Main Street, Niagara Falls 1970s

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This photo was taken in the mid-1970s looking down Main Street. Click on the photo to see the background in better detail.

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Falls Street 1914

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Rumaging through the files at the Local History Department, I found this photo - not much information available about it, other than the description on the back that said, "Falls St. 1914." Click on the photo to make it larger to see more details.

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Federal Building - Main Street Post Office

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This brittle old photo found in the archives of the Local History Department depicts the day the corner stone was laid for the Federal Building (now the Main Street Post Office) on Main and Walnut in 1906.

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Here is a photo of the same building 102 years later.

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Lighting of Falls Street - 1939

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Lighting of Falls Street 1939. Looking west from Third St. March 1939 - This photo was given to the Local History Department by George Stremble, a former city electrician in September 1969. Click on the image to get a more detailed look... amazing!

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Local Review: Eddie Jays Restaurant on Buffalo Avenue

For this week's review, the Chickadee and I decided to visit Eddie Jay's Restaurant on Buffalo Avenue in LaSalle. You may remember the building a long time ago as "Weekends" in the 1980s, or maybe as "Goomba's" in the 1990's, or perhaps you paid a visit when it was "Rock n' Jocks" a few years ago. If you've never been there in any of it's past incarnations, let me first tell you how to get there... you'll find Eddie Jays on Buffalo Avenue, just past the LaSalle Library and Cayuga Drive going towards the Summit Mall... in fact, here is a handy little map to help you find your way:


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Eddie Jay's was pretty empty when we arrived, but at 5pm on a Tuesday, I wouldn't expect too many customers at any restaurant on a dreadfully rainy November afternoon. The place was very clean, with a Tuscan-esque decor... a far cry from how I remember it as the pizza and wing place called Goomba's. Eddie himself greeted us at the bar and told us to sit anywhere we'd like. Although there wasn't any sports on at this time in the afternoon, the half dozen hanging LCD televisions scattered throughout the restaurant gave me the impression that this would be a great place to watch some games, drink some beers and have a good meal while doing so.

The menu at Eddie Jay's offers a lot of choices at very reasonable prices. Take a look at the menu by clicking here. After much deliberation, I went for the stuffed shells (with two meatballs) and the Chickadee decided to have the chicken alfredo. With our dinners, I had chicken soup and she had a house salad. The chicken soup was hearty and helped to nullify the lingering bite of the cold rain outdoors. Within minutes after finishing our starters, the entrees arrived, and they looked and smelled delicious. The portions were large, the sauces were rich (not acidy), and the taste was excellent. When you visit Eddie Jay's, if you stray from the regular choices of burgers, wings, etc. - I highly recommend the pasta dishes, there were great.

After our dinner plates were cleared, Eddie suggested we try one of his sister's homemade desserts. We went for the peanut butter cheesecake. Once again, awesome! The dessert was the perfect ending to a very good meal.

Our bill came to a grand total of $47.00. That included: 4 drinks (two glasses of Shiraz, and two Stoli-sodas), a dinner salad, a bowl of soup, a large plate of stuffed shells in meatsauce with two extra meatballs, a whopping plate of chicken alfredo, and one slice of homemade cheesecake. Great quality - great price!

Eddie Jay's also has a large late night menu and a full bar offering up all the spirits you could wish for, making it a great place to watch any sports action or to hunker down and watch a Buffalo Bills game. Bring the entire family during the holidays and enjoy the excellent family style cooking that Eddie Jay's offers. Visit the website here for more information.

For more information, click this link for a past Niagara Falls Reporter article featuring Eddie Jay's.

The Local Drive In Movie Theaters

The Starlite Drive In was located across the street from LaSalle Senior High School on Military Road... oh wait, that isn't there anymore either! Okay, maybe I should say that the Starlite Drive In was located right about where Wegman's now stands. I only slightly remember it... I recall seeing The Empire Strikes Back there when I was about 6 years old. It was a double feature along with a Dom Deluise movie called Fatso... how many of you remember that movie?!

Here are some classic photos and newspaper ads of The Starlite Drive In:

(Aerial view 1948)

(Aerial view in 1978)

(Niagara Gazette ads and article - 1948 - click for larger images)

Here are a couple photos of the Falls Auto Vue Drive In located on Witmer Road (across from the softball fields).

(Aerial view from 1965)

Do you have any memories, comments or photos you would like to share? Please comment on this post or email StenzTV - we'd love to hear from you!

Thanks to Bill for sending along the links and photos. Please visit the original MySpace page where these are published by clicking here.

The Barenaked Ladies at the Seneca Niagara Casino

Canadian pop (rock?) group The Barenaked Ladies took the stage Friday night and played to a capacity crowd at the Events Center in the Seneca Niagara Casino. The Barenaked Ladies, which consist of singer/ guitarist Steven Page, guitarist/vocalist Ed Robertson, keyboardist/vocalist Kevin Hearn, drummer/vocalist Tyler Stewart and bassist/vocalist Jim Creegan (sorry folks, no actual barenaked ladies performed!) blew the roof off the joint with their energetic, improv-laden performance.


Barenaked Ladies - One Week - 1998

The Barenaked Ladies, known for many of their pop hits in the 1990s (One Week, If I Had a Million Dollars, Brian Wilson and many more) have clearly refined their stage persona over time with a mixture of music, stories, comedy and improvisation. Between almost every song, frontmen Steven Page and Ed Robertson would banter back and forth, making up mostly every word as they went along... Could they really have written lyrics to an on-the-spot song about furry teeth and pork and beans?! Are Fonzie impersonations always part of the act? The improv style made the crowd howl with laughter between each song, just long enough for everyone to catch their breath from the constant dancing and singing along.

The Events Center proved to be a great venue because of the sound quality, large screen videos and diverse crowd. There were adults ranging from 18 - 80, guys in Harley Davidson attire bumping hips with senior citizens, long time fans dancing with brand new listeners, no matter who was in attendance - everyone had a smile on their face. It was a great sight to see so many people having such a good time. At this Casino concert, everyone emerged as a winner.

Check out their official website here: http://www.bnlmusic.com/news/


For more information about future events at the Seneca Niagara Casino, click here: http://www.senecaniagaracasino.com/seneca-events-center.cfm