Niagara Falls Then and Now: Erie Ave. at the Bus Terminal

A above - aerial view, Bridge St. runs east-west at the top, along the tracks.
Erie Ave. runs north-south at the left side of photo.
Queen St. runs east-west at the lower part of photo.
The block where the red dot is at the centre-left (which is along the west side of Erie Ave., between Bridge St. and Park St.) is how the area looked prior to the current Niagara Falls bus station being built there. Date of this view, though, is not known.
All the orange dots mark buildings which (as of Sept. 2009) are no longer here. The yellow dots mark railway tracks that are now gone.
The building with the red mark is also seen in photo G below.
Note a portion of the CN roundhouse (now demolished) is seen at the very top.
The abutment of the CN railroad bridge to the United States is seen at the upper right; a bit below it is the curved track (now abandoned) of the Michigan Central leading to its bridge just out of frame to the right, which also crosses over the Niagara River here to the U.S.
                                 Click on photos to enlarge! B above - Dec.11, 1956, Niagara Falls, Ont., Library's historical archive notes that this is the 'Montagna house' on Park St., but it is not clear which one it was, or, where it was on Park St.
At first, due to the angle of the tracks seen in the foreground, I thought that the above photo was looking at the north-side of Park St. just west of Erie Ave., east of where the Michigan Central tracks once crossed Park St. (see satellite map further down in photo Q)
I thought that the house at the far right (in photo B above) was the same house on the corner as seen in photo F below; but clearly the house in F had no centre gable, as the one above in B does, which led me to guess that these three houses on Park St. must have then been slightly to the west of the corner house seen in F, which stood on north-west corner of Erie and Park.
I also thought that these three houses must have been still east of where the tracks crossed Park St., my assumption being that the tracks seen above were heading north-west (to the upper left) as they crossed Park St. This led me to think that these three houses must have been where the Niagara Transit bus repair depot now is, as seen in photo B-a below.
However, I now believe that the tracks seen above were headed south-east at the upper left, making Ontario Ave. the street heading off south at the far right.
In 1945, there were three houses listed as being between the New York Central Freight Sheds (which were just to the east (left) out of frame of the above shot) and Ontario Ave. at the right.
It is more than likely that the house seen above at the right was 364 Park St., home of L. Kulchar (see also T-b below); the house in the middle was 352 Park St., home of Joseph Montagna; and to the left, at 344 Park St., was the home of Samuel Mariglia (sic). By 1955, the Cashmores were at 364 Park St.; at 344 Park was Mrs. Mary Marigla (sic) - (pos. misspelled); the Montagnas were still at 352 Park St. (It's possible that these three homes were already built by 1856, see map S-b below)
B-a above Sept.9, 2009 - behind the trees at centre-left is where the bus repair garage now is, on the north-side of Park St.; this where I first thought the three 'Montagna' photo houses had been: after all, the angle of the tracks in the foreground is the same. (The bus terminal building is seen at the right with the green roof (also seen in photos I, M and P, below. At the far upper right is a corner of the former Hotel Trennick.) Mears Coal (see E-a and E-b below) would have been in the triangular lot in the centre-right, to the right of where the white truck is.
The parking lot spaces seen angled along the bottom are where the New York Central Freight shed used to stand, along the west side of the track right-of-way, still seen where the grass strip runs.B-b above Mar.2, 2010 - THIS view is actually where the three houses seen in the 'Montagna' photo B had been: they were on the south-side of Park St., not on the north side, as I originally thought. (see photo Q below for satellite view)
The photo above looks south across Park St., taken from the west-end front of the bus garage - the site where the three houses had stood is now a parking lot (where the red car is). This parking lot, where the three houses had stood, is on the south-east corner of Park St. and Ontario Ave.
Though the tracks are now gone, the asphalt still shows the same angle at which the right-of-way crossed Park St. (seen between the red lines)
In the above photo, the tracks at the upper-left headed south-east across Park St., making this the correct 'today' photo to the original Montagna house photo B. (see also W-b below)
The now-demolished NYC Freight Terminal sheds and the John Mear Coal building (see D and E-a below) had once stood just across the street, to the left of the above photo.
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C below Mar.23, 1956 - looking east down Park St. towards Erie Ave. The building at the centre-left (on the north-west corner of Erie and Park) is the same one (the bakery store) as seen in photos F and H below. The building at the near-left would have been where the driveway entrance to the bus terminal now is.
The three buildings which were in the Montagna photo B would have been immediately to the right of where the photographer was standing. The part of Park St. where the railroad tracks crossed must have been just behind the photographer.
C-a above - the same view of Park St. in 2009; photo taken standing on the spot where the tracks used to cross Park St. The bus garage now sits at the left. The old Customs and Post Office building can be seen in the far distance in both above photos.
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D below photo date 1963 - looking north along Erie Ave. from Queen St., towards Bridge St. in the distance. A part of the Bakery building (seen in F below) is visible in the far centre-left distance, standing on the north-west corner of Erie Ave. and Park St.
The railroad tracks can be seen in the foreground, running in front of Rosberg's corner doors, heading north across Erie Ave. from the bottom right (where the Michigan Central station once was) and turning north-west just after passing the rear of the Bank of Commerce building at the left; they would then angle-cross Park St. at a point slightly west of Erie Ave.
On the west side Erie Ave., just before Park St., is seen a building on the triangular lot created by the railroad cutting through (in the photo below it is the building in the centre-left distance, just behind the single parked car; this is also where the old Niagara Falls market square used to be); this was the New York Central Passenger and Freight Terminal, which gave 617 Erie Ave. as its address (listed in 1945, and 1955). I'm not sure when these NYC terminal buildings were torn down.
A fuzzy view of this freight terminal can also be seen in the top aerial photo A, at the far centre-left, although it isn't marked with an orange dot, it should have been, but it was so shadowy I missed it! This NYC freight shed can also be seen in photo S below.
Just above the NYC terminal on photo A (on the south west corner of Erie and Park) there is another building I did mark with an orange dot: this was 601 Park St., where (as of 1955, at least) the John Mears Coal Co. had been: photo E-a below.
This New York Central terminal was a different station from the Michigan Central station, which had once been located just out of frame of the below photo (behind and to the right of where the photographer was standing) and which was demolished in 1941.
I've yet to learn whether this NYC was a replacement to the demolished older MC station; or when it was built/demolished, how long was it used for passengers, etc; also, haven't yet found any close-up photos of this station, either!
If you look at the centre-right of aerial photo S below, you can see a long shed paralleling the tracks as they angle SE down and out of frame. This is the NYC shed which ran at this angle from Park St., towards Erie Ave., behind the Mear building sitting on the corner.
Note that in photo S the NYC shed is clearly seen standing along the west side of the tracks as they exit onto Park St.; however, in aerial photo A above, the building that is most likely the terminal (as opposed to the shed) is clearly seen on the east side of the tracks as they enter from Erie Ave.
So, looking along Erie Ave., starting from the SW corner of Erie Ave. and Park St., we would have seen Mear Coal standing on the corner; the next building to the south would have been the NYC passenger terminal; then came the tracks which angled in from Erie Ave.; and then we would have seen the Bank of Commerce's also-angled rear wall.
The freight shed was clearly seen in photo S along the west side of the tracks on the Park St. side; but how far the shed came towards the Erie Ave. side is not clear. Did a part of the shed (or sheds?) continue all the way to Erie Ave. on the west side of the tracks? I think the angle of the tracks (where they left Erie Ave. and passed the rear of the bank) left little room there for a building; the shed must have started a little farther up the track, but, there probably was an access here on the west side of the tracks, behind the bank, to get to the shed.
As seen below, there had once been two sets of tracks running here along Erie Ave., in front of Rosbergs: in this photo, it looks like there is only one track, the east one, closer to Rosbergs; to the west, closer to the bank, the asphalt patch suggests the other line was already closed and covered.
Another question is how far did both tracks go - did they both cross Park St. heading north-west, continuing towards the corner of Victoria Ave. and Bridge St.? Or did only one track cross Park St., while the other only went as far as the freight shed?
Note that the rear of the bank building had been angled-off to follow the tracks, as had been the front corner of Rosbergs.
E above - same view as previous photo, Mar.20, 2009 - the tracks along Erie Ave. are gone, Rosbergs store is empty, and the former bank is a variety store. The Mear coal office and NYC freight shed buildings on the triangular lot are gone (two tall evergreens are seen there now), as are all the old buildings seen in D above which were on the left (west) side of Erie Ave. between Park St. and Bridge St. Many of the original buildings on the east side of Erie Ave., however, are still here. [although a massive fire destroyed the Rosbergs building in Oct. 2009]
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E-a below July 1971, shows the John Mear Coal and Coke building, facing Erie Ave., on the SW corner of Park St. and Erie Ave. The New York Central Passenger and Freight terminal buildings mentioned earlier most likely had once been behind the Mear building, running in a north-west angle, from Erie Ave. (just to the left (south) of the Mear building photo below), back towards Park St. in the right rear distance.
In this 1971 shot it looks like the train sheds are gone; and so through the garage door at the right the view is looking west up Park St., towards the area where the three houses in the Montagna photo 'B' had stood!!
Also, if you refer back to photo 'C' from earlier above, and look into the centre-right distance of photo 'C', you will see the open-garage of the Mears building.
E-b above Apr. 2010 - same view where the Mear Coal building had stood; it's now sort of a triangular parkette, with a parking lot in the rear; this triangular area can be clearly seen in the centre of the aerial photo Q below. At the right is the bus garage.
F above - this photo looks at the north-west corner of Erie Ave. and Park St. This building on the corner once housed a bakery, as seen in photo H below. Photo date not known, though Park St. looks to have been one-way heading west at the time.
(Niagara Falls Ont. Library Archive incorrectly notes this photo as being at Culp and Main, but the building is clearly at Erie and Park) Photo date not known. The building seen at the far right is the same one found below in photo G.
G above - The NFLA notes this is part of the Buckley block, built in 1881 and demolished 1976. Date of this photo not known. Clearly the corner building (seen in F above) has been demolished by the time this photo was taken, as seen by the now-vacant lot at the left. Also, there is seen a vacant lot to the right (north) as well. By the car this is a mid-70s photo. H above - this is the same corner (the north-west corner of Erie Ave. and Park St.) as it looked in 1907. The building on the corner at the far left is the same one seen above in F. It appears to be possibly the Wales/Wanless/Naples? Bakery Restaurant.
(Niagara Falls, Ont. Library Archive photo notes erroneously this is at Erie and Queen; clearly, as I have shown, it's Erie Ave. and Park St.).
The next building beside it, to the right, is the same building seen in photo F and G above.
Next, is seen a three-storey building with two small gabled dormers; next, a two-storey building with its side gable facing Erie Ave.; next, a two-storey brick building with an ornate flat-top facade: these last three buildings can be clearly seen in photo K below. (unless there is a building set back from view here!)
At the far end of this block (seen at the far-right of above photo, on the south-west corner of Erie Ave. and Bridge St.) stood the Imperial Hotel, with the tall chimneys.
It is unclear whether, at the time of this 1907 photo, there was a building directly to the south of the Imperial Hotel, between the Imperial and the building with the ornate flat-top facade: in photos N and L below, there clearly was some kind of structure there (in 1956, the Louis Restaurant was there.)
But in this 1907 photo above, that spot (just to the south of the Imperial Hotel) might not have been built upon yet, because there had once been a railroad track cutting through this location, as well!
I am not certain through which lot this track had gone: through the lot on the SW corner of Bridge and Erie, where the Imperial Hotel had been; or, through the lot where the Louis had been - both lots were angled to receive the tracks as they came out across Erie Ave. from the south-side of the Trennick Hotel (see P-a)
To get to the rear of the Trennick, this track had crossed Queen St. [see photo here] at a point slightly east of Erie Ave. (what was later to be the east side (rear) of the future Rosberg's building); then it crossed Park St. at a point just east of Erie Ave. [see photo here] and curved in a north-westerly direction just behind (south of) the Trennick Hotel; it then crossed Erie Ave. at a point just slightly south of Bridge St., [see map S-b below] heading onto the west side of Erie Ave., pssing through either the lot where the Imperial House Hotel, or, the building which once housed the Louis Restaurant, had been.
The Imperial Hotel had stood on a triangular lot on the SW corner of Erie and Bridge (see L, P-a below). At some point this rail right-of-way must have been closed off, and a building later built upon it. It is possible, if the Imperial was built prior to the Louis building, that its rear (south-side) wall was built at an angle (as seen in L below) to accommodate the existing tracks, making the Louis building the one built later on the closed track-right-of-way; but, it is also possible that if the Louis building was built first, then its north-side wall was angled (see L, P-a) to face the tracks, making the Imperial the one built on the closed track-right-of-way at a later date.
In L below you can see that the rear (south-side) of the Trennick, in the background, was also angled to make room for the tracks. I above Sept.1, 2009 - this is the same view as in photo H above - now, the Niagara Falls Bus Terminal occupies this stretch of Erie Ave., between Park St. to Bridge. St.
The old Bakery building (seen in H and F above) had once stood where the bus shelter now is, at the far left.

J above - buildings along the west side of Erie Ave. being demolished. This photo date is not known, but the notes with photo K below say the building at the centre-right (once Fischer's Cigars) was torn down in Sept. 1975.

The buildings being demolished are the same ones seen below in K - Fischer's is seen with its gable side torn off, and the building to its south is already gone. It looks like the building to the right (the flat-top with the three windows on the second floor) was still seen in the aerial photo A above.

K above - ca.1935, the Louis Fischer Cigar Store; NFLA notes it was demolished in Sept. 1975. This was once home to the Niagara Falls Review newspaper office between 1879 and 1889. The two storefronts on either side of Fischer's both offered Hat Cleaning services!

The building seen offering hat-cleaning services at the right (to the north) is the two-story building with the ornate flat-top; next beside it, at the extreme right, is a bit of the building which later housed the Louis Restaurant - I believe that the track had once run through that lot, on which the Louis was later built; this would mean that the the flat-topped-building's north wall had at one time faced the track (being directly on the south-side of the track right-of-way), and, that the Imperial Hotel's back (south) wall had been on the north-side of this track (see K-a); the Louis building would have been built as an infill at some point between 1915 and 1935, see P-a below.

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K-a below: Aug.20, 1956 - looking at the Imperial Hotel. Erie Ave. is in the foreground; Bridge St. is at the right. Note the "Imperial House" neon sign overhanging the sidewalk. At the left is the Louis Restaurant. At the left, note the close gap of the adjacent walls between the Imperial and the Louis, which were also both angled: it was through one of these lots which the track (seen in maps R and S-b) had once run, I believe the track ran at an angle through the lot where the Louis building was later built, at the left.

L above Nov.19, 1962 - The Imperial Hotel being demolished. This view looks east down Bridge St. towards Erie Ave. (same car is parked on Bridge St. by hotel as in photo N below) Note the angle of the south wall of the hotel and of the next building (at the time, the Louis Restaurant) to the right: there had once been a rail line here on one of these lots, and either the Imperial or the Louis was built first, following the angle of the track right-of-way; the other building was built later on an angled lot after the rail line was closed. Note the Hotel Trennick (in the upper-centre-right distance) also had its south-side rear wall angled where the rail line had been.

In the aerial photo A above, some traces of this rail line can still be seen as it curved its way behind the buildings on the east side of Erie Ave., then angle-crossed Erie Ave. at a point just south of Bridge St. (see also photos Q and R below)

M above Aug.31, 2009, same view of the former Imperial Hotel site, which stood where the Bus Terminal signpost now is. The former Hotel Trennick (later known as the Metropole; currently the now-vacant Hotel Europa) can be seen in both above photos. The rail line would have come from behind the Trennick's rear, at an angle, and cut right through towards the bottom of the photo.

N above - Nov.19, 1962 - looking at the south west corner of Erie Ave. and Bridge St. (just opposite the CN station) at the Imperial Hotel, just before it was to be demolished. At the left are seen some of the stores that once fronted onto Erie Ave. The Louis Restaurant, with its neon sign overhanging the sidewalk, can be seen at the left.

O above - the Imperial Hotel under demolition (date not given in NFLA photo, but probably still in late Nov.1962) Bridge St. is in the foreground; Erie Ave. heads south at the left.

P above Aug.31, 2009 - same view of the corner as seen above, where the Imperial Hotel used to stand; now this corner is a taxi-stand for the bus terminal, which is seen in the left rear. At the right rear is the bus maintenance garage for Niagara Transit. The Imperial hotel had stood on the corner, ie, on this side of the cab, whereas the Louis Restaurant building would have been just on the other side of the cab: the track ran through one of these lots; it's more than likely that the line once cut through the lot upon which the Louis was later built, see P-a next.
P-a above, date unknown, pos, mid 1960's - this view looks in a south-easterly direction across Bridge St. towards Erie Ave. (Compare this photo with the similar view in S-c below)
In the distance is the Trennick hotel; at the centre-right is a vacant triangular lot: this is where the Imperial Hotel had stood; now, the angled north-facing wall of the Louis Restaurant is visible overlooking the empty lot.
Previously, the north-wall of the Louis and the south-wall of the Imperial faced each other (as seen in L and K-a above); now the Louis is seen sporting windows, a Coke button sign, a menu ad, and a small billboard! So I wonder whether the windows had been there previously (facing a brick wall) or whether they were added after the Imperial was torn down?
I'm still thinking that the railway track had run where the Louis was, and that the Imperial had been built first; the Imperial's architecture seems more fitting to the area than the Louis building, which seems more like an infill, which it would have been, if it was squeezed onto a lot newly available due to the closure of the track right-of-way [however, it is also possible that the building housing the Louis restaurant may have been built first (thereby, having its north-side windows facing the track); and that the track had been where the Imperial now is, on that triangular corner seen above. So it's possible that the windows on the Louis building might have already been there, and were blocked by the later-built Imperial!]
Once again, having said all this, I still believe the Imperial had been built first, and the building which eventually housed the Louis Restaurant came later. Though I have not been able to determine through which lot the track had run, or when the Imperial (or the Louis building) were built, I remember seeing an old photo once (still trying to find it again) from 1915 which showed the Imperial standing on the corner, with a fairly wide gap clearly visible behind its south side, facing along Erie Ave: this is where I believe the tracks ran; the next building south of this gap was the two-story-flat-topped building seen earlier in H, J, and K above. Since photo K (taken circa 1935) shows the Louis building already built, then the track must have been closed and then built upon sometime between 1915 and 1935.
The above photo gives a good idea of the angle which track took, coming out across Erie Ave. from behind the angled south-side of the Trennick (in the right distance), then heading either through the Louis (or the Imperial?!) site to get to Bridge St.
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The Imperial House Hotel's address was 292 Bridge St. According to a 1955 city directory, the next building to the south of the Imperial House Hotel, going south along Erie Ave., was the Louis Restaurant, at 539 Erie Ave;
at 543 Erie was Taylor's Barber Shop;
at 549 Erie was Fischer's tobacconist shop;
at 551 Erie was the North End Shoe Shine and Hat Cleaners;
at 559 Erie was the New China Chop Suey restaurant;
at 563 Erie was the Port Colborne Social Club;
at 565 Erie was J.J. Gogul, Locksmith;
at 573 Erie was Mike's Chili and Sandwich Bar;
at 579 Erie was August Real Estate; and
at 583 Erie Ave. was Dorothy's Lunch (on the NW corner of Erie and Park, where the old Bakery was shown earlier in photos H and F)
These businesses were once in the block on the west side of Erie Ave., between Bridge St. and Park St., where the green-roofed Niagara Falls Bus Terminal is seen today, at the upper centre-left, below: (click on photos to enlarge!)
Q above - satellite view of the Bridge St.area. The red arrow (in centre) is the direction in which photo B-a was taken, looking north across the railway right-of-way (shown in blue) towards the bus garage, where I first believed the three houses in the Montagna photo (B) had been;
the green arrow shows the direction in which photo B-b was taken, looking south across Park St.: the three houses in the Montagna photo B had actually stood on the south-side of Park St., just east of Ontario Ave., as marked by the green 'X'.
The yellow line (shown cutting through the bus garage parking lot) is about where another rail line once was (see R and S below) which wyed off the Park St. line and headed towards Bridge St.; this was just where the regional pumping station now is, in behind where Cataract Ice had once been.
The orange line shows where the tracks had been which once ran behind the Trennick and Imperial Hotels, as described earlier above in photos H and L.
The yellow X shows where the Michigan Central station had once been. Rosbergs (NE corner of Queen and Erie) is seen still standing in this photo; but it burned down in Oct. 2009. The track right-of-way seen heading off to the centre-right was the main line which led directly to the bridge crossing the Niagara River to the States. R above - an 1894 map of Bridge St. showing the rail lines along Bridge St., Park St., and Erie Ave. The blue, orange and yellow lines are the same ones seen in Q above.
Note how the yellow line is shown wying off the Park St. line, then going across towards and onto Bridge St., and then, onto the bridge to the U.S. The area it cut through is now the storage and parking area at the west side of the bus garage.
The orange line is the one which once crossed Erie Ave. just south of Bridge St., as described earlier in H and L above. Note that in this map, Ontario Ave. is shown beginning at Bridge St., whereas today it begins at Park St.
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S below - this aerial view clearly shows the railroad wye in the upper-centre. It is not readily apparent in this photo if the railroad actually went onto Bridge St. at this time, or if it ended at what looks to be a shed, seen just north of the bus garage (see S-b for an 1856 map of the same trackage; see S-c for photo of Bridge St. portion).
In this view, the three houses from the Montagna photo (B) are also clearly seen (marked with three green dots); the green arrow shows the direction in which the Montagna house photos B and B-b were taken.
The Buckley furniture building on Ontario Ave., now demolished, is shown by the red dot (see T-a below).
The yellow dots are all buildings that, as of Apr. 2010, are no longer standing (see s-a below).
The orange dot (near the upper right, facing onto Bridge St. with the railroad wye at its rear) shows the building, now also gone, which was once called the Suspension Bridge Hotel, also known as Graham's Hotel, after its owner-builder, F.H. Graham (later also known as the Waverly, Arlington, Avon House, and the Klondike) Hotel, see U,V,W below. The date of this photo is unknown; however, one of the houses seen below (on the SE corner of Park St. and Ontario Ave.) is also seen still standing in photo T-b, which dates from Sept. 1977. To date the photo, it would be helpful to at least learn the date on which the house on the corner house was torn down, or, when the Klondike Hotel was torn down (possibly soon after its May 1978 bombing?) Also note at the far centre-right (to the right of the green dotted Montanga houses along Park St.) can be seen a bit of the New York Central Freight sheds, standing on the west side of the tracks.S-a above - recent satellite view shows the now-vacant lots (marked with the green X) where the houses in the Montagna photo once stood.
The yellow line shows where the railroad wye which headed towards Bridge St. had once ran (see S-c).
The yellow X shows where the old Suspension Bridge/Waverly/Arlington/Avon/Klondike Hotel building once stood; it's now a parking lot for the bus garage.
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S-b below - this is an 1856 map of Clifton, which was called Elgin until it became the Town of Clifton on Jun.9, 1856. Note there is still a market square (on the SW corner of Park and Erie, future location of Mear Coal) shown where the red N is; this is where later the New York Central terminal and freight sheds were also going to be, along the line marked in blue which was yet to be built. Note also the line marked in green - this was where the Michigan Central line would later go, heading to the future bridge. The red M marks where the Michigan Central station would be built in the future; the red X marks where Rosberg's would later be built.
Note that the only line at the time in the area where the future Michigan Central station was to be built is the line which went behind (east of) the future Rosberg's, that is, it crossed Queen St. at a point slightly east of the NE corner of Queen and Erie. Since there was yet no railway bridge to the States, it curved north-west, crossing Park St. at a point slightly east of the Park/Erie intersection; then it continued NW, where it crossed Erie Ave., thereby cutting the SW corner of Bridge St. and Erie Ave. into a triangle (where later the Imperial Hotel, marked with the red I, would be built). The track then crossed a diamond with another track, at a point which looks to be on the south side of Bridge St., and continued NW, crossing Bridge St. and joining the Great Western tracks on the north side of Bridge St. The other track is shown coming from Park St., and crossing Bridge St., where it heads directly to the Suspension Bridge - this is the same track marked yellow in Q, S-a, and R above, and which was still partially visible in photo S. As can be seen in the 1896 map S above, the market was gone and the line marked in blue was already by-then built. I'm guessing that with the opening of the new MC cantilever bridge (1883) and the new MC station (1884) the line through the market was built, making the cutoff to Park St. on the west side of the future Rosberg's, that is, along Erie Ave. (instead of in behind, or, to the east of, Erie Ave.) I'm not sure when the track of the old line (where it crossed Erie and encountered the diamond) was removed; part of it was still visible near the Eastland shed (on the south-side of Park St.) in what looks to be the late'1970's -80', see photo here.
Also note below: the red Z shows where Samuel Zimmerman's bank was, which after his untimely death became the Hotel Savoy; the red C marks where the Customs house would later be built; The Suspension Bridge Hotel is seen on Bridge St, in a cluster of buildings; it certainly looks like Ontario Ave. at this time met with Bridge St., so it's possible the hotel might have actually stood on or near the south-east corner of Bridge St. and Ontario Ave!
Also note the three lots (marked in green dots, on the SE corner of Park and Ontario) are where the three houses in the Montagna photo B were seen; there are already three houses shown on those lots, and, I wonder if they are the same ones that were in photo B, dating back to 1856?? The map below shows the house closest to the corner owned by J.W. Atwood (the script's not too clear here); the middle lot (the future Montagna house) was owned by what appears to be an H. Forsyth; and the one to the right was owned by a T. Murphy.
Also, the small portion of track shown in the 1856 map below (curving up from the bottom, the part which is shown running from just north of Queen St., to where it it seen crossing Erie Ave., south of Bridge St., by the Imperial Hotel) obviously pre-dates the later-built tracks I marked in blue and green; I believe that this small curve was the original route through Elgin/Clifton of the Erie and Ontario railroad, from about 1853, the era during which Samuel Zimmerman had taken the line over, converted it from horse to steam-power, and realigned the route of the tracks, which had originally (ca 1840's) run from Queenston to Chippawa along tracks farther up west, paralleling Stanley Ave.; the 'newer' route, still heading south down to Chippawa, but now via Palmer Ave., was moved from Stanley Ave. due to the arrival of the Great Western's track and the construction of the Suspension Bridge. This small curve was the Erie and Ontario's access to/from the Great Western yards heading south to its route southbound to Chippawa; but, it was also the access northbound from Chippawa to a portion of the Great Western's tracks heading north-west, which the Erie and Ontario shared with the GW for a short run, until they split off at St.David's, heading down the escarpment towards Queenston and then eventually to Niagara-On-The-Lake.
 click on photos to enlarge
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S-c below - looking east along Bridge St. during Old Home Week parade in 1925; the railway station is seen at the far left. (Compare this photo with the similar view in P-a above).
The Hotel Trennick is seen in the centre-right distance. At the far right is what should be the Imperial Hotel; however, the building in this photo looks like it has wood clapboard siding, with a balcony on its Bridge St. side; the Imperial (as seen in N above) had a brick facade: so is the building in this 1925 photo the same building, later refaced with brick, and later torn down in 1956?
Also, note the two sets of tracks which are on the south-side of the station, seen coming from the railroad bridge; the track at the centre-left, barely west of the Erie Ave. intersection, has a wye, which heads west onto and along Bridge St. (towards the bottom of the photo): this is most likely the same line (seen in maps R and S-b) which had travelled westward from Bridge St., behind (to the south of) the Suspension Bridge/Arlington Hotel, to Park St., where it continued west, eventually crossing the intersection of Bridge St. and Victoria Ave. at a north-west angle.
T below - mid-to-late 1850's ads showing several Niagara Falls hotels (including the Suspension Bridge Hotel, which went through several name changes, by the late 1970's being known as the Klondike Hotel). Frederick H. Graham built the Suspension Bridge hotel (also known as Graham's Hotel) in 1853-54, naming it after John Roebling's double-deck suspension bridge which was being constructed over the Niagara River at the time, not far away down at the east end of Bridge St. This bridge was begun 1853 and opened Mar. 1855; it was a replacement for an earlier pedestrian-only (no trains) bridge dating from 1848.
It is interesting to note that, although the Great Western Railway (this portion, from the Niagara River to Hamilton, built by Samuel Zimmerman) had arrived in Elgin (as this area was then known) at the foot of Bridge St., in 1853, the tracks ended at the station, because there was no railway bridge yet at the time heading to the States; only the pedestrian/horse bridge. So for two years, passengers on either side of the border here had to get off their train and be transferred along with their baggage to the other side by horsedrawn carriage, where they boarded other connecting trains to continue their journey.
T-a below: the Buckley's Furniture building on Ontario Ave. in Sept. 1965. Note the red neon sign overhanging the front entrance.
T-b below - The Buckley's building in Sept. 1977; now painted white, with the neon sign gone. Note the gabled house seen at the far left - this house stood (on the south-east corner of Park St. and Ontario Ave.) facing onto Park St. - this is the same house which was in the Montagna photo B above; in that 1956 photo, it would have been the house at 364 Park St., seen at the right side of photo B.

T-c above Apr. 2010 - same view along Ontario Ave., Buckley's Furniture has been demolished (not sure when), it is now a parking lot; further to the left, on the SE corner of Park and Ontario, a parking lot now sits where the house at 364 Park had stood, along with the other houses seen in photo B.

T-d above Sept. 1965 - At 624 Ontario St. was the Greater Niagara Transit Commission building; this is the same building seen painted blue in T-b above, next door to Buckley's. In T-c its brick facade is now seen stuccoed.

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U below is the Arlington Hotel on Bridge St. (built 1853-54 as the Suspension Bridge Hotel) as it looked circa 1890. In 1945 it was also called the Erie Hotel.

V above - same building, now named the Avon House, with a neon sign overhanging the sidewalk. Photo date unknown; building was located at 356 Bridge St. and owned by Lillian Salci.W above Apr.1974 - the former Avon is now seen as the Klondike Hotel, with the wood facade covering the front. This was the scene of a bombing on May 16, 1978.

W-a above Apr. 2010 - same view of where the former Suspension Bridge/ Klondike hotel had stood, about at the centre of the photo, now the site of the bus garage parking lot.

In the far centre-left distance, a block away, is where the three houses [as seen in the Montagna photo B, above] had stood, on the south side of Park St., just east of Ontario Ave.

Many neighbouring houses were affected by the bomb blast, reports were that 118 windows were broken. The Montagna House was one of the places which had its windows shattered - the above photo gives an idea of the fair distance from the hotel site (which faced Bridge St.) to Park St., where the Montagna House had been.
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W-b below - this May 1978 colour close-up photo shows the Montagna House (at 352 Park St., the centre house of the three houses shown in photo B earlier above) with its windows blown out. In the distance can be seen the rear of stores which faced Queen St. [compare this photo with B-b above, and W-ba next below].

above W-ba: this is the same view of where the Montagna House had once stood; the site is now a parking lot. Note the same windows can be seen in the far right distance in both above photos: these are the rear windows of the stores which face onto Queen St. 

W-c above Apr, 2010 - this photo is taken on Park St., standing on the sidewalk right where the front door of the Montagna house had once been, and looking north across Park St. The bus garage parking lot is on the north side of Park St., and stretches towards Bridge St. in the distance. The  Klondike had stood where the cars are now seen parked, way in the far center-left distance along Bridge St. The Klondike was demolished by Feb. 1980. The red line in the foreground shows where the diagonal railroad tracks had crossed Park St.
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W-d below - a May 17, 1978 Niagara Falls Review story, "A long history behind the Klondike Hotel". click photos to enlarge.

W-e above - the May 16, 1978 front page headline of the Niagara Falls Review: "City Hotel blasted by bomb, Four employees safe, 118 windows smashed". Click photos to enlarge.

X above - interior view of the Avon House (later the Klondike Hotel) as it looked Aug.12, 1961.

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X-a below - in 1917, WW I recruits are seen marching west along the south side of Bridge St.; the Arlington (later the Klondike) Hotel's prominent gable can be seen at the right.
Further east along the right is the rear of the Imperial Hotel (seen in L above). Note that in this photo, the rear tall windowed wall on the south side of the Imperial Hotel is clearly seen angled towards a rail line which ran behind it.
Behind the Imperial, is seen a bit of the Trennick hotel.

In the left distance the gable of the Grand Trunk train station can be seen (the Great Western was bought by the Grand Trunk on Aug.12, 1882. In 1923, the GTR became part of the Crown corporation CN rail)

At the near left are some of the freight sheds. Note in W-d above, the freight sheds are referred to as the Wabash sheds; in 1898 the Wabash Railroad gained rights from GTR to run trains through Ontario on its New York-state to Michigan-state cannonball runs.

Note the train travelling on Bridge St., as several tracks were on the south side of the station at the time (see S-c above), as well as on the north side.

X-b above - Apr.2010, same view, looking east down Bridge St.
The Arlington / Avon House / Klondike Hotel had once stood along the right [just past where the red parked car is] on the site of what is now the bus repair garage parking lot. The Imperial Hotel is gone, but the old Trennick / Europa Hotel building is still seen.

At the left, the now-CN Station gable is clearly seen, since the freight sheds along the left have all been demolished, making for an extra-wide street width.

Amtrak engine no.180 idles on the tracks north of the station; the tracks which ran on Bridge St. have long since been removed (still trying to find out when!)
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The old photos in this study are from the Niagara Falls, Ont. Library Archives; the recent photos are by R. Bobak. Thanks for visiting Right In Niagara!
See more old Then-and-Now Niagara historical photos in my links below!
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