bbdb4ad226ec34ae57600597071656a.jpg
7927c6a4783752f0c13a55a784b622fb
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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South Niagara Street (showing Erie canal), postcard (1910-09-21).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910-09-21
canal
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/89a941c73270584b144b2d323bf878fe.jpg
3e401a56a5df3dc56d56f427f0c48d42
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4948f1d1b829cee0b468cb6b173f1653.jpg
527425b7988766735d04b65c6035757a
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
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Title
A name given to the resource
Derrick boat to remove Tonawanda dam, postcard (1918-01).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1918-01
bridge
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7b4f89143a9b7201afd858b3573be058.jpg
8dadc5a21c59b729e1dd9247e6a82451
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4c3202fc6b343e50afff91d5de70d6eb.jpg
144fd485a4187930af77a4c799ff24b3
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Title
A name given to the resource
B. P. O. Elks Lodge 860 (Sweeney and Main)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="https://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/77.jpg" alt="BPOE building" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Elks Club home c1920–2011; northeast corner of Main and Sweeney.</span>The North Tonawanda chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks organizes around 1903. Early on they meet in the State National Bank building on Webster and Sweeney. By about 1920 they secure their own large red brick building at the corner of Main and Sweeney. In December 2011, this building is <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1247">destroyed by fire</a>. The fraternal organization now operates out of somewhat <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1249">humbler quarters</a> in Tonawanda. You may wish to drop in on their Facebook page, whose name bears eloquent witness of their exile to Main Street, Tonawanda: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BpoElksLodge860/"><span>Twin Cities Lodge # 860 formerly known as North Tonawanda Lodge</span></a>.<br /><br />The national B. P. O. Elks is founded by English comic actor Charles Vivian in New York City in 1868. According to their <a href="http://www.elks.org/history/stories.cfm">website</a>:
<blockquote>It All Began With the Jolly Corks. Starting as as a group of actors and entertainers bent on having fun AND avoiding a New York Excise tax in 1867 (Sundays were the ‘dry’ day), this convivial group called themselves the Jolly Corks (for a clever trick with corks they performed on the uninitiated to win rounds of drinks). That same year as membership grew, some members saw the vision to become more helpful in the community. Alas, two feuding factions split the group over different philosophies. Fortunately, the latter faction moved forward with their new ideals and in February of 1868, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was chartered–and with a great new spirit and direction, began to help Veterans, Scouting, Scholarships and more–wherever Charity, Justice and Brotherly Love were needed!</blockquote>
Postcard
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Title
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Proposed Home Of BPO Elks No 860, postcard (1921).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1921
building
downtown
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f4f7c30b66833b3986a759d1fd71940c.jpg
a6fb180ed4c166ba4e2fe37989c166a1
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Greetings from the Tonawandas, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
car
tonawanda
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/1ab4c4a5e50ed379041a8294a8d765fb.jpg
836a03a10a7d72d2a99e3b9514bc9f02
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Frontier Chocolate Factory
Postcard
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Title
A name given to the resource
Frontier Cholcolate Factory, postcard (c1912).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1912
factory
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/61da8faf0bb0dacdcefeb0b9e47d182a.jpg
5261580279932e3f679e08986fe98e31
https://nthistory.com/files/original/44f3c8530323e232b9f9401fd34b3ccf.jpg
ce2559af0c2359576cbcecbbc41bf32e
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Auto-Wheel Coaster Company (95 Schenck)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="https://nthistory.com/custom/cover/14.jpg" alt="Buffalo Sled employees, 1917" /><span class="cover-caption">Employees of the Buffalo Sled Company in North Tonawanda plant. PHOTO: North Tonawanda History Museum</span> Organized as the Buffalo Sled Co. in 1905 by John J. Schneider and Henry J, Tiedt, having been in business since 1899 (other sources say 1904). The firm moves to North Tonawanda in 1909 after the local trade organization agrees to cover the expense. Originally making sleds and shovels, they add coasters (wagons) in 1912. Soon they are enjoying national success, advertising aggressively in several publications, and marketing their boys' toys ingenuously with clubs and giveaways. In July of 1920 they file paperwork to change their name to the "Auto-Wheel Coaster Company."<br /><br />The North Tonawanda plant was located at foot of Schenck Street, west of Oliver and south of Schenck, though they at times also have operations in Buffalo, on Ellicott Creek in the old A. B. Williams plant, and in Preston, Ontario. The NT site was formerly (1908) occupied by the Orient Mfg. Co. (Fred Paschen lived just east). <br /><br /><span><span>From the Internet's <a href="http://www.harryrinker.com/col-1117.html">Harry Rinker</a>:</span></span>
<blockquote>A fire on April 16, 1920, destroyed the wheel department and storehouses. According to the 1921 City Directory, the company rebuilt and assumed a new name, Auto-Wheel Coaster Company.</blockquote>
Auto Wheel files for bankruptcy in July 1964, but is bought by area men to resume production. This did not seem to be successful, as the plant was is in the process of being converted to a palette factory when it is completely destroyed in a spectacular fire on Memorial Day (May 29), 1972, taking at least seven nearby homes with it.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Scooter, Auto Wheel, Fleetwing, postcard (Buffalo Sled Co., 1919-10-14).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1919-10-14
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/2462b162ffa13df0465ebeeaf233965e.jpg
03117b06f0076c850d3a6cba5734c6df
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9888626f419b756580c0fb06b1da958f.jpg
a438fa3658e43001a7c19a69473923ef
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Post Office
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Post Office, North Tonawanda, postcard (1919-10).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1919-10
building
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/077ed78d5401bc31c9c94d6da8c0dba5.jpg
bce455c43ffee92231746c5941d86d4d
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d57901746762f314892e30871ccbc83a.jpeg
6bb150d609f845a15e40bac57cad264d
https://nthistory.com/files/original/a6720193d37587ebaa0a999e1371b664.jpeg
d89e9875145e5f9940200bf3215f311d
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
DeGraff Memorial Hospital
Description
An account of the resource
In 1913 business leaders in the Tonawandas including LeGrand S. DeGraff and NT Mayor Dr. John A. Rafter developed a plan to create a badly needed hospital. DeGraff funded the endeavor with a "very substantial contribution."
Architect W. O. Johnstone donated his work for the hospital. Ground was broken in April 14; dedication ceremonies took place May 30, 1914.
In 1930 an addition for a Nurses Home and Maternity Ward was made possible by a legacy grant from James S. Thompson. Another expansion was started in 1942 and completed in 1944.
In 1947, changes from a public institution to a non-profit, membership corporation.
March 14, 1953 a new addition and Maternity Wing are opened.
Postcard
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Title
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DeGraff Memorial Hospital, postcard (1917).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1917
hospital
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f72cd3d20eed49338ce0532bae36543c.jpg
1b4edfe8b266bc8f2071128066a0953a
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8bda1a41060205662538934b6dc62a41.jpeg
6fd1fbd2f85c7f173ecfe1fc7bc3d6a3
https://nthistory.com/files/original/069a4c15547720b290e287fe405529b9.jpeg
869074e8e5067905ce66f70ba5479656
https://nthistory.com/files/original/369e1c919936ad51343b72c8e095dfad.jpeg
b659a3be42fd8907ccf779984bed9734
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Telephone Franchises
Description
An account of the resource
"In 1880, both the Bell Telephone Company and the Edison Co. opened general offices and began extending service in both villages here. The Home Telephone Co. later was in business here also." George S. Hobbie, News founder, describes first experimental line in a 1930 remembrance (1953).
In 1902, Mayor Ollie vetoes the Common Council's grant of a purportedly lavishly generous Bell telephone franchise.
The Niagara Falls Home Telephone Company merges with others to become the Niagara County Home Telephone Company. In NT in March 1912 the Common Council rules that the wires along Tremont are unsightly, and requires they, the New York Telephone Company, and the Tonawanda Power Company place wires underground. This does not go over well with the companies. "Mr. E. C. Payne appeared and requested the Common Council to take
action on the International Railroad Company in regard to the heavy voltage wires killing the trees along the east side of Payne Avenue."
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Home Telephone Building (109 Goundry Street), postcard (1907-11-08).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1907-11-08
building
collection
downtown
goundry
village
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9f78b49c13313ecb730cddd01fd4a2c6.jpg
859d8896967b46bf6925fc3078f81419
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Colonel Payne School
Description
An account of the resource
Public School #5
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Colonel Payne School, postcard (c.1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0998d642a325e3738949a306eff2ea7b.jpg
0b3827c1626acad58fdea9d519eb4c49
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ea10afb0d635a420206da1fa5c33c6a3.jpg
34455afb3c60abf969774ea29631d867
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Tonawanda Board and Paper Co., postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
canal
factory
lumber
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/fe880e85647b687a35ea5231bc8b5399.jpg
d0eb05f122da286b022e8186db91867d
https://nthistory.com/files/original/2436d5b87b16b6a5e039c646e5a5d151.jpg
9a1dd87066dc55409aea635a0fe4d46c
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Scene on Ellicott Creek, postcard (c1905).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1905
boat
creek
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ebad7b6842b1a7557752e26d303ad4ff.jpg
65bba3a24e68e9ab58b2ec28c581b7df
https://nthistory.com/files/original/225792fac830cf60c2431c718e5dbe66.jpg
aecd7407fff43f09f5f6f1d7bde89db4
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Lumber Business of the Tonawandas
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/48.jpg" alt="Map of the Lumber District of the Tonawandas, 1893" /><span class="cover-caption">In the heyday of the Tonawandas' lumber years, practically every available inch of the Niagara riverfront and Tonawanda Island is covered in lumber (shown as lettered, colored portions in the map above). <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1848">1893 Sanborn Insurance map</a>.</span> In the mid-to-late 19th century, vast forests of Midwest timber are cut, dressed and shipped by water to the exploding towns and cities of the east, largely through the Tonawandas. The villages' advantageous location (between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal) and the natural harbor afforded by Tonawanda Island make it one of the largest lumber ports in the country by 1890. A lock allows small craft to jump between the Niagara River and the Erie Canal via the non-canalized portion of Tonawanda Creek.<br /><br />Scores of lumber comanies spring up here, and their yards vaccum up almost every available inch of real estate along the Niagara River, Tonawanda Creek, and Tonawanda Island. Docks are built over the water, and millions of feet of lumber stored in great blocks are stacked to the sky. They are brought here largely on lake vessels from Lake Erie, where they are moved onto canal boats by lumbershovers and stevedores and hauled by canal boat captains (along with other goods) to points east.<br /><br />The big business means big money, and conflict between the laborers and employers sometimes turns deadly. Articles in this collection describe the lumbershovers strikes of 1892 and 1893, the first of which resulted in the death of a police officer, and both of which required the National Guard to be deployed. A separate collection, "<a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/136">Murder at the Docks</a>," digs into the 1895 double murder of canal boat captain Lorenzo Phillips and his son Charles as the captain attempted to haul a load of lumber from P. W. Scribner's Tonawanda dock in defiance of a boatmen's union agreement.<br /><br />As the forests of the midwest were depleted and shipping routes and technology changed, the lumber heyday of the Tonawandas receded into the past.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Birdseye View of the Twin Cities Harbor and Lumber District, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
bridge
lumber
tonawandaisland
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/769ff9262fa85968125ad2b05f747dee.jpg
cf351d96395ae3c7ef6af943b6f6b38f
https://nthistory.com/files/original/a9c422ba2ab5a5eec3dd8e3ea4cf309c.jpg
8ac39bc2b1bb946361c55cd0fcc32948
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e6b77920e1f631068be1f20cb7e665e1.jpeg
6fbc867406ef3fdab9c7079155e706da
https://nthistory.com/files/original/cb351946f67c0a69dcbb5aa03eba89e1.jpeg
d06c9ca1432850b3f2adfe551c01dc27
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Pine Woods School
Description
An account of the resource
Public School #3, built 1892.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Schenck Street School No.2, postcards (1906, 1907).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1907
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/bd5498f655c2774dc21587d0a9865bfe.jpg
6409e614fbbd31309bae4848b4840a5f
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Grand Island Bridges, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8dd7b7392c1aa16ccf05baebcbb124ca.jpg
01ed4407fa675232f606ccf36e7bc0fc
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f4ae20e33cad19db3967f1ef32a82a8e.jpg
3b2b58e8285c0c29e029dd975e2478ef
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street, postcard (1909).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1909
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/29e29a89db5ad7aa30f0a5f7c4106a52.jpg
7c638e502cacb67fb41ede6538e4ce32
https://nthistory.com/files/original/a661846bc65c5966a4471010bb3ee278.jpg
00a232e45b928694ab8db1c0438983ba
https://nthistory.com/files/original/2d6151e8a6b5750b0bc277d66cfa279b.jpg
b0d2272ef0af7eac1e133892865cc2a2
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e83507aff59bac22804d12df3bccc352.jpeg
7cbf68f78110ee810a5a6ee5bf312f91
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Goose Island (Tonawanda)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/26.jpg" alt="Goose Island as seen from Tonawanda Island, postcard detail, ca 1913" /><span class="cover-caption">Goose Island as seen from Tonawanda Island, postcard detail, ca 1913.</span> In the mid-nineteenth century, Tonawanda's so-called "Goose Island" has a reputation as the part of town a fatigued, sober and lovelorn "canawler" can go to be cured of at least two of those conditions. Even decades after the Canal era, the area continues to proffer its roguish entertainments. In the mid-1930s, during Prohibition, local law enforcement organizes a series of "vice raids" on its bordellos and taverns, citing widespread lawlessness (the language in the articles is delicately vague, but offenses seem to include the venerable tandem of whoring and drinking). <br /><br />"Goose Island" wasn't a real island: it was a triangular hunk of land in Tonawanda bordered by the Erie Canal, the Niagara River and Tonawanda Creek, in the area where Tops and Rivershore Drive are today (see this <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/331">map</a>). The city waterworks, factories, trains, taverns and homes all mingled here in a pre-zoning law stew. <br /><br />The Historical Society of the Tonawandas <a href="http://www.niagaragreenway.org/sites/default/files/Historical%20Society%20of%20the%20Tonawandas%20NRG%20-%20November%202013%20SQ.pdf">reports</a> (p. 18) that the island also hosted Gillie's merry-go-round company, Louis Philip Perew's curious <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/611">Electric Man</a>, and the Bork Hotel. (Perew and his son also owned many of the "entertainment" places).<br /><br />The island is at last taken by the forces of good. The canal from Tonawanda to Buffalo is filled in around 1927, effectively reconnecting the recalcitrant island to its parent. Later, "Urban Renewal" razes all its remaining structures but the waterworks. Today the former "island" is quietly and profitably inhabited by a small plaza, a <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/942">nightmarish housing project</a>, Tops Friendly Markets and, perhaps most resonantly, the headquarters of the Tonawanda Police Department.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Portion of Harbor in Twin Cities, Goose Island, postcard (1910-06-15).jpg
Description
An account of the resource
The first postcard apparently penned by someone just arriving in Tonawanda in 1910 to study as a veterinarian under the tutelage of a Dr. H. S. Wende. He gives a charming description of his situation to a newphew, in a very legible hand. <br /><br />More about Dr. Wende from 1891's <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/608"><em>Lumber City</em></a>: <br /><br />Drs. Wende & Thomson, V. S. — Dr. H. S. Wende was born in Erie county, graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1886 and lo-. cated in Tonawanda where he secured a good run of practice, having an operating table and every convenience for the treatment of accidents or the diseases of horses. This is the largest veterinary hospital in this vicinity. Dr. J. P. Thomson, a Canadian and graduate of the above school, has been associated with Dr. Wende for a j-ear or two past, and is giving good satisfaction.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910-06-15
canal
factory
goose island
lumber
swingbridge
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/60742015c83957a478b2bc59aca4972c.jpg
32dbe1251212e1e3351026417427eaa9
https://nthistory.com/files/original/47e58f9a9e2adf20317b32b2faa9d3ea.jpg
cb3348e3cff5da62e2e5255919f8d937
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
On Ellicott Creek, postcard (1907-03-05).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1907-03-05
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/246589d185b0f715d60266202d4025ea.jpg
a3cd6a4f6e7d2291c5055de7b196712e
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Title
A name given to the resource
Tonawanda Iron and Steel
Description
An account of the resource
You wouldn't know it from the site today, but the massive plant of the Tonawanda Iron and Steel Company once occupied all the land along the Niagara River from Wheatfield Street to present-day Fisherman's Park. <br /><br />Iron is first produced on this site in 1872 by the Niagara Furnace Company. After about a year, production stops. In 1889, Tonawanda Iron & Steel buys and modernizes the plant. President McKinley fires up its mighty Furnace B with great ceremony and the flip of a switch from his home in Ohio in 1895. <br /><br />The iron plant draws workers to the area, many Hungarian and Polish, who settle in a village called "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/83">Ironton</a>," just north of North Tonawanda proper. <br /><br />Somewhere around 1912 poor management and a poor economy stop the furnaces again. The plant lies unused until purchased by Tonawanda Iron Corp. in 1922.<br /><br />By 2017, the site has been cleared and converted into a small medical park and Fisherman's Park.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
"Tonawanda Iron Corp., Is One of Largest Manufacturers of Pig Iron." Tonawanda News, 1929 (in this collection).
Postcard
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Title
A name given to the resource
Tonawanda Iron and Steel Works, postcard (1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
factory
ironton
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9b4113057986eb9e6933719554637949.jpg
d906b4211c19846d62d55d6231eda56d
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Martinsville
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/56.jpg" alt="Postcard view looking north up Old Falld Blvd" /><span class="cover-caption">Old Falls Boulevard, looking north from Lockport Ave. to Niagara Falls Blvd. Postcard detail, c.1900.</span> The northeast part of North Tonawanda known as "Martinsville" is named after the father of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. It is settled by German Lutheran farmers, beginning around 1843. They settled in narrow farms along the west bank of Tonawanda Creek. As the area developed, a "downtown" emerged along William Street, present-day Old Falls Blvd, near Lockport Rd. (pictured above). The village boasted its own post office, stores and places of entertainment. <br /><br />Most of Martinsville was incorporated into the then-booming City of North Tonawanda in 1897. The sections of Martinsville east of present-day Old Falls and Niagara Falls boulevards are considered part of Wheatfield.<br /><br />The real estate transaction that brought many of the settlers to the area, its early growth, and the contentious religious devotion of its people are described in <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606"><em>History of Niagara County 1821-1878</em></a>:
<blockquote>In 1843 Carl Sack, Erdman Wurl and Fred Grosskopf purchased of William Vandervoote 400 acres, at $15 per acre, on the Tonawanda creek, in the southeast corner of the town, four miles east of Tonawanda village, in what is now known as the village of Martinsville. Lutheran religious antecedents caused the adoption of this name by the disciples of Martin Luther. The original purchase was divided into small lots of three acres and up- ward, as others were able to purchase, to provide for the location of thirty families the first season. They erected ten log houses in the autumn, each of which was occupied by three or four families during the winter and until joint efforts relieved the immigrants by building others. The families remained in Buffalo until the first houses were built, obtaining the best accommodations they could find. Forbidding as the prospect in the beginning must have been, it has been changed to the appearance of prosperity. The church organization is the controlling element in the government of the community, now consisting of one hundred families, connected with the two now existing, the result of divided feeling, but not an abandonment of the Lutheran faith.</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Boating on the Creek, Martinsville, postcard (c.1905).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1905
boat
creek
martinsville
-
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f7d582abd2619652d0234de7eb7a8ba1
https://nthistory.com/files/original/03bdaa5cc787a385589bbb78a0ac680a.jpg
012f096de538438b4a09de3cb1977b3d
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
On Ellicott Creek, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
boat
creek
tonawanda
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/a85dc5b86eeffc6d0de69817fd910665.jpg
3122a75a9e7aa9d4fd0c28bed7dc6df3
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c37b307678460eba9cf29a02c7b648e7
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Wurlitzer: 100 Years of Musical Achievement</em>. Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Chicago, Illinois. 1956.
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/52.jpg" alt="The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters." /> <span class="cover-caption">The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters. Postcard, c.1940.</span> <span style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.7em;">Its iconic tower has presided over Sawyer's Creek and Martinsville for almost 100 years. The sprawling industrial campus left behind by the world-famous Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company produced merry-go-round organs, band organs, church organs, theater organs and jukeboxes that have left an indelible mark on the world, and on generations of North Tonawandans. </span><br /><br />Wurlitzer founder Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831-1914) was a German immigrant who (after stops in New Jersey and Philadelphia) landed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854 at the age of 23. He worked for a bank, and down the street was a musical retail store. His father, Christian, was a successful music retailer in Germany, and Rudolph's experience told him the Ohio store's instruments were of poor quality, and priced too high. In 1856 he begins importing quality musical instruments from his family in Germany to sell at a profit in American retail stores. The business grows; Wurlitzer begins making instruments themselves for the U. S. military and for retail. The company branches out into "automatic" musical instruments, such as music boxes and player-pianos. Rudolph's three sons, Howard, Rudolph H., and Farny become involved along the way, and take on aspects of the growing family business.<br /><br />The youngest son, Farny, is sent to North Tonawanda to run the former <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/24">de Kleist Musical Instrument Mfg. Co.</a> shortly after it is purchased by Wurlitzer in 1908. (de Kleist was building player pianos and band organs for Wurlitzer and others since 1893). Farny brings eccentric English inventor Robert Hope-Jones to the plant in 1910, initiating the worldwide success of the "Mighty Wurlitzer" theater organ, which provides sound for the silent films of the day, and entertainment in its own right. This business evaporates when sound comes to movies, and electrical sound amplification permits musical entertainment to be furnished to venues of all types much less expensively. <br /><br />When the Wurlitzer company finds itself overextended in the wake of the Great Depression, Farny fights to keep the North Tonawanda facility open. In 1934 he strikes a deal with Homer Capehart to manufacture his automatic phonograph, which becomes the iconic Wurlitzer jukebox. Under his leadership the company also produces a successful line of electronic organs for home use, and the North Tonawanda plant becomes the flagship of the Wurlitzer factories, with 3,000 employees. After his death in 1972, jukebox and organ production are phased out, leaving 200 employees in 1974. By 1975, all manufacturing at the North Tonawanda plant is stopped, and by August 1976, all company activities are removed to other locations.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
General View of Wurlitzer Factories, postcard (c1928).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1928
factory
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8d25b38c36a0dc26c088dfaf65301c1c.jpg
128f0e64b700de31222935b0cbc5382d
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ce96fe29ed6276eb8d05ad0d98a08ab1.jpg
9abcee620b146253823d5be94a3cbf3f
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Post Office
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
North Tonawanda Post Office, postcard (1942-04-07).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1942-04-07
building
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/55771ab4cc207e6d2dcc61e7dcb7556d.jpg
7a5512d1baa30163c685e11bdf8321de
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Feells Shangri-La Restuarant, North Tonawanda, photo (c1930).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1930
restaurant
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/6e2bc33bcc00d6ad46b1525f8c8d1e45.jpg
7f14af151a83faebedb5e54bd87eaa5e
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
American District Steam Heating, Taber Industries (455 Bryant Street)
Description
An account of the resource
Before the electric age, there was the steam age. <br /><br />Steam (harnessing the pressure created by boiling water) was used to power factory equipment, trains, and even to heat buildings. A system for heating entire cities with steam ("district steam heating") is developed by Birdsall Holly in Lockport in 1877. His American District Steam Company has a sprawling plant in North Tonawanda at 455 Bryant Street in the early 20th Century.<br /><br />(Holly also develops the modern <span> network of water mains connecting fire hydrants, providing a reliable water supply for firefighters, an important innovation for early American cities.)<br /></span><br />As of 2022, the buildings are operated by Taber Industries. From <a href="https://www.taberindustries.com/about-taber">their website</a>:
<blockquote>Originally founded in 1941 by Ralph Taber, The Taber Instrument Corporation was established to manufacture precision testing instruments. As lead engineer, Mr. Taber invented numerous devices that aided in the understanding of material physical properties. Many of the original product concepts were so innovative they are still widely used today, and continue to be considered the standard for comparison in many industries. Best known for our expertise in abrasion and surface wear, Taber also offers a full product line to evaluate resistance to scratch, mar and scuff damage; along with bending and stiffness. Acquired by the Teledyne organization in 1966, the company’s name was changed to Teledyne Taber. In August 1992, the company changed ownership and became Taber Industries.</blockquote>
The buildings in the northeast section of the plant are now operated by <a href="https://ltrrigging.com/home/">LTR Rigging and Hauling</a>.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
American District Steam Heating Plant, postcard (1926).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926
factory
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c760ce6540b971d05c8c48e6f6d6c73f.jpg
fb11015762c34aac738ab17ccdb03043
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Y.M.C.A. Building, North Tonawanda, postcard (1908).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1908
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/cf9d913973843db2e589bb726bb61782.jpg
60ac1ae346cbec9e6106b29a74410145
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Webster Street and Erie Canal Bridge, postcard (c1930).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1930
bridge
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ddc92861bbc39c4a6c2c9b30193c7981.jpg
e7854bd02eba082c88c3f5b8787cac89
https://nthistory.com/files/original/6f7e69b5cf7ec25a588aabe51f8c32e7.jpg
09fb9195b804b7b4b8ae2dff7ab0c153
https://nthistory.com/files/original/88c6d185729ff45f509c9a50d585e385.jpg
bd9222716e674efe8bfcd5ccc312f3b5
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Webster Street, Burtch Drugs and Rivera Theatre, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
Description
An account of the resource
Alternate spelling of Riviera.
downtown
hd
riviera
theater
village
webster
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/cba178df67c8ad36e968f0221d311c56.jpg
b4b6c7dd8dbcd85efdecc71257a74fdb
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Webster and Bridge, split, postcard (1948).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1948
bridge
canal
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c4f985800d8cedf650d9a638e661e7b6.jpeg
fc4d6ead7f8d599e2d009285788844bc
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https://nthistory.com/files/original/ff71a02c23d0be66c5206afd5ce76e2d.jpg
ce0ac136b8784b0209bfe199517908d1
https://nthistory.com/files/original/1f5393223c996fa57591f0d96cfc6752.jpeg
d0e1bfe4e90ae1b8010676539f14f2a8
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3f6d1667a8e53b03355f9bfc459be56a.jpeg
23a5582502fad15bdf742be5219ac4db
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3071975978ffc7eba933bc04bb8a1163.jpg
679e5cfa7cfd5e2ed642cd112914b1ac
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
View on Webster Street, postcards (1907-1911).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1907-11-25
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c6921d2c3f3746c4d9d1352ca9196cdd.jpg
f0fe020b3c4fa48d8b19aef7cdd29be0
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0ee396c82d2bcd58d6b049de7c3df87c.jpg
070447864f5a23fb38b8a7b3e17cacfb
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lumber Business of the Tonawandas
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/48.jpg" alt="Map of the Lumber District of the Tonawandas, 1893" /><span class="cover-caption">In the heyday of the Tonawandas' lumber years, practically every available inch of the Niagara riverfront and Tonawanda Island is covered in lumber (shown as lettered, colored portions in the map above). <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1848">1893 Sanborn Insurance map</a>.</span> In the mid-to-late 19th century, vast forests of Midwest timber are cut, dressed and shipped by water to the exploding towns and cities of the east, largely through the Tonawandas. The villages' advantageous location (between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal) and the natural harbor afforded by Tonawanda Island make it one of the largest lumber ports in the country by 1890. A lock allows small craft to jump between the Niagara River and the Erie Canal via the non-canalized portion of Tonawanda Creek.<br /><br />Scores of lumber comanies spring up here, and their yards vaccum up almost every available inch of real estate along the Niagara River, Tonawanda Creek, and Tonawanda Island. Docks are built over the water, and millions of feet of lumber stored in great blocks are stacked to the sky. They are brought here largely on lake vessels from Lake Erie, where they are moved onto canal boats by lumbershovers and stevedores and hauled by canal boat captains (along with other goods) to points east.<br /><br />The big business means big money, and conflict between the laborers and employers sometimes turns deadly. Articles in this collection describe the lumbershovers strikes of 1892 and 1893, the first of which resulted in the death of a police officer, and both of which required the National Guard to be deployed. A separate collection, "<a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/136">Murder at the Docks</a>," digs into the 1895 double murder of canal boat captain Lorenzo Phillips and his son Charles as the captain attempted to haul a load of lumber from P. W. Scribner's Tonawanda dock in defiance of a boatmen's union agreement.<br /><br />As the forests of the midwest were depleted and shipping routes and technology changed, the lumber heyday of the Tonawandas receded into the past.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Unloading lumber in the Twin Cities, postcard (1906).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1906
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b8377d997109b9b787e83cced2a11141.jpg
06378cd0a26d27b0373795b7d8142d3f
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9af6e64caaf2ec2b365494a800d7ae4a.jpg
bb62975162c2d4050e81e44c5cf8474e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lumber Business of the Tonawandas
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/48.jpg" alt="Map of the Lumber District of the Tonawandas, 1893" /><span class="cover-caption">In the heyday of the Tonawandas' lumber years, practically every available inch of the Niagara riverfront and Tonawanda Island is covered in lumber (shown as lettered, colored portions in the map above). <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1848">1893 Sanborn Insurance map</a>.</span> In the mid-to-late 19th century, vast forests of Midwest timber are cut, dressed and shipped by water to the exploding towns and cities of the east, largely through the Tonawandas. The villages' advantageous location (between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal) and the natural harbor afforded by Tonawanda Island make it one of the largest lumber ports in the country by 1890. A lock allows small craft to jump between the Niagara River and the Erie Canal via the non-canalized portion of Tonawanda Creek.<br /><br />Scores of lumber comanies spring up here, and their yards vaccum up almost every available inch of real estate along the Niagara River, Tonawanda Creek, and Tonawanda Island. Docks are built over the water, and millions of feet of lumber stored in great blocks are stacked to the sky. They are brought here largely on lake vessels from Lake Erie, where they are moved onto canal boats by lumbershovers and stevedores and hauled by canal boat captains (along with other goods) to points east.<br /><br />The big business means big money, and conflict between the laborers and employers sometimes turns deadly. Articles in this collection describe the lumbershovers strikes of 1892 and 1893, the first of which resulted in the death of a police officer, and both of which required the National Guard to be deployed. A separate collection, "<a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/136">Murder at the Docks</a>," digs into the 1895 double murder of canal boat captain Lorenzo Phillips and his son Charles as the captain attempted to haul a load of lumber from P. W. Scribner's Tonawanda dock in defiance of a boatmen's union agreement.<br /><br />As the forests of the midwest were depleted and shipping routes and technology changed, the lumber heyday of the Tonawandas receded into the past.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Transferring Lumber in the Twin Cities, postcard (1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/cbbd349f49f4fd0e9494269b44f9b106.jpg
e74ba4f5d062fb330f63fa128aa3e20b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lumber Business of the Tonawandas
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/48.jpg" alt="Map of the Lumber District of the Tonawandas, 1893" /><span class="cover-caption">In the heyday of the Tonawandas' lumber years, practically every available inch of the Niagara riverfront and Tonawanda Island is covered in lumber (shown as lettered, colored portions in the map above). <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1848">1893 Sanborn Insurance map</a>.</span> In the mid-to-late 19th century, vast forests of Midwest timber are cut, dressed and shipped by water to the exploding towns and cities of the east, largely through the Tonawandas. The villages' advantageous location (between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal) and the natural harbor afforded by Tonawanda Island make it one of the largest lumber ports in the country by 1890. A lock allows small craft to jump between the Niagara River and the Erie Canal via the non-canalized portion of Tonawanda Creek.<br /><br />Scores of lumber comanies spring up here, and their yards vaccum up almost every available inch of real estate along the Niagara River, Tonawanda Creek, and Tonawanda Island. Docks are built over the water, and millions of feet of lumber stored in great blocks are stacked to the sky. They are brought here largely on lake vessels from Lake Erie, where they are moved onto canal boats by lumbershovers and stevedores and hauled by canal boat captains (along with other goods) to points east.<br /><br />The big business means big money, and conflict between the laborers and employers sometimes turns deadly. Articles in this collection describe the lumbershovers strikes of 1892 and 1893, the first of which resulted in the death of a police officer, and both of which required the National Guard to be deployed. A separate collection, "<a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/136">Murder at the Docks</a>," digs into the 1895 double murder of canal boat captain Lorenzo Phillips and his son Charles as the captain attempted to haul a load of lumber from P. W. Scribner's Tonawanda dock in defiance of a boatmen's union agreement.<br /><br />As the forests of the midwest were depleted and shipping routes and technology changed, the lumber heyday of the Tonawandas receded into the past.
Postcard
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Title
A name given to the resource
Transferring Lumber, postcard (c.1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
Description
An account of the resource
Showing the Grace Holland.
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/515710671875178b97cebea8d4fd0754.jpg
177f22337feed112b274f853091d3bec
https://nthistory.com/files/original/75c985f8574b3ab8d7c946ae6fad789c.jpg
24c07b556e1f1e5cc357598e17026159
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Title
A name given to the resource
Tonawanda Power Company (435 Robinson)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/37.jpg" alt="National Grid transformer station in 2023. Photo by Dennis Reed Jr." /> <span class="cover-caption">National Grid transformer station in 2023. Photo by Dennis Reed Jr.</span><strong>First located on Tonawanda Island</strong><br /><br />Around 1889, what would be come the Tonawanda Power Company (Tonawanda & Wheatfield Electric Light company) supplied electricity to NT from a small steam unit on Tonawanda Island, fed by wood shavings from the Doebler Planing Mill. Their office was at the northeast corner of Main and Goundry in an old frame building. Arc lights on a few streets were run. A few "daring" homes and businesses ran its power.<br /><br /><strong>Electrifying Buffalo-Niagara</strong><br /><br />In late 1895, The Niagara Falls Power Company builds a long-distance power line (mostly along the Old Mile Reserve) from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, the first of its kind in the world. It is operational by November 1896.<br /><br />The long distance line uses Nikolai Tesla's breakthrough alternating current (AC) transmitted at high voltages, which could travel with minimal loss. A ‘transformer house’ like the one established on Robinson street would step down (transform) some of the high voltage lines to more manageable and safer levels for local distribution. Other lines passing through this North Tonawanda substation continued at high voltage to Buffalo and Lockport, to be stepped down at other transformer houses before being used locally. Much of the line followed a right of way established by the old New York State Mile Reserve, a mile east of the Niagara River.<br /><br /><strong>Former switching tower<br /><br /></strong>Where the new park is now, on the Twin City Highway side, was once a two-story “switching tower” connected to the transformer house. Added around 1902, this tower was actually owned by the Niagara Falls Power company. It helped engineers manage and troubleshoot defects in the multiplying lines. Most of the high voltage lines carrying electricity from the massive turbines at Niagara Falls ran into this tower. <br /><br /><strong>Halloween disaster</strong><br /><br />In 1920, a horrific explosion kills 13 men early Halloween morning. An NT fire chief <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Safety_Maintenance_Production/Njw6AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Superintendent+Albert+S.+Allen+tonawanda&pg=PA221&printsec=frontcover">alleges the work was rushed</a> in <em>Safety News and Comment</em>. The January 1921 <em>Safety Bulletin</em> <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Safety_Bulletin/XwkUAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tonawanda+power+substation+tower&pg=RA24-PA2&printsec=frontcover">provides more context and details</a> (a storm and wind outside) and a photo of the ruined second floor of the switching tower. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/State_of_New_York_Supreme_Court_Appellat/-NBRpQpR-lwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tonawanda+power+substation+tower&pg=RA3-PA17&printsec=frontcover">Rose Derby's suit</a>. Superintendent Frank S. Wahl's (and others!) testimony in <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_York_Court_of_Appeals_Records_and_Br/wU3z2XtqKz8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tonawanda+power+substation+tower&pg=PA178&printsec=frontcover">Yates's survivor's suit provides</a> more tower details, tower role, and what he saw on the scene (where the dead were found).<br /><br />In 1925 they become "associated with" Buffalo General Electric, Niagara Falls Power Co. and others. <br /><br />In 1929, they open a new headquarters on Sweeney and Webster, today Buffalo Suzuki Strings.<br /><br />The Robinson street transformer house and environs is now owned and operated by National Grid.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Tonawanda Power Company, postcard (1939).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1939
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/be742e11529fd66a92edb062cd078737.jpg
177f22337feed112b274f853091d3bec
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c33e56dd2232e74ee52aed7b8f03b7b5.jpg
24c07b556e1f1e5cc357598e17026159
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Title
A name given to the resource
Tonawanda Power Company (435 Robinson)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/37.jpg" alt="National Grid transformer station in 2023. Photo by Dennis Reed Jr." /> <span class="cover-caption">National Grid transformer station in 2023. Photo by Dennis Reed Jr.</span><strong>First located on Tonawanda Island</strong><br /><br />Around 1889, what would be come the Tonawanda Power Company (Tonawanda & Wheatfield Electric Light company) supplied electricity to NT from a small steam unit on Tonawanda Island, fed by wood shavings from the Doebler Planing Mill. Their office was at the northeast corner of Main and Goundry in an old frame building. Arc lights on a few streets were run. A few "daring" homes and businesses ran its power.<br /><br /><strong>Electrifying Buffalo-Niagara</strong><br /><br />In late 1895, The Niagara Falls Power Company builds a long-distance power line (mostly along the Old Mile Reserve) from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, the first of its kind in the world. It is operational by November 1896.<br /><br />The long distance line uses Nikolai Tesla's breakthrough alternating current (AC) transmitted at high voltages, which could travel with minimal loss. A ‘transformer house’ like the one established on Robinson street would step down (transform) some of the high voltage lines to more manageable and safer levels for local distribution. Other lines passing through this North Tonawanda substation continued at high voltage to Buffalo and Lockport, to be stepped down at other transformer houses before being used locally. Much of the line followed a right of way established by the old New York State Mile Reserve, a mile east of the Niagara River.<br /><br /><strong>Former switching tower<br /><br /></strong>Where the new park is now, on the Twin City Highway side, was once a two-story “switching tower” connected to the transformer house. Added around 1902, this tower was actually owned by the Niagara Falls Power company. It helped engineers manage and troubleshoot defects in the multiplying lines. Most of the high voltage lines carrying electricity from the massive turbines at Niagara Falls ran into this tower. <br /><br /><strong>Halloween disaster</strong><br /><br />In 1920, a horrific explosion kills 13 men early Halloween morning. An NT fire chief <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Safety_Maintenance_Production/Njw6AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Superintendent+Albert+S.+Allen+tonawanda&pg=PA221&printsec=frontcover">alleges the work was rushed</a> in <em>Safety News and Comment</em>. The January 1921 <em>Safety Bulletin</em> <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Safety_Bulletin/XwkUAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tonawanda+power+substation+tower&pg=RA24-PA2&printsec=frontcover">provides more context and details</a> (a storm and wind outside) and a photo of the ruined second floor of the switching tower. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/State_of_New_York_Supreme_Court_Appellat/-NBRpQpR-lwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tonawanda+power+substation+tower&pg=RA3-PA17&printsec=frontcover">Rose Derby's suit</a>. Superintendent Frank S. Wahl's (and others!) testimony in <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_York_Court_of_Appeals_Records_and_Br/wU3z2XtqKz8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tonawanda+power+substation+tower&pg=PA178&printsec=frontcover">Yates's survivor's suit provides</a> more tower details, tower role, and what he saw on the scene (where the dead were found).<br /><br />In 1925 they become "associated with" Buffalo General Electric, Niagara Falls Power Co. and others. <br /><br />In 1929, they open a new headquarters on Sweeney and Webster, today Buffalo Suzuki Strings.<br /><br />The Robinson street transformer house and environs is now owned and operated by National Grid.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Tonawanda Power Co, postcard (1939).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1939
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8f60a4ff7bae5a7a86b050b6ae9e745c.jpg
f893650f0971ab22dc730391ca5083e5
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Tonawanda Depot, postcard (1914-03-13).jpg
Description
An account of the resource
Home of Historical Society of the Tonawandas
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1914-03-13
tonawanda
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/13626094eb65ff043c63f5dfc1ec9264.jpg
c59ec82488b5c35e049507e636100c21
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Title
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Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
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Smiths Dining Car, Exchange, Tremont and Webster, postcard (1936).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1936
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/db9e0a531152470243ecf7ff499ebeb7.jpg
e9770a9af48e4a782b90d51dc84dd632
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Sheridan Park Motor Hotel, Tonawanda, postcard (1958).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1958
tonawanda
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/038699a1b248fe0f3d45ac922a79de06.jpeg
0eb99bf905a50c920ea93837ed411edc
https://nthistory.com/files/original/109ba1ff549937f2bb002e701029a818.jpg
417df5b210c3cbd92cc9cb6c2ec93e63
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7d3ff4d3a50a90c57c17a3350b0c103c.jpg
1f465cfe340cc6cba470c8baa90a6c9e
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Title
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Riverside Chemical Company (1906-present)
Description
An account of the resource
From <a href="http://www.rivchem.com/about.html">their website</a>:
<blockquote>
<p>Riverside Chemical was founded in 1906 by A. C. Rasch. The business started running out of the basement of a grocery store at the corner of Oliver Street and Porter Avenue in North Tonawanda, NY. In those beginning years, the company focused on household supplies such as ammonia, bluing, vanilla extract and other extracts. Mr. Rasch founded the company on the simple principle of providing a good product, for a good price, with special attention to customer service and community involvement.</p>
<p>Later Mr. Rasch began manufacturing products to serve the needs of horse drawn wagons and industrial machines. The company produced axle grease and other grease for machinery, as well as leather oils, harness preservatives and hoof dressing.</p>
<p>When the automobile age began, Mr. Rasch developed a non-chatter oil for Model T cars which launched the company into a new era.</p>
<p><b>Dr. Carl H. Rasch (1904-1980)</b></p>
<p>In 1929 the company moved their facility to the current location on River Road in North Tonawanda, NY.</p>
<p>During the 1940's and 1950's the company was managed by A. C. Rasch's sons, George A. Rasch and Dr. Carl H. Rasch.</p>
<p>In 1959 Dr. Carl H. Rasch was appointed as President of the company. Dr Rasch had worked at Riverside since the early 1930's, and had also earned Ph.D. Degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Buffalo and the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Rasch was responsible for another large growth period in the company as he expanded the business product lines to include high purity chemicals and food grade additives as well as dramatically increasing their industrial product lines. Dr. Rasch remained President until he passed away in 1980.</p>
<p>The 1980s began the third generation of the family run business as Dr. Carl H. Rasch's sons Peter C. Rasch became President and Jon A. Rasch as Vice President. Both had worked for Riverside for many years before taking charge in 1980.</p>
<p>Peter Rasch has continued to grow the business, while also minding the principals that had been set by his grandfather so many years ago. Riverside's success has been enhanced by its high ethical business practices; commitment to community, customers, employees and the environment.</p>
</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
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Riverside Chemical Co, North Tonawanda, postcard (1956-07).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1956-07
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c8f26a5b9896b48af39ace55f82603fd.jpeg
3c97301f25ea68f2152a065ddbc639ee
https://nthistory.com/files/original/76af20212e0ad3ff50a1353e6434b0a6.jpeg
f62fa5928f03b828dd24722d43163b57
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Title
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Carnegie Arts Center
Description
An account of the resource
Formerly the public library. Built in 1903 from a Carnegie endowment.
Postcard
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Title
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Public Library, postcard (1924).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1924
Format
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1455 px wide
library
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7212a9ae8b90d4229a3ca16b8d52f799.jpg
986b41516a145cf90dece5dca93e19f3
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Title
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Niagara Silk Mills
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" alt="Niagara Silk Mills postcard" src="http://nthistory.com/custom/cover/44.jpg" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Niagara Silk Mills plant once dominated Sweeney Street, standing where Gateway Center is today. Postcard c. 1912.</span> The Niagara Silk Mills (later Van Raalte Silk Mills) produced ladies' undergarments, gloves, and similar fineries. They marketed their materials with the iconography of Niagara Falls (reminiscent of the Pan Am Exposition imagery), and with appearances by silent film sirens.
Postcard
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Niagara Maid Silk Gloves, postcard, hi-res (1909-02-27).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1909-02-27
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/60db07a0c95812e5115810053a2c17ea.jpg
6657dab66138f41009696e9a921d8fc3
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4a65600fdb190809e6fbb0d38dd45c4c.jpg
ea18ba17a94cc3b56c94b9e5b70727a5
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Title
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Motels
Postcard
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Motel Esquire, 4390 Niagara Falls Blvd, postcard (c1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7c3a47b0c482dc223e991095ec5cbaab.jpg
09524f0aa737c0882282201d23503925
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Title
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King Construction Company
Postcard
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Title
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King Construction Co., postcard (1926).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1926
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c85a114a7387b4af218cb07aad7c0f82.jpg
4cf0e017b022481d04863a80e46f96d2
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3795c043691b15f96271a1aec7c5579a.jpg
a831b2ec281a2a9aa74f29a1688b4186
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Title
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Allan Herschell Companies
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/files/original/0a8137a27b9978ab2f72819b2bd699cf.jpg" alt="" /> <span class="cover-caption">An 1894 Armitage-Herschell advertisement shows a not-at-all-dangerous-to-children-looking steam boiler and pulleys providing motive power to the company's signature device.</span>
<div>On gilded signs posted at its southern and northern entrances, North Tonawanda introduces itself to visitors as "The Home of the Carrousel." The still-ubiquitous fairground staple was not <em>invented</em> in North Tonawanda (some version of it had been around <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dizzy-history-carousels-begins-knights-180964100">since at least the 12th Century</a>), but thousands were produced here and the highest levels of craftsmanship were attained here under the guidance of Scottish-born Allan Herschell.<br /><br /></div>
In 1872 (<em>Landmarks</em> says 1873), the Armitage-Herschell Co. begins as a small brass and iron foundry on Manhattan Street, comprised of Englishman <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/889">James Armitage</a>, and Scottish brothers <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/880">George</a> and <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/877">Allan Herschell</a>. The firm survives devastating fires in 1874 and 1875, and expands to a location off Oliver Street (whence comes the name, "Mechanic Street"), adding engines and boilers to their specialties. Youngest partner Allan sees a carousel while traveling, and recognizes ways it can be improved. By 1887, his "Improved Steam Riding Gallery" captivates the world, and people from India and France demand the modern amusement. The merry-go-round-makers at first import the accompanying band organs from the old European master-builders of Germany and France, but high tariffs decide them to instead import German organ maker <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/936">Eugene de Kleist</a> from England (de Kleist begins making organs at his <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/24">North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory</a> in 1893). They organize in 1890.<br /><br />James Armitage and George Herschell die in early 1900. The Armitage-Herschell Company is succeeded by Herschell, Spillman & Company, and the Allan Herschell Company. Allan Herschell dies in 1927. The latter company continues making amusements, including miniature trains, boats and airplanes (some of which can be played upon at the <a href="http://www.carrouselmuseum.org">Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum</a> in North Tonawanda) as late as the 1960s.<br /><br />There is a large Herschell family plot in Sweeney Cemetery.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/607"><em>Landmarks of Niagara County</em> (1897)</a></li>
<li><span class="_Tgc">“<a href="http://carrouselmuseum.org/site/about/allan-herschell">Allen Herschell History</a>.” <em>Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum,</em> 2014.</span></li>
</ul>
Postcard
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Title
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Herschell-Spillman Headquarters, illustrated postcard (1906).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1906
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/515cbd44fd02cb33ecca0e17149cfe84.jpg
cf928e47b91403cd0a7d4e18a3c118de
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Title
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Lumber Business of the Tonawandas
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/48.jpg" alt="Map of the Lumber District of the Tonawandas, 1893" /><span class="cover-caption">In the heyday of the Tonawandas' lumber years, practically every available inch of the Niagara riverfront and Tonawanda Island is covered in lumber (shown as lettered, colored portions in the map above). <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1848">1893 Sanborn Insurance map</a>.</span> In the mid-to-late 19th century, vast forests of Midwest timber are cut, dressed and shipped by water to the exploding towns and cities of the east, largely through the Tonawandas. The villages' advantageous location (between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal) and the natural harbor afforded by Tonawanda Island make it one of the largest lumber ports in the country by 1890. A lock allows small craft to jump between the Niagara River and the Erie Canal via the non-canalized portion of Tonawanda Creek.<br /><br />Scores of lumber comanies spring up here, and their yards vaccum up almost every available inch of real estate along the Niagara River, Tonawanda Creek, and Tonawanda Island. Docks are built over the water, and millions of feet of lumber stored in great blocks are stacked to the sky. They are brought here largely on lake vessels from Lake Erie, where they are moved onto canal boats by lumbershovers and stevedores and hauled by canal boat captains (along with other goods) to points east.<br /><br />The big business means big money, and conflict between the laborers and employers sometimes turns deadly. Articles in this collection describe the lumbershovers strikes of 1892 and 1893, the first of which resulted in the death of a police officer, and both of which required the National Guard to be deployed. A separate collection, "<a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/136">Murder at the Docks</a>," digs into the 1895 double murder of canal boat captain Lorenzo Phillips and his son Charles as the captain attempted to haul a load of lumber from P. W. Scribner's Tonawanda dock in defiance of a boatmen's union agreement.<br /><br />As the forests of the midwest were depleted and shipping routes and technology changed, the lumber heyday of the Tonawandas receded into the past.
Postcard
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Title
A name given to the resource
Harbor View, postcard (c1905).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1905
river
tonawandaisland
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/6904f5d789ab2f1e21e10e42508fdac2.jpg
29d162ebe02cfb8d32b9d5b00037c3bc
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
G F Meyers Coal, Wood and Sewer pipe, postcard (c. 1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0d086ae3c6d7048cb6138f54638194fd.jpg
400e25f439b859ea792d6230922ce89f
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3f9c1d1b5a451e32a18034d1766d86b8.jpg
fd28d03950e4c76cbf5f799773f2dcaf
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Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
First M. E, Church, hi-res postcard (1912).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1912
church
downtown
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/cf83473b38c9e23cc22ce7fef3330253.jpg
da591b58e094a7d4f4f72319eb38f21c
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A name given to the resource
DeGraff Memorial Hospital
Description
An account of the resource
In 1913 business leaders in the Tonawandas including LeGrand S. DeGraff and NT Mayor Dr. John A. Rafter developed a plan to create a badly needed hospital. DeGraff funded the endeavor with a "very substantial contribution."
Architect W. O. Johnstone donated his work for the hospital. Ground was broken in April 14; dedication ceremonies took place May 30, 1914.
In 1930 an addition for a Nurses Home and Maternity Ward was made possible by a legacy grant from James S. Thompson. Another expansion was started in 1942 and completed in 1944.
In 1947, changes from a public institution to a non-profit, membership corporation.
March 14, 1953 a new addition and Maternity Wing are opened.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
DeGraff Memorial Hospital, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
hospital
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7d2234dfb9156f707ce8fc1f17d4bd7e.jpg
0ad0ee4339e7040c72784fda20216335
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f32475e9bbe7dcb083e3ee45088471cf.jpg
3603f2945ce455183c5557d909014dac
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Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Bridge over Erie Barge Canal dividing Tonawandas, postcard (c1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
bridge
canal
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/22d165a63dfa525839cab0131435488b.jpg
60f5f7402e286a94f4b66bbd9e987144
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e0d0b437eac1ec293f57f32e6b1f5924.jpg
3cee29bf8151f199ddd5c45d2ddd3843
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Bridge over Erie Barge Canal connecting, postcard (1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
bridge
canal
downtown
webster
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/fb35c1eabac3aa7ef5abaae0b9513d87.jpg
0ad0ee4339e7040c72784fda20216335
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Canal
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Canal in North Tonawanda followed the existing Tonawanda Creek from Pendleton. The first work done locally was the 1823 construction of a wooden dam near present-day Gateway Park to raise the level of the creek four feet. In 1918 this dam was removed when the length of the Erie was re-engineered to become the Erie Barge Canal. The Tonawanda and Buffalo portions of the canal were abandoned at that time, making North Tonawanda the canal's new western terminus. In 1923 Tonawanda began filling in the old canal. The work was not yet complete in 1929.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Bridge over Erie Barge Canal, postcard (c.1930).jpg
Description
An account of the resource
Showing First Trust, Tonawanda Power Co., more.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1930
bridge
canal
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/a1461e4d59b421055ddb765432967342.jpg
a1d17df2964a4ee1a0175134c5888e00
https://nthistory.com/files/original/fa0c5c1fc658f192d1be22ddc1d21038.jpeg
fda59b1f9ed848240381a848ba2c921c
https://nthistory.com/files/original/dff9042dbbe2191126d4cd15912daaa5.jpeg
7067bb78307bb1b22090fd569ab773e8
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4813f65424754cc4aa6e07ea81860ccf.jpeg
d85f41bc9fb5fcc21c06a62144875d4c
https://nthistory.com/files/original/008c79ca326a808bf8cfefc1866c9388.jpg
4d1c0c167c7e6a3ee3ac0abdc2d7c85e
https://nthistory.com/files/original/1dd447ad681f83ada3cce5af065a392c.jpg
f5c9102658fad9be7308f7b3e52774bf
https://nthistory.com/files/original/86d59a43ff235b8baa9649dc15e4424a.jpg
af21f9dfaf6ed5d67f223f2a89a19796
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Boulevard Gardens Motel, 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd., postcards .jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4bafd6ce48bf93604fcaf3b16bb9084a.jpg
8734b8b9e517c9183f7f76512ede4e7f
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Lumber Business of the Tonawandas
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/48.jpg" alt="Map of the Lumber District of the Tonawandas, 1893" /><span class="cover-caption">In the heyday of the Tonawandas' lumber years, practically every available inch of the Niagara riverfront and Tonawanda Island is covered in lumber (shown as lettered, colored portions in the map above). <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1848">1893 Sanborn Insurance map</a>.</span> In the mid-to-late 19th century, vast forests of Midwest timber are cut, dressed and shipped by water to the exploding towns and cities of the east, largely through the Tonawandas. The villages' advantageous location (between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal) and the natural harbor afforded by Tonawanda Island make it one of the largest lumber ports in the country by 1890. A lock allows small craft to jump between the Niagara River and the Erie Canal via the non-canalized portion of Tonawanda Creek.<br /><br />Scores of lumber comanies spring up here, and their yards vaccum up almost every available inch of real estate along the Niagara River, Tonawanda Creek, and Tonawanda Island. Docks are built over the water, and millions of feet of lumber stored in great blocks are stacked to the sky. They are brought here largely on lake vessels from Lake Erie, where they are moved onto canal boats by lumbershovers and stevedores and hauled by canal boat captains (along with other goods) to points east.<br /><br />The big business means big money, and conflict between the laborers and employers sometimes turns deadly. Articles in this collection describe the lumbershovers strikes of 1892 and 1893, the first of which resulted in the death of a police officer, and both of which required the National Guard to be deployed. A separate collection, "<a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/136">Murder at the Docks</a>," digs into the 1895 double murder of canal boat captain Lorenzo Phillips and his son Charles as the captain attempted to haul a load of lumber from P. W. Scribner's Tonawanda dock in defiance of a boatmen's union agreement.<br /><br />As the forests of the midwest were depleted and shipping routes and technology changed, the lumber heyday of the Tonawandas receded into the past.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Along the Docks of the Lumber District, postcard (1921-08).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1921-08
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5bf8b1d3f78a06d88f11fdd7fa2f0f0d.jpg
1d001d7720e81f797eb21c4834bca67a
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
25th Seperate Co Armory, Tonawanda, postcard (c1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
tonawanda
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/017008745f16e9e32fb35f6b85d65403.jpeg
a712931d74ed4b89dd80220004287d2a
https://nthistory.com/files/original/86143e867ab5993ea0b207931f4bde7a.jpeg
45aac13909598a5f78154de689f314b7
https://nthistory.com/files/original/58b83657dded913d27af4076935f9838.jpg
4dd64892e4764ba62ed9e3edd28bb657
https://nthistory.com/files/original/aa3c84095c26abd0b690273b6ae4160c.jpg
80ff9acb41cf6ff474b20101ed8a315b
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Carnegie Arts Center
Description
An account of the resource
Formerly the public library. Built in 1903 from a Carnegie endowment.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Carnegie Library, postcard (c. 1925).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1925
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/a298b12d49dc9b48af671f01403beaa2.jpg
2b61b656797d090313757fb172ebb61e
https://nthistory.com/files/original/85096703cea73466d54b216ff059c564.jpg
2eaae6ec0858ecfc436845cdd66e7041
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c689a7459435964ed3cfdb370f2cc2bc.jpg
5111a444d4d29147721204d119d710a3
https://nthistory.com/files/original/87d0fd9202dad8082792beb5c20655d2.jpg
4b992ab25509d142e059269d7f4423a8
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ffc0f88516c711d342edb1999ba61156.jpg
c3a7d74dbaf19559d00f28a85e0e1983
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Tonawanda Iron and Steel
Description
An account of the resource
You wouldn't know it from the site today, but the massive plant of the Tonawanda Iron and Steel Company once occupied all the land along the Niagara River from Wheatfield Street to present-day Fisherman's Park. <br /><br />Iron is first produced on this site in 1872 by the Niagara Furnace Company. After about a year, production stops. In 1889, Tonawanda Iron & Steel buys and modernizes the plant. President McKinley fires up its mighty Furnace B with great ceremony and the flip of a switch from his home in Ohio in 1895. <br /><br />The iron plant draws workers to the area, many Hungarian and Polish, who settle in a village called "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/83">Ironton</a>," just north of North Tonawanda proper. <br /><br />Somewhere around 1912 poor management and a poor economy stop the furnaces again. The plant lies unused until purchased by Tonawanda Iron Corp. in 1922.<br /><br />By 2017, the site has been cleared and converted into a small medical park and Fisherman's Park.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
"Tonawanda Iron Corp., Is One of Largest Manufacturers of Pig Iron." Tonawanda News, 1929 (in this collection).
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Tonawanda Iron and Steel, SS Jupiter, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
factory
iron
ironton
lumber
river
tonawandaisland
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3bf5a6c5444a3a01f426649319ad6b96.jpg
b56637725444755d33d22edee3f55950
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Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Webster Street, Bridge over Canal, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
bridge
canal
webster
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/02ba37c76e26c59d16e58a5a8e0a8414.jpg
0069619fb281fbd394bee21662a38a1a
Dublin Core
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Title
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City Hall
Description
An account of the resource
The former North Tonawanda City Hall was located on the southeast corner of Main and Tremont. The current North Tonawanda City Hall and police station was dedicated in 1930, built at a cost of $200,000. The lot was previously a rail and lumber yard, with an exhausted gravel pit at its western end (today, Felton Field). By 1965 the jail featured five cells, and one "Ladies Detention Area," which we can only assume the demure, respectable ladies of our city never had occasion to visit.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/609">North Tonawanda Centennial Magazine (1865-1965)</a>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Twin Cities $75,000 YMCA and City Hall, postcard (1906).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1906
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/59191d2dfef98f97a670a385cbc40175.jpg
177f22337feed112b274f853091d3bec
Dublin Core
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Title
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Tonawanda Power Company (435 Robinson)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/37.jpg" alt="National Grid transformer station in 2023. Photo by Dennis Reed Jr." /> <span class="cover-caption">National Grid transformer station in 2023. Photo by Dennis Reed Jr.</span><strong>First located on Tonawanda Island</strong><br /><br />Around 1889, what would be come the Tonawanda Power Company (Tonawanda & Wheatfield Electric Light company) supplied electricity to NT from a small steam unit on Tonawanda Island, fed by wood shavings from the Doebler Planing Mill. Their office was at the northeast corner of Main and Goundry in an old frame building. Arc lights on a few streets were run. A few "daring" homes and businesses ran its power.<br /><br /><strong>Electrifying Buffalo-Niagara</strong><br /><br />In late 1895, The Niagara Falls Power Company builds a long-distance power line (mostly along the Old Mile Reserve) from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, the first of its kind in the world. It is operational by November 1896.<br /><br />The long distance line uses Nikolai Tesla's breakthrough alternating current (AC) transmitted at high voltages, which could travel with minimal loss. A ‘transformer house’ like the one established on Robinson street would step down (transform) some of the high voltage lines to more manageable and safer levels for local distribution. Other lines passing through this North Tonawanda substation continued at high voltage to Buffalo and Lockport, to be stepped down at other transformer houses before being used locally. Much of the line followed a right of way established by the old New York State Mile Reserve, a mile east of the Niagara River.<br /><br /><strong>Former switching tower<br /><br /></strong>Where the new park is now, on the Twin City Highway side, was once a two-story “switching tower” connected to the transformer house. Added around 1902, this tower was actually owned by the Niagara Falls Power company. It helped engineers manage and troubleshoot defects in the multiplying lines. Most of the high voltage lines carrying electricity from the massive turbines at Niagara Falls ran into this tower. <br /><br /><strong>Halloween disaster</strong><br /><br />In 1920, a horrific explosion kills 13 men early Halloween morning. An NT fire chief <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Safety_Maintenance_Production/Njw6AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Superintendent+Albert+S.+Allen+tonawanda&pg=PA221&printsec=frontcover">alleges the work was rushed</a> in <em>Safety News and Comment</em>. The January 1921 <em>Safety Bulletin</em> <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Safety_Bulletin/XwkUAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tonawanda+power+substation+tower&pg=RA24-PA2&printsec=frontcover">provides more context and details</a> (a storm and wind outside) and a photo of the ruined second floor of the switching tower. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/State_of_New_York_Supreme_Court_Appellat/-NBRpQpR-lwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tonawanda+power+substation+tower&pg=RA3-PA17&printsec=frontcover">Rose Derby's suit</a>. Superintendent Frank S. Wahl's (and others!) testimony in <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_York_Court_of_Appeals_Records_and_Br/wU3z2XtqKz8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=tonawanda+power+substation+tower&pg=PA178&printsec=frontcover">Yates's survivor's suit provides</a> more tower details, tower role, and what he saw on the scene (where the dead were found).<br /><br />In 1925 they become "associated with" Buffalo General Electric, Niagara Falls Power Co. and others. <br /><br />In 1929, they open a new headquarters on Sweeney and Webster, today Buffalo Suzuki Strings.<br /><br />The Robinson street transformer house and environs is now owned and operated by National Grid.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Tonawanda Power Co., illustrated postcard (1939).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1939
webster
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b118aa3c277078e58455b56b02bbb8cf.jpg
8ceadc5e02e71227127507f4f94aa194
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f2052b4426ed378ec7cf11ea39f95295.jpeg
7149b2bfda60f49f1e9e8565d09c4e48
https://nthistory.com/files/original/beefdfa23e19379d2f818e6b2b23bb29.jpeg
3cca6b04ec8640e25364bb4adac29e7f
https://nthistory.com/files/original/2a3c47977a86942a34d1d13758183d69.jpeg
40419a240c2eebd017c487cfe590ae2f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Lumber Business of the Tonawandas
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/48.jpg" alt="Map of the Lumber District of the Tonawandas, 1893" /><span class="cover-caption">In the heyday of the Tonawandas' lumber years, practically every available inch of the Niagara riverfront and Tonawanda Island is covered in lumber (shown as lettered, colored portions in the map above). <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1848">1893 Sanborn Insurance map</a>.</span> In the mid-to-late 19th century, vast forests of Midwest timber are cut, dressed and shipped by water to the exploding towns and cities of the east, largely through the Tonawandas. The villages' advantageous location (between the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal) and the natural harbor afforded by Tonawanda Island make it one of the largest lumber ports in the country by 1890. A lock allows small craft to jump between the Niagara River and the Erie Canal via the non-canalized portion of Tonawanda Creek.<br /><br />Scores of lumber comanies spring up here, and their yards vaccum up almost every available inch of real estate along the Niagara River, Tonawanda Creek, and Tonawanda Island. Docks are built over the water, and millions of feet of lumber stored in great blocks are stacked to the sky. They are brought here largely on lake vessels from Lake Erie, where they are moved onto canal boats by lumbershovers and stevedores and hauled by canal boat captains (along with other goods) to points east.<br /><br />The big business means big money, and conflict between the laborers and employers sometimes turns deadly. Articles in this collection describe the lumbershovers strikes of 1892 and 1893, the first of which resulted in the death of a police officer, and both of which required the National Guard to be deployed. A separate collection, "<a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/136">Murder at the Docks</a>," digs into the 1895 double murder of canal boat captain Lorenzo Phillips and his son Charles as the captain attempted to haul a load of lumber from P. W. Scribner's Tonawanda dock in defiance of a boatmen's union agreement.<br /><br />As the forests of the midwest were depleted and shipping routes and technology changed, the lumber heyday of the Tonawandas receded into the past.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
The Lumber District, postcard (1919).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1919
Description
An account of the resource
A view from the southern portion of a lumber-bedecked Tonawanda Island across the "Little (Niagara) River" onto a lumber-bedecked North Tonawanda.
boat
bridge
collection
lumber
river
swingbridge
tonawandaisland
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c34185289e003c2485ef4d428cf4a842.jpg
e3886e545a59e07ffb32a5812b5de14b
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
South Niagara Street, looking west, Tonawanda, postcard (c1894).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1894
Description
An account of the resource
Note lack of electrical poles along the canal.
canal
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/988dcd7893a695e7a31487e444e27835.jpeg
f9c8a9945150f33d291553d1d5c4b5d9
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5012dac2e9093950967eb60a5b5cd368.jpg
96aaf7ab40797986c40b0d3a6d0ffdc5
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b5e096f4acbdfbdcc43a373e9ef30c42.jpeg
1b6abf86b92f011a48d76ccad9694e3c
https://nthistory.com/files/original/fab9863be46026468488d43de2f09c85.jpg
1d45d18060ef0ba3284ee0fd5e7bb491
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Carnegie Arts Center
Description
An account of the resource
Formerly the public library. Built in 1903 from a Carnegie endowment.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Public Library, North Tonawanda, postcard (1908-10-04).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1908
building
library
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0b0be16313a9f4533990ff79789cad46.jpg
696a64cccba51094f8641a5e71e2ca60
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, 57 Center Avenue
Description
An account of the resource
From <a href="https://nt-olc.org/history/">their website</a>:
<blockquote>Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish was established on May 1, 1901. Father Peter Lotocha was named Pastor and the first Mass was celebrated on May 3, 1903. The first church building was formerly a Presbyterian Church located on the site of the Grotto. This building was used as the church until the opening of the new school building on October 13, 1920. With the completion of the school, the former church building was used as the parish hall and the school basement (now our parish hall) was used for the church for 8 years. The current church building was opened on December 9, 1928. The former church building was raffled off in 1927 to help raise funds for the construction. Since its construction, the church has had many enhancements. Some of these include:
<ul>
<li>In 1947, stained glass, designed by Joseph Mazur, was added to the nave of the church.</li>
<li>The mural of The Coronation of the Blessed Mother was added in the early 1950’s in time for the 50th anniversary of the parish in 1953.</li>
<li>In 1966 the Grotto garden was added and dedicated to Our Lady of Czestochowa.</li>
<li>A new altar, a replica of the original one on the back altar, was dedicated in 1982.</li>
<li>The Shrine to Our Lady of Czestochowa was added in 1983.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Our Lady of Czestochowa, postcard (c1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
church
ironton
oliver
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c83a6007681d0fd7fde2a83b5988d3a0.jpg
da34960affdf1e2da250cc62d6ace925
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Wurlitzer: 100 Years of Musical Achievement</em>. Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Chicago, Illinois. 1956.
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/52.jpg" alt="The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters." /> <span class="cover-caption">The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters. Postcard, c.1940.</span> <span style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.7em;">Its iconic tower has presided over Sawyer's Creek and Martinsville for almost 100 years. The sprawling industrial campus left behind by the world-famous Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company produced merry-go-round organs, band organs, church organs, theater organs and jukeboxes that have left an indelible mark on the world, and on generations of North Tonawandans. </span><br /><br />Wurlitzer founder Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831-1914) was a German immigrant who (after stops in New Jersey and Philadelphia) landed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854 at the age of 23. He worked for a bank, and down the street was a musical retail store. His father, Christian, was a successful music retailer in Germany, and Rudolph's experience told him the Ohio store's instruments were of poor quality, and priced too high. In 1856 he begins importing quality musical instruments from his family in Germany to sell at a profit in American retail stores. The business grows; Wurlitzer begins making instruments themselves for the U. S. military and for retail. The company branches out into "automatic" musical instruments, such as music boxes and player-pianos. Rudolph's three sons, Howard, Rudolph H., and Farny become involved along the way, and take on aspects of the growing family business.<br /><br />The youngest son, Farny, is sent to North Tonawanda to run the former <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/24">de Kleist Musical Instrument Mfg. Co.</a> shortly after it is purchased by Wurlitzer in 1908. (de Kleist was building player pianos and band organs for Wurlitzer and others since 1893). Farny brings eccentric English inventor Robert Hope-Jones to the plant in 1910, initiating the worldwide success of the "Mighty Wurlitzer" theater organ, which provides sound for the silent films of the day, and entertainment in its own right. This business evaporates when sound comes to movies, and electrical sound amplification permits musical entertainment to be furnished to venues of all types much less expensively. <br /><br />When the Wurlitzer company finds itself overextended in the wake of the Great Depression, Farny fights to keep the North Tonawanda facility open. In 1934 he strikes a deal with Homer Capehart to manufacture his automatic phonograph, which becomes the iconic Wurlitzer jukebox. Under his leadership the company also produces a successful line of electronic organs for home use, and the North Tonawanda plant becomes the flagship of the Wurlitzer factories, with 3,000 employees. After his death in 1972, jukebox and organ production are phased out, leaving 200 employees in 1974. By 1975, all manufacturing at the North Tonawanda plant is stopped, and by August 1976, all company activities are removed to other locations.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Esplanade the Great Wurlitzer Plant, Home of Lyric Radio, photo postcard (c1935).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1935
factory
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ba6a04338c4a7c07f19f666625d09adc.jpg
a75ee50b7a5ecf62394ee1124ccf9b2a
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7f2266327b437003f5c6cc5114e998f3.jpg
58abdd12f3a48e265196c05197ee4b1b
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
DeGraff Memorial Hospital
Description
An account of the resource
In 1913 business leaders in the Tonawandas including LeGrand S. DeGraff and NT Mayor Dr. John A. Rafter developed a plan to create a badly needed hospital. DeGraff funded the endeavor with a "very substantial contribution."
Architect W. O. Johnstone donated his work for the hospital. Ground was broken in April 14; dedication ceremonies took place May 30, 1914.
In 1930 an addition for a Nurses Home and Maternity Ward was made possible by a legacy grant from James S. Thompson. Another expansion was started in 1942 and completed in 1944.
In 1947, changes from a public institution to a non-profit, membership corporation.
March 14, 1953 a new addition and Maternity Wing are opened.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
DeGraff Hospital, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
hospital
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/2c1f3793b917b2d4616528b3a53801d6.jpg
c1061d953a0ab389bbc7ea8d3ebfd100
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School, postcard (1912).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1912
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/78b0df53dd8494136a36af0f0ec4000c.jpg
68dedf3800680643a09828b4804f9c65
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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North Presbyterian Church, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
Description
An account of the resource
From <a href="https://www.ntnorthchurch.org/about">their website</a>:
<blockquote>North Presbyterian Church was organized on April 30, 1891 as part of the Niagara Presbytery. Prior to that Presbyterians in North Tonawanda had attended First Presbyterian Church, Tonawanda. The Rev. Henry Sanborne was ordained and installed at the first minister of the church.<br /><br />The congregation purchased a church building at 195 Schenck Street and met there for 8 years. The building now is home to the Ghost Light Theater group. On May 17, 1898 ground was broken for a new church at 168 Payne Avenue. The cost of the building, lot and adjacent manse at 166 Payne was $29,000.</blockquote>
church
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e5245545027511abbcf0a78a125b606d.jpg
42b1bf7342555c66c39b2397b2564bda
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Martinsville
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/56.jpg" alt="Postcard view looking north up Old Falld Blvd" /><span class="cover-caption">Old Falls Boulevard, looking north from Lockport Ave. to Niagara Falls Blvd. Postcard detail, c.1900.</span> The northeast part of North Tonawanda known as "Martinsville" is named after the father of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. It is settled by German Lutheran farmers, beginning around 1843. They settled in narrow farms along the west bank of Tonawanda Creek. As the area developed, a "downtown" emerged along William Street, present-day Old Falls Blvd, near Lockport Rd. (pictured above). The village boasted its own post office, stores and places of entertainment. <br /><br />Most of Martinsville was incorporated into the then-booming City of North Tonawanda in 1897. The sections of Martinsville east of present-day Old Falls and Niagara Falls boulevards are considered part of Wheatfield.<br /><br />The real estate transaction that brought many of the settlers to the area, its early growth, and the contentious religious devotion of its people are described in <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606"><em>History of Niagara County 1821-1878</em></a>:
<blockquote>In 1843 Carl Sack, Erdman Wurl and Fred Grosskopf purchased of William Vandervoote 400 acres, at $15 per acre, on the Tonawanda creek, in the southeast corner of the town, four miles east of Tonawanda village, in what is now known as the village of Martinsville. Lutheran religious antecedents caused the adoption of this name by the disciples of Martin Luther. The original purchase was divided into small lots of three acres and up- ward, as others were able to purchase, to provide for the location of thirty families the first season. They erected ten log houses in the autumn, each of which was occupied by three or four families during the winter and until joint efforts relieved the immigrants by building others. The families remained in Buffalo until the first houses were built, obtaining the best accommodations they could find. Forbidding as the prospect in the beginning must have been, it has been changed to the appearance of prosperity. The church organization is the controlling element in the government of the community, now consisting of one hundred families, connected with the two now existing, the result of divided feeling, but not an abandonment of the Lutheran faith.</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Villa, 682 Niagara Falls Blvd, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4173cdb2697cc54db4c043808eafe54f.jpg
e2d5167dc81c37ae5937a77546f5e653
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pine Woods Park
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/86.jpg" alt="Postcard, c. 1920" /> <span class="cover-caption">"Sweeney Park Entrance." Postcard, c. 1920</span> The largest park in North Tonawanda is also the oldest. Originally named "Sweeney Park," it is comprised of 33 acres of picnic space and virtually untouched forest in the heart of the city. <br /><br /> In 1912, wild areas of North Tonawanda are disappearing fast as land is converted to residential or industrial use. Citizens realize if they don’t put aside land for a public park of some scale, it may soon be too late. <br /><br /> Sweeney Park, although privately owned, is already being used by the public for picnics and gatherings, and so seems a natural choice. But other sites are under consideration. <br /><br /> One is Payne Hill, bounded by Payne, Wheatfield, and the railroad. It has been a popular sledding site since time immemorial, but its owners are rumored to be planning to sell lots privately. Another often-suggested site is along Tonawanda Creek. Skeptics point out that the canal's importance to commerce and industry makes the environs unsuitable for a park. <br /><br /> In 1915, rumors swirl that a certain unnamed “syndicate” has plans to carve Sweeney Park up into residential lots. The Tonawanda News warns that if the city does not act fast, “Sweeney Park as a breathing spot would soon be a thing of the past.” Finally a plan is put forward to preserve the park for its citizens: the taxpayers will have to subscribe to $85,000 in bonds, to be repaid over seventeen years. A special vote will be held at the City Market on Robinson on July 26, 1917. <br /><br /> The Tonawanda News predicts a landslide 4-1 victory for the park plan. The proposed park's location in the center of the city, away from more established neighborhoods, does not seem to be a problem for voters. Gratwick merchant J. C. Kinzly states, "The people of Gratwick have never stood in the way of the progress of the City of North Tonawanda simply because that improvement was not to take place in Gratwick." Martinsville is on board. The Women's Civic Club enjoins Brontëesquely—and presciently:
<blockquote>From lumber men and college students come the same expression, that it would be a crime to allow those trees to be cut down in order to make room for buildings. The call of the wild in each of us makes any reasonable price seem small which is necessary for the preservation of this tract of woodland.</blockquote>
The plan passes the special vote by a 2-1 margin, and thus is secured our "breathing spot," and our inalienable access to Frisbee golf.<br /><br /> The Women’s Civic Club changes the name to ‘Pine Woods Park’ in October 1939. <br /><br />See <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/2172">Reconnaissance Level Survey of Historic Resources of City of North Tonawanda pp 23-27</a> for more.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Sweeney Park Entrance, postcard (c1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/34db97f4a90f950708968f83c02d9adc.jpg
08c5ac2e7da7e2cb500e919c64111f6b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Martinsville
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/56.jpg" alt="Postcard view looking north up Old Falld Blvd" /><span class="cover-caption">Old Falls Boulevard, looking north from Lockport Ave. to Niagara Falls Blvd. Postcard detail, c.1900.</span> The northeast part of North Tonawanda known as "Martinsville" is named after the father of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. It is settled by German Lutheran farmers, beginning around 1843. They settled in narrow farms along the west bank of Tonawanda Creek. As the area developed, a "downtown" emerged along William Street, present-day Old Falls Blvd, near Lockport Rd. (pictured above). The village boasted its own post office, stores and places of entertainment. <br /><br />Most of Martinsville was incorporated into the then-booming City of North Tonawanda in 1897. The sections of Martinsville east of present-day Old Falls and Niagara Falls boulevards are considered part of Wheatfield.<br /><br />The real estate transaction that brought many of the settlers to the area, its early growth, and the contentious religious devotion of its people are described in <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606"><em>History of Niagara County 1821-1878</em></a>:
<blockquote>In 1843 Carl Sack, Erdman Wurl and Fred Grosskopf purchased of William Vandervoote 400 acres, at $15 per acre, on the Tonawanda creek, in the southeast corner of the town, four miles east of Tonawanda village, in what is now known as the village of Martinsville. Lutheran religious antecedents caused the adoption of this name by the disciples of Martin Luther. The original purchase was divided into small lots of three acres and up- ward, as others were able to purchase, to provide for the location of thirty families the first season. They erected ten log houses in the autumn, each of which was occupied by three or four families during the winter and until joint efforts relieved the immigrants by building others. The families remained in Buffalo until the first houses were built, obtaining the best accommodations they could find. Forbidding as the prospect in the beginning must have been, it has been changed to the appearance of prosperity. The church organization is the controlling element in the government of the community, now consisting of one hundred families, connected with the two now existing, the result of divided feeling, but not an abandonment of the Lutheran faith.</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
William Street Looking North, Martinsville, postcard (c1910).jpg
Description
An account of the resource
Present-day Old Falls Boulevard.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/26321492fc446e06a967112b1a90c856.jpg
7e5ad4e45447772c960f32ba2ff44f52
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Martinsville
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/56.jpg" alt="Postcard view looking north up Old Falld Blvd" /><span class="cover-caption">Old Falls Boulevard, looking north from Lockport Ave. to Niagara Falls Blvd. Postcard detail, c.1900.</span> The northeast part of North Tonawanda known as "Martinsville" is named after the father of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. It is settled by German Lutheran farmers, beginning around 1843. They settled in narrow farms along the west bank of Tonawanda Creek. As the area developed, a "downtown" emerged along William Street, present-day Old Falls Blvd, near Lockport Rd. (pictured above). The village boasted its own post office, stores and places of entertainment. <br /><br />Most of Martinsville was incorporated into the then-booming City of North Tonawanda in 1897. The sections of Martinsville east of present-day Old Falls and Niagara Falls boulevards are considered part of Wheatfield.<br /><br />The real estate transaction that brought many of the settlers to the area, its early growth, and the contentious religious devotion of its people are described in <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606"><em>History of Niagara County 1821-1878</em></a>:
<blockquote>In 1843 Carl Sack, Erdman Wurl and Fred Grosskopf purchased of William Vandervoote 400 acres, at $15 per acre, on the Tonawanda creek, in the southeast corner of the town, four miles east of Tonawanda village, in what is now known as the village of Martinsville. Lutheran religious antecedents caused the adoption of this name by the disciples of Martin Luther. The original purchase was divided into small lots of three acres and up- ward, as others were able to purchase, to provide for the location of thirty families the first season. They erected ten log houses in the autumn, each of which was occupied by three or four families during the winter and until joint efforts relieved the immigrants by building others. The families remained in Buffalo until the first houses were built, obtaining the best accommodations they could find. Forbidding as the prospect in the beginning must have been, it has been changed to the appearance of prosperity. The church organization is the controlling element in the government of the community, now consisting of one hundred families, connected with the two now existing, the result of divided feeling, but not an abandonment of the Lutheran faith.</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Schule der St. Paulus, Martinsville, postcard (1910).jpg
Description
An account of the resource
Formerly located just south of present-day St. Martin's.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8671f7d4084bdeb0fd41c622f8717431.jpg
a018952258c1aefcc0b88a55873a25de
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d8ccde01ca401b6db4fd43a1d9857209.jpg
e218428ab20b2080d7909c1a1191b524
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Martinsville
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/56.jpg" alt="Postcard view looking north up Old Falld Blvd" /><span class="cover-caption">Old Falls Boulevard, looking north from Lockport Ave. to Niagara Falls Blvd. Postcard detail, c.1900.</span> The northeast part of North Tonawanda known as "Martinsville" is named after the father of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. It is settled by German Lutheran farmers, beginning around 1843. They settled in narrow farms along the west bank of Tonawanda Creek. As the area developed, a "downtown" emerged along William Street, present-day Old Falls Blvd, near Lockport Rd. (pictured above). The village boasted its own post office, stores and places of entertainment. <br /><br />Most of Martinsville was incorporated into the then-booming City of North Tonawanda in 1897. The sections of Martinsville east of present-day Old Falls and Niagara Falls boulevards are considered part of Wheatfield.<br /><br />The real estate transaction that brought many of the settlers to the area, its early growth, and the contentious religious devotion of its people are described in <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606"><em>History of Niagara County 1821-1878</em></a>:
<blockquote>In 1843 Carl Sack, Erdman Wurl and Fred Grosskopf purchased of William Vandervoote 400 acres, at $15 per acre, on the Tonawanda creek, in the southeast corner of the town, four miles east of Tonawanda village, in what is now known as the village of Martinsville. Lutheran religious antecedents caused the adoption of this name by the disciples of Martin Luther. The original purchase was divided into small lots of three acres and up- ward, as others were able to purchase, to provide for the location of thirty families the first season. They erected ten log houses in the autumn, each of which was occupied by three or four families during the winter and until joint efforts relieved the immigrants by building others. The families remained in Buffalo until the first houses were built, obtaining the best accommodations they could find. Forbidding as the prospect in the beginning must have been, it has been changed to the appearance of prosperity. The church organization is the controlling element in the government of the community, now consisting of one hundred families, connected with the two now existing, the result of divided feeling, but not an abandonment of the Lutheran faith.</blockquote>
Postcard
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Consolidated Silver Fox Corp'n Ranch, Martinsville, postcard (c1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/653f94dd8f25edf7dfa9b8835e755345.jpg
ce8327bd88f78c811dbf72851d6ce438
Postcard
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Title
A name given to the resource
Main Street in Tonawanda, Grants, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/6a3b4c22fdf84a1ff4c5df02cfafa323.jpg
675e61abc9509dbb0a79a4f55ed5527d
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Firefighters
Description
An account of the resource
Rough chronology at <a href="http://www.nthistorymuseum.org/Collections/firefighting.html">NT History Museum</a>, including notes about many defunct companies. A provocative (if unlikely-sounding) morsel about Hydrant Hose Co. No. 3 (1886-1909), formerly based on Sweeney near Delaware bridge:
<blockquote>The fighting crew of the old Hydrant Hose Company liked to fight fires so much, they would first fight the men of any other fire company who raced to a North Tonawanda fire to see who got the pleasure of conquering the flames. Often the flames ended up as the victor as the firefighters spent their energies in a brawl rather than on the element of nature.</blockquote>
From Sarah E. Walter's thesis as it appears on <a href="http://www.nthistorymuseum.org/Collections/thesis.html#thesis">nthistorymuseum.org</a>:
<blockquote>The North Tonawanda Fire Dept is known as one of the best paid and volunteer departments in the nation. The greatest enemy the lumbermen had was fire. Annually it destroyed millions of dollars of lumber and cost many lives. A step forward came on May 7, 1876, when twenty of the most prominent residents of the Village of North Tonawanda gathered together in the school house at the corner of Main and Tremont Streets and formed themselves into a Company for the protection of property against the ravages of fire. The newly formed Company petitioned the Village Board and in special session on May 15, 1876, the board approved and appointed them firemen of the Village and their company was called the North Tonawanda Bucket Company, later to be called the Columbia Hook and Ladder Company No. 1.
<p>North Tonawanda depended heavily on Volunteer Firemen and quickly grew to seven companies located at important places around the city.</p>
</blockquote>
<table border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" align="center">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>Date Started </strong></td>
<td><strong>Name </strong></td>
<td><strong>By Whom </strong></td>
<td> <strong>Notes</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>May 7, 1876</td>
<td>North Tonawanda Bucket Company / Columbia Hook and Ladder Company No. 1.</td>
<td> </td>
<td> (See below)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>March 1, 1886</td>
<td>Active Hose Company No.2</td>
<td> </td>
<td>"Ironton Boys"</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1886*</td>
<td>Gratwick Hose Company No. 6</td>
<td>Village Council</td>
<td><a href="https://yellow.place/en/gratwick-hose-fire-company-6-north-tonawanda-usa">1890?</a> On Felton until 1962.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>April 1887</td>
<td>Live Active Hose Co. No. 4</td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>January 26, 1891</td>
<td>Rescue Fire Company No. 5</td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>February 6, 1891</td>
<td>Gratwick Hose Company No. 1</td>
<td> </td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1894</td>
<td>Sweeney Hose No. 7</td>
<td>Village Council</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br /><br />From The<em> Tonawanda News, May 9, 1896:</em>
<blockquote>Monday, June 15, has been selected as the date of the Firemen's Annual Parade. It is expected that it will prove of more than ordinary interest as unusual efforts will be put forth this year to make it an enjoyable spectacular affair. <br /><br />In this connection it is interesting to note that Thursday of this week was the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the first fire company In North Tonawanda. Previous to this date North Tonawanda had paid Tonawanda $300 a year for the fire protection that the Tonawanda companies afforded. <br /><br />The parent company of North Tonawanda was the <strong>Columbia Hook and Ladder Company</strong>; it is still in existence, but is now one of eight splendid companies of which North Tonawanda can boast. As before stated it was organized May 7, 1876, and its first president was Frank Fellows. It was organized under a famous old hickory tree which stood on the ground now occupied by the parsonage of the First Methodist Church. Nicholas Beckrich was the first foreman of this company and other members of this crack organization were John E. Oelkers, Frank Batt, H. U. Berger, M. J. Wattengel, W. P. Hayes, Jno. Spillman, Aug. Duckwitz, Fred Schultz, Isaac Gardei, Geo. Miller, John Haas, Julius Miller and others. A number of these early firemen are numbered among the most prominent residents of North Tonawanda but it is with considerable pleasure that they recall the days of their early triumphs.</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Title
A name given to the resource
Columbia Hook and Ladder, The Homeyer, postcard (c1916).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1916
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/1f1ef62ee76fb0cb37b376f6170ddc7b.jpg
2b3c210548d5a96763565ebd82c541d8
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Carnegie Arts Center
Description
An account of the resource
Formerly the public library. Built in 1903 from a Carnegie endowment.
Postcard
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Library, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1925).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1925
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4ef1bcb6ddab66e3a8fb20c1316d1dd7.jpg
8e9676e0a4aba001c63e93f1342350f1
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e26e5e334536bfadd734172f711fd395.jpeg
34bc7373d0d51e7536b46932a6048600
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Title
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Post Office
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
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Post Office, North Tonawanda, postcard (1917).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1917
building
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b0c4a2d5f7510eeb6b17ed331037d9a6.jpg
6435890017cfe991241bf439918b2876
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4ba05d29545073c72447fed0eb21eb0d.jpg
123252dba93b0aa25e8096a55b424afb
Postcard
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Erie Barge Canal, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
bridge
canal
creek
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/6dee11dd6a677b92205309e8c44b344f.jpg
58fbfe8c7e14011c4d269575dcf459d7
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North Tonawanda Police Department (1888 - present)
Postcard
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City Hall, Payne and Thompson, postcard (1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
civic
police
politics
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0d7bfa94b3878789af7775b779c1d7e4.jpg
8e1be513dc6b63e874fde14a56cb2bc4
https://nthistory.com/files/original/1c89c9a4ed5020c9932eda17777e64bc.jpg
61e35477148f972d7f973e64442ea3b4
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North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/10.jpg" alt="North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works, colorized by the webmaster." /> <span class="cover-caption">North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works factory at 435 Payne Avenue, c1913; photo colorized by the webmaster.</span>
<div>(1906-1919) The North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works produces military band organs, player pianos, organs for (still silent) "moving picture" theaters and more. The factory is the third automatic musical instrument manufacturer in the city, starting about a year after the <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/75">Niagara Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company</a>. Like Niagara, NTMIW is partially comprised of men who have worked with <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/24">de Kleist's Musical Instrument Works</a> (president John Birnie had been secretary-treasurer for de Kleist). <br /><br />According to an article in this set, NTMIW originally operates out of "the Williams plant on the Ellicott Creek." They incorporate in 1906, and in the second half of 1907 build a substantial four-story factory. In 1911 that factory is tripled (articles suggest the work is not completed until early 1912). Although larger than Niagara, NTMIW will always be a distant second behind de Kleist and Wurlitzer. In 1918, NTMIW is acquired by the Rand Visible Records Company. Rand continues the musical manufacturing business, and the former NTMIW leadership at first sticks around. Rand's press officers kick into high gear, founding a monthly internal company magazine, <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1192"><em>All of Us</em></a>, apparently aimed at easing the culture change. In spite of this gesture, NTMIW founding officer Stillman C. Woodruff and others leave Rand--and the bones of their former company--around 1920 to try their hand at the band organ game one last time with their <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/22">Artizan Factories Inc.</a> venture in 1922.</div>
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North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works, postcard (1916).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1916
factory
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e9886c4cdf799511b4bae55af64d37ce.jpg
d38e9c3da79e027c53eeab3fb03d0f1c
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North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory (1893-1903)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/24d.jpg" alt="North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory, 1893 (colorized by webmaster)" /><span class="cover-caption">Nucleus of Wurlitzer: The North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory in 1893. It still stands in 2023.</span>
<p class="intro">The first of its kind in America, the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory makes automatic musical instruments to provide music for Allan Herschell's world-famous carousels. Led by the fiery Prussian gentleman-genius Eugene de Kleist, the firm survives an early national Depression to succeed beyond its wildest expectations with the help of a musical family from Ohio named the "Wurlitzers."</p>
<div class="img-caption-container"><img src="http://nthistory.com/files/square_thumbnails/cc9e0bcd6b738bbe4ed82bac5ef50e91.jpg" alt="Image description" />
<div class="caption">De Kleist band organ, c.1900.</div>
</div>
<b>Portable music of another era<br /><br /></b>Before the phonograph and radio, the next best thing to a live orchestra or marching band is a "band organ" or "orchestrion." Essentially giant music boxes with drums, pipe organs, brass horns and more, these devices are popular in Europe for centuries before being produced in the New World in 1893 with the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory. <br /><br />The factory is built in the spring of 1893 by local merry-go-round makers the <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/73">Armitage-Herschell Company</a> in the Sawyer's Creek / Martinsville area in the northeast of the recently incorporated City of North Tonawanda. To oversee operations, Armitage-Herschell recruits a German organ maker from London with whom they have been acquainted: the talented <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/936">Eugene de Kleist</a>. With a small crew of workers culled from England and the surrounding Martinsville farms, the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory also makes organs for churches, offers repairs on existing organs, and makes the pinned barrels that contain the music the organs play. After about a year, Armitage-Herschell sign ownership of the enterprise over to their capable superintendent.<br /><br /><strong>Meet the Wurlitzers</strong><br /><br />Business is middling until 1897, when de Kleist meets a decades-old musical retail concern from Cincinnati that will prove a valuable partner: the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. The story goes that de Kleist was looking to interest the U. S. Army in buying his bugles, which were made as part of many of his band organs. de Kleist is told that the Wurlitzer company already has that business, so he approaches Wurlitzer, and is able to sell them some of his bugles. He also tries to interest Wurlitzer in his band organs, but they ask if he coud instead produce a coin-operated piano for use in taverns and restaurants. After over a year in development, the first "Tonophones" are ready in 1898, and are an immediate success. (Hear <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/1023">Farny Wurlitzer</a> tell this story himself <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5dXbpPM7T0&t=5m29s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in this remarkable speech from 1964</a>).<br /><br />Similiar instruments, such as the Pianino, follow, and the small factory begins to grow, and over the next few years establishes the northwest corner of the massive Wurlitzer plant still standing in North Tonawanda today.
<p><strong>The de Kleist Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company</strong></p>
In 1903, the Barrel Organ Factory incorporates as the de Kleist Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company, with investment from banker James Thompson and some new top brass. Wurlitzer's interest in the North Tonawanda plant increases as Eugene de Kleist's seems to wane (<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/936">see de Kleist's bio</a> for more on this). In 1905 a group of workers leaves to form the <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/75">Niagara Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company</a>; within a year another wave of defectors forms the <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/10">North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works</a>. <br /><br />1908 begins auspiciously: in January, de Kleist (now mayor of North Tonawanda) lavishly fetes 700 employees and their families in the new music department building. His superintendent, Paul Von Rohl, delivers a speech in his honor, and they dance and carouse until morning light begins filtering over Sawyer's Creek.<br /><br />The following months will not be as good. de Kleist files a $50,000 infringement lawsuit against the aforementioned Instrument Works, but loses. In March, he leaves the aforementioned Paul Von Rohl in charge of the factory while he is off racing powerboats in Florida. de Kleist returns to suspect there has been rampant theft in his absence, and brings charges of grand larceny against Von Rohl, which are dropped, replaced by petit larceny charges, and then found unproved by a jury. In April, Mayor de Kleist accuses eight employees of stealing valuable machinery and plans from his factory, and of conspiring to start another rival factory. The summer brings more powerboating and politicking.<br /><br />Perhaps fearing for the security of their investment, Wurlitzer buys Eugene de Kleist out. <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/52">The Rudolph Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company</a> is organized in December of 1908 with $1,000,000 capital.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
de Kleist home on Goundry Street Looking East from Payne Ave, postcard (1907).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1907
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8def010ed53e86b9381ece2b9cbb89e6.jpg
df596f03d08eaaa654b003787eb7b78b
Dublin Core
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North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory (1893-1903)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/24d.jpg" alt="North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory, 1893 (colorized by webmaster)" /><span class="cover-caption">Nucleus of Wurlitzer: The North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory in 1893. It still stands in 2023.</span>
<p class="intro">The first of its kind in America, the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory makes automatic musical instruments to provide music for Allan Herschell's world-famous carousels. Led by the fiery Prussian gentleman-genius Eugene de Kleist, the firm survives an early national Depression to succeed beyond its wildest expectations with the help of a musical family from Ohio named the "Wurlitzers."</p>
<div class="img-caption-container"><img src="http://nthistory.com/files/square_thumbnails/cc9e0bcd6b738bbe4ed82bac5ef50e91.jpg" alt="Image description" />
<div class="caption">De Kleist band organ, c.1900.</div>
</div>
<b>Portable music of another era<br /><br /></b>Before the phonograph and radio, the next best thing to a live orchestra or marching band is a "band organ" or "orchestrion." Essentially giant music boxes with drums, pipe organs, brass horns and more, these devices are popular in Europe for centuries before being produced in the New World in 1893 with the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory. <br /><br />The factory is built in the spring of 1893 by local merry-go-round makers the <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/73">Armitage-Herschell Company</a> in the Sawyer's Creek / Martinsville area in the northeast of the recently incorporated City of North Tonawanda. To oversee operations, Armitage-Herschell recruits a German organ maker from London with whom they have been acquainted: the talented <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/936">Eugene de Kleist</a>. With a small crew of workers culled from England and the surrounding Martinsville farms, the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory also makes organs for churches, offers repairs on existing organs, and makes the pinned barrels that contain the music the organs play. After about a year, Armitage-Herschell sign ownership of the enterprise over to their capable superintendent.<br /><br /><strong>Meet the Wurlitzers</strong><br /><br />Business is middling until 1897, when de Kleist meets a decades-old musical retail concern from Cincinnati that will prove a valuable partner: the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. The story goes that de Kleist was looking to interest the U. S. Army in buying his bugles, which were made as part of many of his band organs. de Kleist is told that the Wurlitzer company already has that business, so he approaches Wurlitzer, and is able to sell them some of his bugles. He also tries to interest Wurlitzer in his band organs, but they ask if he coud instead produce a coin-operated piano for use in taverns and restaurants. After over a year in development, the first "Tonophones" are ready in 1898, and are an immediate success. (Hear <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/1023">Farny Wurlitzer</a> tell this story himself <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5dXbpPM7T0&t=5m29s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in this remarkable speech from 1964</a>).<br /><br />Similiar instruments, such as the Pianino, follow, and the small factory begins to grow, and over the next few years establishes the northwest corner of the massive Wurlitzer plant still standing in North Tonawanda today.
<p><strong>The de Kleist Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company</strong></p>
In 1903, the Barrel Organ Factory incorporates as the de Kleist Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company, with investment from banker James Thompson and some new top brass. Wurlitzer's interest in the North Tonawanda plant increases as Eugene de Kleist's seems to wane (<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/936">see de Kleist's bio</a> for more on this). In 1905 a group of workers leaves to form the <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/75">Niagara Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company</a>; within a year another wave of defectors forms the <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/10">North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works</a>. <br /><br />1908 begins auspiciously: in January, de Kleist (now mayor of North Tonawanda) lavishly fetes 700 employees and their families in the new music department building. His superintendent, Paul Von Rohl, delivers a speech in his honor, and they dance and carouse until morning light begins filtering over Sawyer's Creek.<br /><br />The following months will not be as good. de Kleist files a $50,000 infringement lawsuit against the aforementioned Instrument Works, but loses. In March, he leaves the aforementioned Paul Von Rohl in charge of the factory while he is off racing powerboats in Florida. de Kleist returns to suspect there has been rampant theft in his absence, and brings charges of grand larceny against Von Rohl, which are dropped, replaced by petit larceny charges, and then found unproved by a jury. In April, Mayor de Kleist accuses eight employees of stealing valuable machinery and plans from his factory, and of conspiring to start another rival factory. The summer brings more powerboating and politicking.<br /><br />Perhaps fearing for the security of their investment, Wurlitzer buys Eugene de Kleist out. <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/52">The Rudolph Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company</a> is organized in December of 1908 with $1,000,000 capital.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
de Kleist home on Goundry Street, postcard (c1905).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1905
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0c765b4176fb0fd6c1339770e2006b8c.jpg
d1171ded2f64512986438250c5990ca0
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e67a5c1105c6634fbc5efa8bbadc0b40.jpg
123252dba93b0aa25e8096a55b424afb
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Webster to Main Street Bridges
Description
An account of the resource
(?-1916): Long bridge (1918-1978) A "Bascule" bridge (which could open to allow masted boats to pass) once connected Webster Street in North Tonawanda to Main Street in Tonawanda. It replaced the "Long Bridge," and was part of the enlargement of the Erie Canal to the Erie Barge Canal. According to a plaque on the site, it was built by the Bethlehem Steel Bridge Corporation. This collection features photos of the bridge in its heyday, as well as a black-and-white series depicting its 1978 demolition, and the rerouting of the Main and Young street approaches.
Postcard
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The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
View of Barge Canal, Bascule bridge, Tonawanda Board and Paper co., postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
boat
bridge
canal
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/25265f9439d56d61bc8ea6be783f2073.jpg
cc26f560dfa604e16854fccd646d3f45
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f38e2fed66e6fd52c26ffd6a1a27d740.jpg
89fa67d658f8d3f2c33c55622fed1eea
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5f23941e2ce0bf520ed0c15a5e10b1bc.jpg
13ece5cc00bf6b8caf78260b91ece04c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
The YMCA Building, postcard (1909).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1909
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/686ba3ba643e246f7cd1198fda66c948.jpg
a32e2432628f191013a847a97d7e310b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Trolleys and Trains
Description
An account of the resource
Before everybody in North Tonawanda could afford their very own muffler-less Honda Civic to run up and down Oliver Street, trolleys and trains were an important means of personal transportation. Several lines ran throughout the city, moving people to and from their jobs, churches, or just out for a look around.
Though they may seem romantic to us now, people griped about the trolleys the same way we complain about snow plows today. Apparently their slow speed was sometimes targeted: An item in this set describes a "well-known peddler" in the Gratwick area who is injured by a trolley car. The author drolly observes, "'Twould have been a real miracle if a Gratwick car could have got up enough speed to have killed him" (Tonawanda News, 1908-2-13).
The trolley era did not last long. By the 1920s, the electric streetcar had been passed by the gasoline-powered bus as the most prevalent means of public transportation. Another article in this set from the Tonawanda News, "Carpenter now operates 14 busses in the Tonawandas," outlines the rise of the Carpenter Rapid Transit buses.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Junction Point, Niagara Falls and Lockport railroad lines, Payne Avenue, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
trolley
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0d7409caf01c84a5cf5fc962a1d2db30.jpg
10555b6e9f347d874b542dea69244bb5
https://nthistory.com/files/original/02d5f9f91f507376d195adc9e91e63f9.jpg
08f7d83e2c1fc204c27cde04cc9cb664
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Melody Fair
Description
An account of the resource
This little theater drew an impressive array of stars to North Tonawanda, and it saddened the hearts of many to watch it fall into disuse in the 90s before finally being torn down.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Melody Fair, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
theater
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/69bd257ad2c3fd27ccc85e00a9e2dcfc.jpg
4ba8bc188ac7a152437f25c6b8b9e332
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Payne Avenue High School
Description
An account of the resource
Built c. 1925. A pool is added soon after. Later Payne Junior High, and Lowery Middle School.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
North Tonawanda and Tonawanda High Schools, postcard (c1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/33139a54a15d1957e35aa55a1101f65e.jpg
129ce4afab81c9a33741d4c277e75cb5
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ironton School
Description
An account of the resource
<span>Ironton Public School #2 opened in 1889 at the corner of 1st Ave and Oliver Street (present-day Elizabeth Harvey Apartments / Olmsted Center for Sight). Its teachers educated the young scholars in the "northern" part of the village, known as Ironton (the Avenues, for instance). As early as 1915 it was overcrowded: The school rented rooms across the street to hold kindergarten. Finally in 1926 Ironton Public School #7 (later known as <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/7">Gil</a></span><span class="text_exposed_show"><a href="http://www.nthistory.com/collections/show/7">more School</a>) was built to improve matters. The building was later used as a vocational school (its students and equipment were moved to the new BOCES on Saunders Settlement Rd c.1970). It was briefly considered for the NiaCAP Headstart before being privately purchased to store cars. After years of neglect it was demolished. </span><br /><br />From <em><a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/608">Tonawanda and North Tonawanda: The Lumber City</a></em> (1891):
<blockquote>The rapid growth of North Tonawanda in the Ironton district, together with the crowded condition for the union school, demanded increased facilities, and on November 15, 1888, $10,000 was voted to build an edifice in that locality. The amount was increased to $15,000 and the building erected in 1889 is of modern design, and well adapted to school use.</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ironton School, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/bab3f45ff07cf990ab83b17dae1182d3.jpg
bcd234aa6e5abd4a58503e4ad4c9b80d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Payne Avenue High School
Description
An account of the resource
Built c. 1925. A pool is added soon after. Later Payne Junior High, and Lowery Middle School.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
High School, North Tonawanda, Payne Avenue, photo postcard (c1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
collection
hd
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/41bd6ceea75829ef8b85318e734bcded.jpg
ba0f13473904a76b132451353754edce
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street School
Description
An account of the resource
The Goundry Street School was a stone building constructed in 1866. From <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606"><em>History of Niagara County 1821-1878</em></a> (1878):
<blockquote>The North Tonawanda Union School has four departments and four teachers. The last winter term averaged 190 scholars and the summer term 125, J. W. Brown is principal, with Libbie M. Pugsley, Hannah Densmore, and Nellie Becker as assistants. The whole number of scholars of school age is 674. The school-house was erected in 1866. The board of education consists of Benjamin F. Felton, president; H. O. Nightingale, clerk; Dr. C. Backer, Giles Schell and John Chadwick. The school building is a substantial stone edifice, located at one of the most pleasant points in the village. The yards in front and play grounds are kept in good condition.</blockquote>
In late 1882 a new addition is built in front of and connected to the original schoolhouse. Another addition is made in 1892. In 1955, after 89 years of educating students, the "bell atop Goundry School...sounds the call to classes for the last time." After some time as a school administration building, the historic old structure is scheduled to be razed on October 27, 1975.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Union School (Goundry Street), postcard (c1900).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1900
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/de0c156b4a3ce0be2b18614244ec37f2.jpg
b7827b4ac1dab88e1886a854279895b2
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d4188395fb9a6e3c89eba0845ec22a94.jpg
7ba38bedacd0f1741269d141801aa070
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street School
Description
An account of the resource
The Goundry Street School was a stone building constructed in 1866. From <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/606"><em>History of Niagara County 1821-1878</em></a> (1878):
<blockquote>The North Tonawanda Union School has four departments and four teachers. The last winter term averaged 190 scholars and the summer term 125, J. W. Brown is principal, with Libbie M. Pugsley, Hannah Densmore, and Nellie Becker as assistants. The whole number of scholars of school age is 674. The school-house was erected in 1866. The board of education consists of Benjamin F. Felton, president; H. O. Nightingale, clerk; Dr. C. Backer, Giles Schell and John Chadwick. The school building is a substantial stone edifice, located at one of the most pleasant points in the village. The yards in front and play grounds are kept in good condition.</blockquote>
In late 1882 a new addition is built in front of and connected to the original schoolhouse. Another addition is made in 1892. In 1955, after 89 years of educating students, the "bell atop Goundry School...sounds the call to classes for the last time." After some time as a school administration building, the historic old structure is scheduled to be razed on October 27, 1975.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street School No.1, postcard (1906).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1906
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/ab712973aff63a942034d0fc811dda9a.jpg
b9c79b7c295a69709969abad6bf434e0
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Colonel Payne School
Description
An account of the resource
Public School #5
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Colonel Payne School, postcard (c1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0d199df8438bc2cec44bd0a33fe9c82e.jpg
47811d31cc58e9280230440f81d2382f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Colonel Payne School
Description
An account of the resource
Public School #5
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Colonel Payne School, postcard (c1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/73b41f4b9a1f9c319dc803d17923a1e9.jpg
6a3aed4c23e38c24fbaa3c404fd35500
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f4140e7addd7f4ec12d74df9f227448b.jpg
f34c937ca166e473c9db226eda574c26
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School and Grammar School
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1901, the visually striking Felton High School once stretched along Thompson Street between Bryant and Falconer streets. It was named after local leader <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/650">Benjamin F. Felton</a>, who was<span> president of North Tonawanda's Board of Education for 30 years. The building </span>would later be used as a grammar school. Although demolished in 1969, it is not entirely forgotten: we still call the field across Payne Avenue (which was a N.Y. Central train yard and later in 1919 the site of NT's first public playground) "Felton Field."
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School, North Tonawanda High School, postcard (1909).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1909
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b9f60e99ab38ebcffb852ca6b144e2cc.jpg
2136999f51579794ba85c36ec1efc176
https://nthistory.com/files/original/2465360438692f88539074c43d292046.jpg
cce021190a18834543bac0b0f16b9945
https://nthistory.com/files/original/2b1aac56aef0ec62ed2eaf381f0097f4.jpeg
158a50348388fe39d6353c3e4fde62b8
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e720c074e3f55acdde907c11c305773f.jpeg
c78a0da705803c28672813c918916080
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School and Grammar School
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1901, the visually striking Felton High School once stretched along Thompson Street between Bryant and Falconer streets. It was named after local leader <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/650">Benjamin F. Felton</a>, who was<span> president of North Tonawanda's Board of Education for 30 years. The building </span>would later be used as a grammar school. Although demolished in 1969, it is not entirely forgotten: we still call the field across Payne Avenue (which was a N.Y. Central train yard and later in 1919 the site of NT's first public playground) "Felton Field."
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School, postcard (1907-08-04).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1907-08-04
school
writing
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f78e421ee4752298b85bf4a70395fb5e.jpg
ea74b50a73682ec4071e5934365836e7
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School and Grammar School
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1901, the visually striking Felton High School once stretched along Thompson Street between Bryant and Falconer streets. It was named after local leader <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/650">Benjamin F. Felton</a>, who was<span> president of North Tonawanda's Board of Education for 30 years. The building </span>would later be used as a grammar school. Although demolished in 1969, it is not entirely forgotten: we still call the field across Payne Avenue (which was a N.Y. Central train yard and later in 1919 the site of NT's first public playground) "Felton Field."
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School, postcard (c1905).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1905
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/513a1ba7549ae31cf97f5e69debd2ca5.jpg
e79c5e6400e58c85963c7923a108a1a9
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School and Grammar School
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1901, the visually striking Felton High School once stretched along Thompson Street between Bryant and Falconer streets. It was named after local leader <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/650">Benjamin F. Felton</a>, who was<span> president of North Tonawanda's Board of Education for 30 years. The building </span>would later be used as a grammar school. Although demolished in 1969, it is not entirely forgotten: we still call the field across Payne Avenue (which was a N.Y. Central train yard and later in 1919 the site of NT's first public playground) "Felton Field."
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School, postcard (c1920).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1920
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b9b1da898edf68bc267c75d50a72cee6.jpg
daab19e0673348e3cc31c860eefc8464
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School and Grammar School
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1901, the visually striking Felton High School once stretched along Thompson Street between Bryant and Falconer streets. It was named after local leader <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/650">Benjamin F. Felton</a>, who was<span> president of North Tonawanda's Board of Education for 30 years. The building </span>would later be used as a grammar school. Although demolished in 1969, it is not entirely forgotten: we still call the field across Payne Avenue (which was a N.Y. Central train yard and later in 1919 the site of NT's first public playground) "Felton Field."
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School, postcard (1907).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1907
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/da85b93127c296d67685a15afff43b1d.JPG
4349b1db24e046c73afa309997149753
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3ffd92233d649e6f5da637fa4ad76252.jpg
b68b90cbac4424b9ed67c2960a972cac
https://nthistory.com/files/original/71cc63627fe683e81f35e547f9a0ade1.jpeg
d7d2ff3eeb44468ed55be25e15b79f02
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School and Grammar School
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1901, the visually striking Felton High School once stretched along Thompson Street between Bryant and Falconer streets. It was named after local leader <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/650">Benjamin F. Felton</a>, who was<span> president of North Tonawanda's Board of Education for 30 years. The building </span>would later be used as a grammar school. Although demolished in 1969, it is not entirely forgotten: we still call the field across Payne Avenue (which was a N.Y. Central train yard and later in 1919 the site of NT's first public playground) "Felton Field."
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School, postcards (c1905).JPG
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1905
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b4e0aba3a0dcca8570b226bbecc586a3.jpg
af804a4dfd9da2e3993b41280b73b4b3
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School and Grammar School
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1901, the visually striking Felton High School once stretched along Thompson Street between Bryant and Falconer streets. It was named after local leader <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/650">Benjamin F. Felton</a>, who was<span> president of North Tonawanda's Board of Education for 30 years. The building </span>would later be used as a grammar school. Although demolished in 1969, it is not entirely forgotten: we still call the field across Payne Avenue (which was a N.Y. Central train yard and later in 1919 the site of NT's first public playground) "Felton Field."
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3106c049dad70e030b8eeb81b7a9c000.jpg
b7898a07235b3c01795db45613e9a3d2
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School and Grammar School
Description
An account of the resource
Built in 1901, the visually striking Felton High School once stretched along Thompson Street between Bryant and Falconer streets. It was named after local leader <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/650">Benjamin F. Felton</a>, who was<span> president of North Tonawanda's Board of Education for 30 years. The building </span>would later be used as a grammar school. Although demolished in 1969, it is not entirely forgotten: we still call the field across Payne Avenue (which was a N.Y. Central train yard and later in 1919 the site of NT's first public playground) "Felton Field."
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Felton High School, North Tonawanda, postcard (1924).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1924
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/1798b6fefd4e212dbcf4f36106911a05.jpg
dbfeeda6343ecef52b742b793dc5e072
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ascension School and Convent, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
church
school
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c6bd898d22476e65f6f82cb64ee3d9ad.jpg
a3d5b81e3ddfbdbdc92c295517dc5bf2
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d8c8c515d92cb0dc532405818b0a3359.jpg
eb1167d4992aaf72d55a1d77147f2e96
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
New Sugar Bowl, Tonawanda, postcard (1911-07-21).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1911-07-21
Description
An account of the resource
Located at 32 Webster, this dealer in delectables kept Twin Cities dentists busy for generations. According to the <a href="http://www.nthistorymuseum.org/Lumber%20City%20History%20Center/sugarbowl.html">website</a> of North Tonawanda History Museum:
<blockquote>The Pullman brothers, Gust and Leo, operated the Sugar Bowl...from 1920 to 1965, having come to North Tonawanda in 1911 and worked for their cousins, the Yianilos brothers until they could afford to buy the business.</blockquote>
There was also a Young Street, Tonawanda location operated by the Yianilos brothers.<br /><br />Still others report a Zeffrey's Sugar Bowl at 5 South Niagara.<br /><br />Today, 32 Webster is the patio of Crazy Jake's.
retail
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c44e0b000360fdbcb19977910b583d65.jpg
f8b1b8a1a6f0c817896ca784277c215f
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Chinese Wong Law Laundry, Young Street, postcard (c1900).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1900
oddity
retail
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/6a3f90374c8edb8ce4d16627aa56e7f5.JPG
35d628b0ffc668f13147531a6691a557
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Isle View Restaurant, 791 Niagara Street, Tonawanda, postcard (c1955).JPG
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1955
restaurant
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/211eb0fb736fd704804ea76b0b008db8.jpg
66d97537e11c52048959a74839a98f27
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Franklin Inn Dining Room and Cocktail Lounge, postcard (1963).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1963
restaurant
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3d3fceb19b8779f054b7b427d1c36b92.jpg
edc6e5d387f74638c6bf31fba0809e65
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d8c5dbded91ce25ac7b8715139f824f7.jpg
8274b129dd4c0fd15144593cc2abcd90
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara River Tourist Camp, River Road, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/7e45ddffd5a85e791f4e5136c8dca805.jpeg
320eebff16636dcc3e298f7ae496c016
https://nthistory.com/files/original/06f2568d4c97fb9cadddea68ed597bae.jpeg
b72880842ac92cffbfaa04f465b34ccd
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Memorial Pool
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="http://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/104c.jpg" alt="Memorial Pool, Payne Park" /> <span class="cover-caption">Painting by Dennis Reed Jr. (2023).</span> The Memorial Pool opens in North Tonawanda in the summer of 1948. It is a memorial for the veterans of the recent World War, and a luxury for the baby boomers and second- and third-generation immigrants now crowding into the upper avenues. NT Parks & Recreation Director William <a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/939">"Pop" Ramsay</a> is a champion of the project.<br /><br /><strong>A summer centerpiece</strong><br /><br />The glittering pool in Payne Park quickly becomes a vibrant centerpiece of the community. Daily public swimming hours are maintained for all ages throughout the summer. Swimming classes are held for the benefit of both children and adults (a practical skill to have in a city bounded by the Erie Canal and the Niagara River). Night swims are offered. Countless public and school competitions will be held in here in the following decades. For instance, in September 1948, the 1st Annual Labor Day Swimming Reggata is recorded in the <em>Tonawanda News</em>. In 1950, the pool hosts the Swim Meet portion of the multi-venue, multi-event T-NT Sports carnival. <br /><br />According to the NT Recreation Department's annual report, August 3, 1956 is a record-breaking day, with over 1,900 swimmers coming to the pool (with a daily average of 1,403). By 1962, the daily average is up to 1,971.<br /><br /><strong>Dry goods</strong><br /><br />In the 1960s, teen dances are held on the grounds. Local acts such as The Caravans perform the new guitar-driven music. Movies are projected against the side of the pool in the 1980s.<br /><br /><strong><strong>An example of a "Bintz pool" design<br /><br /></strong></strong>Its above-ground construction, ovoid shape and many other details are hallmarks of the so-called "<a href="http://www.nthistory.com/items/show/3639">Bintz pool</a>," named after Wesley Bintz, a Michigan-born architect who made a long career of designing similar pools for town and city settings throughout the country from the 1920s into the 1950s. From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.H._Moores_Memorial_Natatorium">Wikipedia</a>:
<blockquote>In the early 1920s, Wesley Bintz came to work in the [Lansing, MI] city engineer's office, only a few years after receiving his degree from the University of Michigan in 1918. In 1922 he became the City Engineer, and in that capacity he designed [The Moores Park] natatorium, which was constructed in 1923. Bintz resigned later that year, and began a career devoted to designing swimming pools.</blockquote>
<strong>Original features and modifications</strong><br /><br />The design is a sort of brick and concrete Art Deco. A brick exterior curves around the pool portion. In front, two memorial plaques dedicate the structure. When first opened, a concession stand occupies part of the lobby. Also in the lobby, two "vision windows" give an underwater view of divers. To the left and right of the lobby, separate women's and men's entrances are provided, respectively, with restrooms, showers, and foot baths forcing swimmers to rinse their feet again before climbing the stairs to the pool. Spectators use a third entrance to the deck above. <br /><br />Originally a wading pool is built into the deck at the west end, later to be replaced by the guard house and office. Lanterns hang from the long, curved posts around the pool's perimeter (they seem to be supplemented with other lights early on, and are at some point removed altogether; other Bintz pools had globes atop the posts). A low and high dive are provided on opening day. <br /><br />Admission is free, and residents are permitted to bring one guest. Rules prohibit blowing one's nose in the pool: for this purpose, "scum gutters" are provided around the pool, collecting debris. <br /><br />A diving platform ("plat") and large and small slides are added later. The slides and platform are later replaced with a single curli-q slide on the south east end. 1976 sealed bids for "1 meter diving stand" accepted. Before the 1987 season, a major reonovation is undertaken, among other things to make the pool wheelchair-accessible. The front facade is replaced and reconfigured at this time.<br /><strong><br /><br />Farewell</strong><br /><br />Like most Bintz pools across the country, the Memorial Pool in North Tonawanda inevitably suffers from the ravages of time, the elements, and finite City resources. In June 2023, the City announces the pool will not re-open in 2023, and that it will retire the crumbling pool after 75 distinguished years of servcice. A new facility is promised, perhaps using some of te original structure.<br /><br />This <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB20hkqhxQg">video from Preservation Buffalo Niagara</a> uses a few of my photos and articles to tell the pool's story.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Town of Tonawanda Municipal swimming pool, postcard (1958).png
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1954
Description
An account of the resource
An identical Bintz pool in the Town of Tonawanda, built in 1954.
civic
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3575d7524b48435314ad49e09a3e46f5.jpg
35147dc5469de3371f12a5ca1e96d3c2
https://nthistory.com/files/original/59c1f75956d177fe96f31ea3b1bddda9.jpg
c06af2516f17da33f387f45c35804aa8
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Twilite Golf Course, 3287 Niag Falls Blvd, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
sports
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/84c623e8eedfec06161db30d18fd8f0f.jpg
2a16d0325770626df8201776b9211415
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
CB radio QSL postcard 15 Jesella Drive (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
radio
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f0ceea5293fa615fc06d911441accf14.jpg
8a61de392cc46338cef509363f6e0030
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
La Truda 2nd, Niagara River racing boat, postcard (c1930).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1930
boat
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/25a55a617ddcebe426182920666b7751.jpg
c48c553e2b16ebad03661c10b63fc2ba
https://nthistory.com/files/original/c62744b912ae8df2996d6abb658e7efd.jpg
ef547ffe4ede47f8f43607cb26600af5
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Ellicott Creek, Tonawanda, postcard (1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
boat
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/e8448bb62b471f9e713dee567f89183d.jpg
ae0eb658a51b686dd54b6617b1d0c012
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
B. P. O. Elks Lodge 860 (Sweeney and Main)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="https://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/77.jpg" alt="BPOE building" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Elks Club home c1920–2011; northeast corner of Main and Sweeney.</span>The North Tonawanda chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks organizes around 1903. Early on they meet in the State National Bank building on Webster and Sweeney. By about 1920 they secure their own large red brick building at the corner of Main and Sweeney. In December 2011, this building is <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1247">destroyed by fire</a>. The fraternal organization now operates out of somewhat <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1249">humbler quarters</a> in Tonawanda. You may wish to drop in on their Facebook page, whose name bears eloquent witness of their exile to Main Street, Tonawanda: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BpoElksLodge860/"><span>Twin Cities Lodge # 860 formerly known as North Tonawanda Lodge</span></a>.<br /><br />The national B. P. O. Elks is founded by English comic actor Charles Vivian in New York City in 1868. According to their <a href="http://www.elks.org/history/stories.cfm">website</a>:
<blockquote>It All Began With the Jolly Corks. Starting as as a group of actors and entertainers bent on having fun AND avoiding a New York Excise tax in 1867 (Sundays were the ‘dry’ day), this convivial group called themselves the Jolly Corks (for a clever trick with corks they performed on the uninitiated to win rounds of drinks). That same year as membership grew, some members saw the vision to become more helpful in the community. Alas, two feuding factions split the group over different philosophies. Fortunately, the latter faction moved forward with their new ideals and in February of 1868, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was chartered–and with a great new spirit and direction, began to help Veterans, Scouting, Scholarships and more–wherever Charity, Justice and Brotherly Love were needed!</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Elks Temple, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1939).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1939
fraternal
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/26608c250db409622a54560c852a5b0a.jpg
9e71a5b3c22f9728f03d6f9a423ee534
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
B. P. O. Elks Lodge 860 (Sweeney and Main)
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="https://www.nthistory.com/custom/cover/77.jpg" alt="BPOE building" /> <span class="cover-caption">The Elks Club home c1920–2011; northeast corner of Main and Sweeney.</span>The North Tonawanda chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks organizes around 1903. Early on they meet in the State National Bank building on Webster and Sweeney. By about 1920 they secure their own large red brick building at the corner of Main and Sweeney. In December 2011, this building is <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1247">destroyed by fire</a>. The fraternal organization now operates out of somewhat <a href="http://nthistory.com/items/show/1249">humbler quarters</a> in Tonawanda. You may wish to drop in on their Facebook page, whose name bears eloquent witness of their exile to Main Street, Tonawanda: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BpoElksLodge860/"><span>Twin Cities Lodge # 860 formerly known as North Tonawanda Lodge</span></a>.<br /><br />The national B. P. O. Elks is founded by English comic actor Charles Vivian in New York City in 1868. According to their <a href="http://www.elks.org/history/stories.cfm">website</a>:
<blockquote>It All Began With the Jolly Corks. Starting as as a group of actors and entertainers bent on having fun AND avoiding a New York Excise tax in 1867 (Sundays were the ‘dry’ day), this convivial group called themselves the Jolly Corks (for a clever trick with corks they performed on the uninitiated to win rounds of drinks). That same year as membership grew, some members saw the vision to become more helpful in the community. Alas, two feuding factions split the group over different philosophies. Fortunately, the latter faction moved forward with their new ideals and in February of 1868, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was chartered–and with a great new spirit and direction, began to help Veterans, Scouting, Scholarships and more–wherever Charity, Justice and Brotherly Love were needed!</blockquote>
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Elks Lodge 860, postcard (c1940).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
fraternal
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/829ad5a6d146fb2a5aa4c63243b3dc9c.jpg
58d991e7765d3962f7b7e5e92b8c5011
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Erie Railroad Bridge over canal at Vandervoort
Description
An account of the resource
The Erie Bridge at Vandervoort carried Erie Railroad trains, electric streetcars--and apparently courageous pedestrians across the Tonawanda Creek and Erie Canal.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Erie Bridge, Tonawanda, postcard (1916).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1916
Description
An account of the resource
This bridge no longer exists; it carried the former Erie RR across Tonawanda Creek at the foot of Vandervoort Street. Heading northwest, the railroad line continued to just east of the present-day Railroad Museum, along East Oliver Street, and across Oliver Street.
bridge
railroad
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/178a83606a647390a7d8191ac148050b.jpg
1939f81ba81d56931a0c9ea29545840d
https://nthistory.com/files/original/be29511f8de8d8bc4624ba5c48781515.jpg
bfdc65fa6e7e7802fe5c287b3c7973f3
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Elect John Lukasik Mayor, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1965).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1965
politics
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3ea27446b35524870f1c28b2b8d01ad6.jpg
34bc7febd21571e4161510cdb7c714aa
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
On Elliot (sic) Creek, Tonawanda NY, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f3396f6ef6f67a49ff37e45cc1193fcd.JPG
02ac8a02377bfab5da34aa5226a6cfb0
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Residence of E. H. Santee, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1940).JPG
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/b181bac043dc70cb7039ffcf650a30ba.jpg
49842050f4a569704689fdfa10cb9f7a
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Looking East form Paynes Avenue, de Kleist residence, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/500e6012973e32aaf80dba4436895940.jpg
7eaf97816d4034f4dcc73c2b7aaafb25
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street looking east, postcard (1908).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1908
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/11cfaa3064d5b136bac06f440b2b566e.jpg
c78caa0a5908417a2ca94688f84fb272
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/525eda2fd8b668d1f2d8cad079ba5fbf.jpg
be95c4c2400f5e1aafe2384fc2d079cb
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8c2fac1d9986bd05618876def26ba427.jpg
8ca643f6c558a84fee1bcf7bc8f9362e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street, postcard (1909).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1909
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d84bc8a6e6216dfb8e3897d89a8204e3.jpg
53a57e86472b87918a41c4792f15b118
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street, North Tonawanda, postcard (c1925).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1925
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/366fe68eb8bb766becd4ce3ceefbe3a2.jpg
245f2dfde67aa7eb5cc8ad3b700214f9
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street Area
Description
An account of the resource
From the village's earliest days, Goundry Street was a showcase of its most luxurious homes. Wealthy lumber barons and bankers settled here, enjoying both convenient access to the business district, and convenient removal from the same. In the 1940s, many were shuttered due to high maintenance costs, and converted to apartments.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Goundry Street, postcard (1913).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1913
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/bd91cc434e4e13c8f3a751c9f2cd3dca.jpg
e43102aa01ae925436d107c4e497355e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
YMCA building, postcard (1908).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1908
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0b4a0bf15e4b7cb7db7b8f3e01c591b2.jpg
ff62cfd76d2ce5fa7e47d90884c141f8
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Webster Street, with dog, postcard (c1900).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1900
Description
An account of the resource
This postcard from around 1900 is one of my favorite views of Webster Street (facing north). You can see trains used to run right down the street near where the Riviera would later be built. On the left is present-day Crazy Jake's. Horse-drawn carriages and carts are also on the left, making the scene really look like something out of a western. Also visible is the "Arcana Theatre" at the southwest corner of Tremont (in the Fowler Block), the Tonawanda Power Company, and some circular sign I cannot make out.
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/19c4dd2f424026ae15f9db39f6d68e41.jpg
500e0a4a76a53e368f3ed9c03fd58ca0
https://nthistory.com/files/original/00dfc86d251ddbc7e6b39e9b30bbf4da.jpg
f06b0eb095339a12c2692423a39b6d67
https://nthistory.com/files/original/85b0902cd61d603a6da4bfefd363d04e.jpg
ceac8686dc0069837c87ee03902e8796
https://nthistory.com/files/original/02d68cb33cb5e333e112759b83555a55.jpeg
429a97258ade6068ce1f672d4aa055aa
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Webster Street, woman walking, postcard (1900).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1900
automobile
carriage
hd
horse
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/240e4991804d6364c9a1726620bbc2e5.jpg
7cf83cee10533edbeb2c974b17faf06e
https://nthistory.com/files/original/1c1602d80a52fd9a33975aa4522c6c6d.jpg
dbdc62134f5a39cc37d8ed4979dac301
https://nthistory.com/files/original/948f43ae4011b2c14a7e5805ca92ca39.jpg
2276e1fd39db6509fed0e3f4a890148f
https://nthistory.com/files/original/8914399188000eb8259768da2bd30276.jpg
da759ee11999079ec885266d362a4d20
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Webster Street, facing south, postcard and details (1917).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1917
Description
An account of the resource
Most Webster Street postcards face north, but this one faces south into Tonawanda. On the left can be seen train tracks. On the right, across the bridge, is the State National Bank. On the north side, Scanlon's Hall, then the First National Bank. Kent Hall, Janke Drugs, I.O.O.F. 563 and an ice cream shop are also pictured.
collection
downtown
postcard
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/eaef5fcbaaadb3ecbf922b07f5c3704f.JPG
ecb3f21805fb960f6f6f3df8ee106b4f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Downtown
Description
An account of the resource
Most of North Tonawanda's downtown area developed between 1875 and 1900. In this collection are preserved views of many vanished buildings: The YMCA and City Hall at the southeast corner of Tremont and Main; the 6-story 1891 Smith building (Real Estate Exchange) at the northeast corner of Tremont and Webster, the gothic stone State National Bank at the northwest corner of Sweeney and Webster, and Scanlon's Hall on the southwest corner of the same intersection, to name a few.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Real Estate Exchange Building, postcard (c1910).JPG
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5f006ef1fe54f6246656c14e281b451b.jpg
888ee853d804fea1ddc2ffcad138cb22
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Wurlitzer: 100 Years of Musical Achievement</em>. Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Chicago, Illinois. 1956.
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/52.jpg" alt="The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters." /> <span class="cover-caption">The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters. Postcard, c.1940.</span> <span style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.7em;">Its iconic tower has presided over Sawyer's Creek and Martinsville for almost 100 years. The sprawling industrial campus left behind by the world-famous Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company produced merry-go-round organs, band organs, church organs, theater organs and jukeboxes that have left an indelible mark on the world, and on generations of North Tonawandans. </span><br /><br />Wurlitzer founder Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831-1914) was a German immigrant who (after stops in New Jersey and Philadelphia) landed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854 at the age of 23. He worked for a bank, and down the street was a musical retail store. His father, Christian, was a successful music retailer in Germany, and Rudolph's experience told him the Ohio store's instruments were of poor quality, and priced too high. In 1856 he begins importing quality musical instruments from his family in Germany to sell at a profit in American retail stores. The business grows; Wurlitzer begins making instruments themselves for the U. S. military and for retail. The company branches out into "automatic" musical instruments, such as music boxes and player-pianos. Rudolph's three sons, Howard, Rudolph H., and Farny become involved along the way, and take on aspects of the growing family business.<br /><br />The youngest son, Farny, is sent to North Tonawanda to run the former <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/24">de Kleist Musical Instrument Mfg. Co.</a> shortly after it is purchased by Wurlitzer in 1908. (de Kleist was building player pianos and band organs for Wurlitzer and others since 1893). Farny brings eccentric English inventor Robert Hope-Jones to the plant in 1910, initiating the worldwide success of the "Mighty Wurlitzer" theater organ, which provides sound for the silent films of the day, and entertainment in its own right. This business evaporates when sound comes to movies, and electrical sound amplification permits musical entertainment to be furnished to venues of all types much less expensively. <br /><br />When the Wurlitzer company finds itself overextended in the wake of the Great Depression, Farny fights to keep the North Tonawanda facility open. In 1934 he strikes a deal with Homer Capehart to manufacture his automatic phonograph, which becomes the iconic Wurlitzer jukebox. Under his leadership the company also produces a successful line of electronic organs for home use, and the North Tonawanda plant becomes the flagship of the Wurlitzer factories, with 3,000 employees. After his death in 1972, jukebox and organ production are phased out, leaving 200 employees in 1974. By 1975, all manufacturing at the North Tonawanda plant is stopped, and by August 1976, all company activities are removed to other locations.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Mfg. Co, postcard (c1910).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1910
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5fded6328583c6867732d37d7075bf12.jpg
314af7b7bf0d6972b643d9399982dd0b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Wurlitzer: 100 Years of Musical Achievement</em>. Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Chicago, Illinois. 1956.
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/52.jpg" alt="The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters." /> <span class="cover-caption">The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters. Postcard, c.1940.</span> <span style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.7em;">Its iconic tower has presided over Sawyer's Creek and Martinsville for almost 100 years. The sprawling industrial campus left behind by the world-famous Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company produced merry-go-round organs, band organs, church organs, theater organs and jukeboxes that have left an indelible mark on the world, and on generations of North Tonawandans. </span><br /><br />Wurlitzer founder Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831-1914) was a German immigrant who (after stops in New Jersey and Philadelphia) landed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854 at the age of 23. He worked for a bank, and down the street was a musical retail store. His father, Christian, was a successful music retailer in Germany, and Rudolph's experience told him the Ohio store's instruments were of poor quality, and priced too high. In 1856 he begins importing quality musical instruments from his family in Germany to sell at a profit in American retail stores. The business grows; Wurlitzer begins making instruments themselves for the U. S. military and for retail. The company branches out into "automatic" musical instruments, such as music boxes and player-pianos. Rudolph's three sons, Howard, Rudolph H., and Farny become involved along the way, and take on aspects of the growing family business.<br /><br />The youngest son, Farny, is sent to North Tonawanda to run the former <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/24">de Kleist Musical Instrument Mfg. Co.</a> shortly after it is purchased by Wurlitzer in 1908. (de Kleist was building player pianos and band organs for Wurlitzer and others since 1893). Farny brings eccentric English inventor Robert Hope-Jones to the plant in 1910, initiating the worldwide success of the "Mighty Wurlitzer" theater organ, which provides sound for the silent films of the day, and entertainment in its own right. This business evaporates when sound comes to movies, and electrical sound amplification permits musical entertainment to be furnished to venues of all types much less expensively. <br /><br />When the Wurlitzer company finds itself overextended in the wake of the Great Depression, Farny fights to keep the North Tonawanda facility open. In 1934 he strikes a deal with Homer Capehart to manufacture his automatic phonograph, which becomes the iconic Wurlitzer jukebox. Under his leadership the company also produces a successful line of electronic organs for home use, and the North Tonawanda plant becomes the flagship of the Wurlitzer factories, with 3,000 employees. After his death in 1972, jukebox and organ production are phased out, leaving 200 employees in 1974. By 1975, all manufacturing at the North Tonawanda plant is stopped, and by August 1976, all company activities are removed to other locations.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Mfg. Co. building and park, postcard (c1940 HST).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/62df15d09078fd1fa02c1bfd5db81c4c.jpg
da34960affdf1e2da250cc62d6ace925
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Wurlitzer: 100 Years of Musical Achievement</em>. Rudolph Wurlitzer Company. Chicago, Illinois. 1956.
Description
An account of the resource
<img class="cover" src="../../../custom/cover/52.jpg" alt="The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters." /> <span class="cover-caption">The signature tower of the North Tonawanda plant and occasional headquarters. Postcard, c.1940.</span> <span style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.7em;">Its iconic tower has presided over Sawyer's Creek and Martinsville for almost 100 years. The sprawling industrial campus left behind by the world-famous Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company produced merry-go-round organs, band organs, church organs, theater organs and jukeboxes that have left an indelible mark on the world, and on generations of North Tonawandans. </span><br /><br />Wurlitzer founder Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831-1914) was a German immigrant who (after stops in New Jersey and Philadelphia) landed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854 at the age of 23. He worked for a bank, and down the street was a musical retail store. His father, Christian, was a successful music retailer in Germany, and Rudolph's experience told him the Ohio store's instruments were of poor quality, and priced too high. In 1856 he begins importing quality musical instruments from his family in Germany to sell at a profit in American retail stores. The business grows; Wurlitzer begins making instruments themselves for the U. S. military and for retail. The company branches out into "automatic" musical instruments, such as music boxes and player-pianos. Rudolph's three sons, Howard, Rudolph H., and Farny become involved along the way, and take on aspects of the growing family business.<br /><br />The youngest son, Farny, is sent to North Tonawanda to run the former <a href="http://nthistory.com/collections/show/24">de Kleist Musical Instrument Mfg. Co.</a> shortly after it is purchased by Wurlitzer in 1908. (de Kleist was building player pianos and band organs for Wurlitzer and others since 1893). Farny brings eccentric English inventor Robert Hope-Jones to the plant in 1910, initiating the worldwide success of the "Mighty Wurlitzer" theater organ, which provides sound for the silent films of the day, and entertainment in its own right. This business evaporates when sound comes to movies, and electrical sound amplification permits musical entertainment to be furnished to venues of all types much less expensively. <br /><br />When the Wurlitzer company finds itself overextended in the wake of the Great Depression, Farny fights to keep the North Tonawanda facility open. In 1934 he strikes a deal with Homer Capehart to manufacture his automatic phonograph, which becomes the iconic Wurlitzer jukebox. Under his leadership the company also produces a successful line of electronic organs for home use, and the North Tonawanda plant becomes the flagship of the Wurlitzer factories, with 3,000 employees. After his death in 1972, jukebox and organ production are phased out, leaving 200 employees in 1974. By 1975, all manufacturing at the North Tonawanda plant is stopped, and by August 1976, all company activities are removed to other locations.
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wurlitzer Mfg. Co. Esplanade, the Great Wurlitzer Plant, Home of Lyric Radio, postcard (c1935).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1935
radio
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/d36ac5abeb303c65d156ba5499ac5756.jpeg
eed979e8adc684a92e8173691e8edae9
https://nthistory.com/files/original/0a31659643cd2b8aad9a2124360ce25c.jpeg
a3a17541725cb6899ff3f7209e9ba282
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wan-a-Rest Court Motel, 1376 Niagara Falls Blvd., postcard (c1950s).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
Description
An account of the resource
In 2022, a Royal Inn Motel.
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/11a91a091088a2f48846fcd97c075e4f.jpg
1e571c10615847252efa2d481ae591df
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Twilite Golf and Restaurant - North Tonawanda - postcard c 1960.jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/67ee85d27d4d3364e068e1b9a1c0b7b0.JPG
230beed169b649d4982b580d3da5033f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Villa Roadside Inn, 682 Falls Blvd., postcard (c1940).JPG
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1940
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/6105d11255fcb406f8874b7e57d1820a.jpg
d033006f5ab2aeb0b000b7030430e3cf
https://nthistory.com/files/original/4fa6f061c30b295146070962f4432d77.jpg
c2e0b5ed79b068420c51de3353fa1360
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Stevensons Motel, 1220 Niagara Falls Blvd, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/5c9ef96f9606fa7a4fb72c630bb2d67e.jpg
aa868fdaed87e94d215b9c1fdf4bb714
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Starfire Motel, postcard (c1977).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1977
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/a7f3adb52156927a73131cf83de22379.jpg
100beca50a576eab6c799a2149e10294
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Robertsons Tourists Rest, 586 Falls Blvd., postcard (1931).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1931
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f93715efc688f895efbdcd4807fdf002.JPG
91f211de4c20a01575c30fcafe6026c1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Niagara Falls Blvd Motor Hotel, 1620 Niagara Falls Blvd., postcard (c1930).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1930
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/9646d53f49c44610ce902eb8989244a3.jpg
67ee8ca62d84f61bfa10b8f60088f301
https://nthistory.com/files/original/f60d053730ad323f6eb356cffad00710.jpg
693bfc3e9906bc73179edc557272a9f7
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Modern Aire Motel, 1346 Sheridan, photo postcard (c1950).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/bf30629502cea29842ce05f6c4418a4f.jpg
4aa683adb72e3e435ce6f9796dcf0cc6
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Martin's Cabins, postcard (c1960).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1960
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/379dbb33b0a580676eaddbd5cf759abc.jpg
de4414f46d8e7b1a08c30495e59fcbc3
https://nthistory.com/files/original/505b1767879a51ff1aa87f7483afb7f9.jpg
ec9c2d1d81685f2a97b606de40071426
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Freddies Rest Tourist Camp, Niagara Falls Blvd, postcard (c1955).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1955
motel
-
https://nthistory.com/files/original/3feeb83916e7aa3a51bbab618748b7b0.jpg
555e2389438ff2606f5cb9cf3f9baa5d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Motels
Postcard
A pictorial representation of a place or entity, intended to be written upon and mailed.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Ellicott Park Court, postcard (1950s).jpg
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1950
motel