VINTAGE PHOTOS - CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNITED BUILDING (circa 1929)

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1929

The construction of the United Building 1929 - in the foreground you can see the corner where the Hotel Niagara stands and in the background you can see the Hancock Building.

Photo Courtesy of the Niagara Falls Public Library's Local History Department - submitted by JB



80 years later... June 2009


"THE GIACOMO"




..

Consumer Review: LaBruschetta

The restaurant being reviewed LaBruschetta, 9400 Niagara
Falls Blvd, Niagara Falls, NY. They are closed on Mondays and open
from 4PM to closing (usually around 9PM) except Fridays when they are
also open for lunch.

The décor is Italian and the menu features American and Italian
cuisine. There is a full bar and the service is friendly and
efficient. Lighting is subdued and light opera plays in the background
while you eat. Parking is plentiful and the building is handicapped
accessible.

Recently I took some out-of-state visitors and some family members to
dinner on a Thursday evening. One of my guests was a former chef at
Buffalo’s exclusive Park Lane Restaurant, now closed. He is a stickler
when it comes to fine dining and I was concerned as to whether he
would enjoy the meal. Since I was footing the bill I thought I might
have an edge up in that regard. Myself and my guests enjoyed a
selection of the dinner menu, with all meals including either the soup
of the day or a crisp dinner salad, and fresh Italian bread and
butter. The salad was delightful with various greens, garbanzo beans
and tasty croutons. I had the (8) cheese ravioli & (2) meatballs
($16.95) in a tasty meat red sauce. One of the diners had a nightly
special of stuffed haddock: a filet stuffed with mushrooms, spinach,
crab meat and sun-dried tomatoes. She proclaimed it delicious! Two of
our tablemates had the eggplant parmesan ($14.95) which featured giant
portions of what was described as the most tender eggplant parm
they’ve ever eaten. One diner was a blooming vegetarian and declined
the meat sauce and it was suggested to try the dish with Alfredo
sauce. She did and said it was scrumptious! One had the stuffed
manicotti special (wonderful!!) and our other guest had the house
specialty, which is mostaccioli with veal parmesan ($16.95) and
couldn’t believe the size of her plate of food. Other than myself,
everyone took home half of their meal to be enjoyed the following day.

Two of my guests were literally world travelers, having just returned
from Australia and New Zealand with an upcoming trip to the Galapagos
Islands next on their itinerary. They proclaimed their meal at
LaBruschetta’s as “the best meal of fine dining they have ever had.”
Believe me, that is saying a lot!. (By the way: the former chef raved
about it as he finished his eggplant parm the next day, too)

The owner, Dante Cipollitti, began as a meat cutter and manager at the
old Great Bear Market. He had previous establishments on Niagara Falls
Blvd in Wheatfield, and at the former Crown & Anchor location at 29th
St & Pine Ave, in the city, both of which were called, Dante’s. He
puts out a terrific product and should anything not be to your liking
he will make things right.

The restaurant offers a large and varied menu of steaks, seafood, and
Italian dishes. Other than nightly specials, two of the seafood dishes
include LaBruschetta’s Fish, which is a 10-12 oz filet lightly
broiled, topped with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese ($13.95). They
also have on the menu Baked fish Florentine, a 10-12 oz filet with
fried greens and mozzarella ($13.95). On Fridays they offer one of the
best fish fries around featuring a large filet (baked or battered),
your choice of potato (try the parsley potatoes - their specialty and
a break from french fries), cole slaw, bread and butter, and a
wonderful dinner salad ($8.95).

They currently are offering Early Bird Specials from Sunday thru
Thursday, from 4PM-6PM. The portions are a bit smaller than their
usual dinner fare, but they are “normal” portions for the “normal”
eater, and will certainly fill you up. The EB specials all feature
your choice of soup or dinner salad, bread and butter and even a scoop
of ice cream as dessert!

Entrees offered for the early birds are:

Chicken parmesan with ziti ($8.95); Veal parmesan with ziti ($9.95);
Chicken cacciatore with rigatoni ($7.95); Mostaccioli parmesan with
meatballs ($8.95); Spaghetti with meatballs or sausage ($7.95);
Fettuccini Alfredo with spinach $8.95); Open steak with parsley
potatoes ($11.95). No substitutions or coupons or other combinations
with any other specials are allowed with the Early Bird Specials.

On a recent Wednesday evening I tried the Veal Parm Early Bird and
thoroughly enjoyed it. No short cuts here as the only difference from
the regular dinner menu was a smaller plate and portion. However, the
portion was enough to satisfy and certainly worth the $9.95 price.

Although I have never had a bad meal at LaBruschetta, as with any
eating establishment, stuff happens. Should you ever have any issue
with the food or service you should always attempt to alleviate the
problem with your server, and if that doesn’t work, ask for the owner
or manager. A good restaurant will always make things right.

LaBruschetta is the place to take your out-of-town guests, or a place
to enjoy a fine meal at a reasonable price. Check the “specials” chalk
board at the entrance for some real gourmet treats, which change nightly.

For a real bargain, try the Friday fish fry or their Early Bird Specials.

They do accept reservations at 297-6222.

Yegotta DeGasse

(The reviewer, from the Czech Republic, writes under the nom de plume
of Yegotta DeGasse and was a former pantry chef at the Hotel St.
Moritz in Lake Placid, NY; a former line cook for Howard Johnson’s
Restaurant; and has prepared meals for parties from 4 to 400)

LABRUSCHETTA IS NOW CLOSED - STAY TUNED FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IF RE-OPENING

Fire at Robert Hall Clothes - 1977

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Robert Hall Clothes - an anchor store of Haeberle Plaza... January 27, 1977*

*Thank you to Marty Shimmel for his keen eye and keen memory in helping to correct the date of this fire (photo was mistakenly noted as January 22nd, but in fact was the 27th, right before the Blizzard of '77 hit!)




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Then & Now - Police HeadQuarters, Niagara Falls, USA

With the Grand Opening ceremonies of the new courthouse last week, I thought I'd post an entry dedicated to those that serve and protect Niagara Falls... reaching deep into the Public Library's Local History Department for old photos, along with some snapshots of what you see today (2009). If you have anything to add to this post, please send it along! stenztv@gmail.com


CHIEF OF POLICE 1908


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AN ASSORTMENT OF NIAGARA FALLS CRIMINALS - circa 1908


CLICK TO ENLARGE - VERY COOL!

NIAGARA FALLS POLICE PATROL WAGON 1908

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NIAGARA FALLS POLICE "PATROL WAGON" 2009

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Communications Room - 10/16/1962 (Hyde Park Public Safety Building)



POLICE HEADQUARTERS - 1908

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The new Police HeadQuarters - Grand Opening Day 6/17/09

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...

Vintage Photos - Submitted by Jim Brunn

Thanks to StenzTV viewer Jim Brunn for the following submissions:


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Here’s another photo of interest. This is the “Crystal Palace” which was a castle made from ice blocks at Prospect Point each year around the turn of the century. How’s that for a winter attraction? Of course that’s when winters were winter, before global warming!



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This is a circa 1968 view of Falls St. from 3rd St looking west. The Hancock Bldg is the tall bldg on the left that has the O’Keefe Ale sign on it. That sign created quite a storm of controversy when it was erected.


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The old 5th St. School circa 1880’s, which was located in the 500 blk of 5th St.

Summit Park Mall - In Memorium

In this blog post, we will publish some of our esteemed reader's contributions - the memories we all share of the beloved Summit Park Mall. If you have any you'd like to add or if you have any good old photos, we'd love to post it all! Enjoy:


Building the Summit Park Mall in 1972
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From BILL SCALZO:
Summit Park Mall as it stood in 1980-81 when I worked at AM&As after school a few nights a week sorting freight, vacuuming rugs and moving sofas and tables around at the cruel whim of an evil furniture department manager who wasn't even my boss but couldn't stand the site of an idle minimum-wage kid!

I had almost forgotten this Mall even though I drive past it all the time, but the recent news makes me sad. It was one of our #1 hangouts when I was in school, and I worked two jobs there since as we talked about earlier I worked at Child World from 1984-early 87.

A few personal rememberences of mine: The Beacon Store was a Christian store that was later rented by Child World as a bike warehouse. The Wheel Goods Mgr. was a good buddy, we had been friends since middle school, and we used to go buy a few beers at Lindy's Deli (they weren't allowed to let you leave the Deli with beers, but we had friends there who looked the other way!) then lock ourselves in the old Beacon Store and "take liquid inventory" on slow days, LOL!

Cavages was always WAY cooler than Recordland. It just was.

Remember going to the back "black light" section of Spencer's and wishing you had enough cash to buy every poster, blacklight gadget and fishnet ceiling wrap back there?

McCrory's Restaurant had those Loganberry and Orange Soda "fountains" right out front that always looked so enticing to a thirsty kid.

And just what the hell did something called The Phone Store sell in 1980? I think I remember it, it was just a kiosk I think, but in 1980 there weren't even CORDLESS phones or anything, right? It was the dying days of Ma Bell and big clunky phones that came in two varieties: black and white.

Here goes, it's a long list and shows just how packed the Mall was in its heyday. And it didn't even have a real food court yet! (I remember it just starting to be built towards the end of my bike-building days at "The World" Porky's Sausages was one of the first along with the stalwart Leon's, the last man standing. They built the food court around him, which seems fitting somehow!)

SUMMIT PARK MALL DIRECTORY 1980-1981
Alethea's Chocolates
Allstate Insurance
AM&As
Andrew's Wigs
Baker Shoes
The Beacon Store
Brook's Juniors Clothing
Card Cage
Carol Ann Women's Wear
Carousel Snack Bar
Cavages Record Store
Charms Etc.
Chess King
Child World Toy Store
Claire's Boutique
Coming Attractions
Connie Shoes
Dockter Pet Store
Fanny Farmer Candy
Flagg Bros. Shoes
Foxmoor Casuals
Frederick's of Hollywood
Frontier Fruit and Nut
Fun-n-Games Arcade
G & G Shops
Gallenkamp Shoes
Gap Shoes
General Cinemas Summit Park I & II
General Nutrition
Glenby Hair Salon
Gordon's Jewelers
Great Expectations Hair Salon
Hens & Kelly
Hickory Farms
Hungry Herman's Restaurant
J.P. Snodgrass
Jean Nicole
Jenss
Joann Fabric
J T Men's Store
Kay-Bee Toys
Keepsake Diamonds
Kinney Shoes
Leon's Pizza
Lerner Shops
Levitation Clothing
The Limited
Lindy's Deli
M & T Bank
Main St. Ice Cream
Marianne Women's
Marjax Sporting Goods
McCrory's
McCrory's Restaurant
Merry Go Round
Motherly Maternity
National Shirt Co.
Niagara County Savings Bank
Nobil Shoes
Ormond
Parklane Hosiery
Pearle Vision Center
The Phone Center
The Proving Ground
Radio Shack
Recordland
Reed's Jewelers
Regal Shoes
Richman Bros. Men's
Rite-Aid Pharmacy
The Sample Shop
Sears
Sears Auto Service
Sears Country Inn
Sears Hair World
Shed House
Singer Co.
Spencer Gifts
Sperry & Hutchinson Trading Stamps
Stella's Tots-to-Teens
Stuart Women's
Summit Park Mall Children's Photographer
Susie's Casuals
Things Remembered
Thom McAn Shoes
Tuxedo Junction
Ulbrich's Office Supply
Ups-n-Downs
Waldenbooks
Wally's Designs
Waterbed World
Wild Pair Shoes
York Steak House
Zales Jewelry

Thanks Bill - once again, he submits... and scores!

Here are another couple memories that trickled in...


DoctorPet 11/23/1984
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FROM CHANTALE O. (former classmate of mine growing up):

have to say that one of my favourite memories of the summit mall was when mr. pagano took our class there for one of our "field trips".we had to go store to store and ask the clerks questions about their jobs and running a store.he wanted to make it educational - otherwise what was the point, right?thinking back on it now - how do you think those sales people felt when these little snotty kids were asking them questionsabout their minimum wage jobs as if they were careers. could be cute - could be annoying.come to think of it - he had us do that quite a bit - remember the farmers market on pine avenue - we had to do the same thing.anyway - that's my memory from the mall. also - meeting up with whomever dropped us off at "the bridge" or "the pit" after a long day of browsing.i tried to shoplift from claires once (probably a pair of .50 earrings or something) but couldn't bring myself to do it - i know - goody two shoes.

Remember the Fountains? 1984
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FROM TIMOTHY F:
Subject line: Nooooooooooo!

No really, Summit is actually closing? It is pretty sad. That place was the shiznit when we were younger. "Wanna go to the Mall?" Alladins Castle, Leons, Chess King, Walden's, or the New York Steak house. I heard one reason a mall like that doesnt work is because unlike The Factory Outlet it is not near a "Major" highway". Not as easy to find I guess. Spill some of my 40oz for the Summit.
(and yes, he is kidding about spilling a 40oz.)


Mall Scene with Fountains and Bridge in background
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Foutain Zoom-in Action
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iWitnessNiagara Poll Results

A Jenss Department Store outing to Olcott Beach, August 1938. From the book, Images of America - Niagara Falls by Daniel M. Dumych. (click photo for larger image)

According to the reader's vote, Jenss on Main Steet is the hands down winner of the extremely scientific (yeah right) blog poll that has been up for a couple months.

Here are the results:

Here are the results for the equally scientific favorite grocery store survey:

Slipko's is the crowd favorite!

Do you have any reader poll suggestions? If so, please email StenzTV and we'll post your ideas! Stay tuned for future stories of interest and other general nonsense!

xx