The following excerpt is taken from Daniel M. Dumych's "Niagara Falls, Vol. II"
(text only - Photos courtesy of The Niagara Falls Public Library Local History Department):
E. Dent Lackey, mayor of Niagara Falls from 1963 to 1975. Mayor Lackey, an outgoing, ebullient man, was elected on a campaign that called for urban renewal, the re-establishment of the city as a tourism capital, and industrial expansion. Under Lackey's administration, the city actually came to lose much of its industry. Many of the city's factories were built late in the last century and early this century and companies chose to relocate their works instead of rebuilding them. Tourism, too, would falter even more during the Lackey years. Throughout the 1960s, Falls Street deteriorated and tourists lured by the flash and glitter of Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls, Ontario. City residents, too, abandoned Falls Street, choosing to shop at plazas near the edge of town instead of supporting Falls Street businesses. Lackey and other city leaders felt that there was only one answer for Niagara Falls's ills - urban renewal. By the early 1970s, much of the south end resembled war-time Europe. The properties had been cleared - an yet, there were no takers. The city waited in vain for a return to prosperity.
On a personal note, my father referred to E. Dent Lackey as the "(expletive) on the white horse," as do many of the people still to this day who lived in Niagara Falls at the time when Urban Renewal took place. Many still hold Mayor Lackey responsible for what became (or what didn't become) of Niagara Falls in the aftermath of Urban Renewal.
(click all photos for larger images)
3 comments:
I thought I'd mention my novel, <bThe Stone House Diaries<b, available at the NFPL or other bookstores, all about Niagara Falls and historic preservation, or the lack of it. Lackey gets prominent mention in the later chapters. Please excuse the self-promotion.
Bob Moore
Speaking of 'catch names'....I often heard the Mayor referred to as 'He Went Wacky.' Anyone else??
My father fought at city hall with Mayor Lackey and the councilmen on an almost weekly basis (or whenever council meetings were held). He also blasted him on the radio (WJJL) and in the Niagara Falls Gazette's letters to the editors. My father knew they were leading the city in the wrong direction and he was correct. I moved away years ago and it's sad to go back there to see how run down the city has become. Historical Falls Street should have remained as it was and at least there would be some tourism. Mayor Lackey was a blustering, obnoxious old fool. It's a shame there is anything in the city named after him.
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