Then: King Edward Hotel / E.J. Von Gal Manufacturing

Located on the corner of Queen Street and Zimmerman Avenue, the King Edward Hotel was a functional, and visual fixture in downtown Niagara Falls for over 100 years. The main part of the building was constructed in the 1850s by Samuel Zimmerman, the founder of the village of Clifton, which was later known as present-day's commercial Niagara Falls area.

The building was originally operated as the "E.J. Von Gal Manufacturing Company", which made mountings and accessories for carriages.

The building later became the King Edward Hotel in 1925, and was operated by Charles Sturrock and John Boulter. The building underwent a 75-room addition in 1933, as the Queen Street area was booming with visitors from the Central Michigan Railway. This success was temporary, as the King Edward Hotel went into receivership in the late 1970s. The new owners tried a series of changes, including adding a strip club and lounge.

The shift from accommodations being in Historic Downtown, to the Clifton area meant the end for many hotels and restaurants, accelerating the district's decline. The hotel eventually closed like many other businesses due to decreased visitor numbers.

Now: City Parking Lot

In 1988, the empty building fell victim to a major fire, with arson suspected. Following this, the building sat empty and boarded up for several years, until the city purchased the property and demolished the structure. The land is currently a parking lot for nearby buildings, though with few operational businesses, this lot is mainly used by City of Niagara Falls employees at City Hall.

Niagara Falls Public Library. 2017. Niagara Falls - Then & Now: A Photographic Journey Through The Years. [King Edward Hotel / E.J. Von Gal Manufacturing / City Parking Lot].

Niagara Falls Then and Now
A collaborative project
Niagara Falls Museums - Niagara Falls Public Library - Dept. of Geography and Tourism Studies,Brock University.
Original newspaper series by Sherman Zavitz, Official Historian for the City of Niagara Falls from 1994 - 2019.

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