Monday, December 7, 2009

Gale arena

below: 1930 - an aerial view of the Cyanamid plant. Note the Niagara River and the Whirlpool seen at the upper right; and the NS&T streetcar tracks at the bottom right.below: Cyanamid Summer: another view of the infamous Cyanamid plant in Niagara Falls, Ont., in the summer of 1949.
Stanley Ave. is seen along the bottom;
A - marks the right of way of the former NST streetcar line;
B - marks where the YMCA would later be built, on Fourth Ave. just north of the tracks;
C - marks where the Gale Arena would be built in 2009;
D - marks where Fourth Ave. is.
The Niagara River is seen in the upper centre-left.
At the bottom of the below photo (just to the left of where the letter "S" in "Stanley Ave." is) can be seen a number of small buildings facing Stanley Ave., stretching back along the curve towards the bridge over the hydro canal. This was where McGibbon's Inn and Cabins stood, at 87 Stanley Ave., managed by John J. McGibbon. The cabins were still extant in 1967; not sure when they were torn down.
below: looking north towards the end of Fourth Ave. at the gates of the Cyanamid Plant, in July 1995. This photo would have been taken from the spot marked 'D' above. The driveway to the YMCA parking lot was at the near left. Also note the red fire hydrant standing at the east side of the street, at the centre far right of the below photo - it can be seen again in 2009 three photos further below.
Above three photos from the Niagara Falls Library digital archive
above - Jun.5, 2009, same view as above, looking north along Fourth Ave at the Bob Gale arena being built at the left. This entire area in the distance was once the industrial location of the Cyanamid plant, as seen in the previous above shots. Note the same chain link fence is seen at the left in both above shots, except that now, the gate which crossed the road is gone; the area at the near left, inside the fence, was the YMCA parking lot. The gates to the factory, where Fourth Ave. ended (as seen previously above with the stop sign) had stood along the very bottom of the above photo.
above: Mar.20, 2009 - the fence in the foreground is the same fence seen in the second-above 1995 photo - it's the part of the fence at the centre-left, just left of the gates. A part of the Gale Arena's east side wall/staircase is seen in the upper distance of the above shot. Note that the gate across the road (at the far right) is still standing on this date.
above: Mar.20, 2009 - the same fence with the same stop sign is seen above, which was also seen in the earlier 1995 photo. Note the south-side steel structure of the Gale Arena rising in the distance. Note a corner of the YMCA building is seen at the left - see more on the Y here. Note the red fire hydrant in the centre, which is on the east side of the street, is the same fire hydrant seen in the 1995 photo earlier above.
above - July 27, 2009, same view, sidewalks and curbs are in, road graveled and compacted
The corner of the YMCA fence is seen at the far left.
above - same view, July 28, 2009 -  the road has just been freshly paved
above - Mar.5, 2009, the old Niagara Falls YMCA building sits abandoned at the left; in the distance can be seen the beginnings of the concrete walls of the Gale arena.
above - Jun.5, 2009, same view as previous photo, still looking north along Fourth Ave. Just before where the yellow excavator is seen is where the right of way of the old NST interurban streetcar line once crossed Fourth Ave.; this line ran from Bridge St. in Niagara Falls to downtown St.Catharines. In the left distance the steel skeleton of the arena can be seen.
above - July 27, 2009, same view, road is gravelled and ready for paving on the next day; the arena's structural steel is taking shape in the centre distance.
above - same view, July 28, 2009, the new road freshly paved
above - Mar.20, 2009, looking south down Fourth Ave.; the old NST streetcar right of way is seen in the foreground; note crossing sign at the right.
above - Jun.5, 2009, same view during reconstruction of the road. Note the railcrossing sign post is now laying on the ground at right.
above - Jun.27, 2009, same view, the road is graveled, ready for paving. New sidewalk is angled where the rail right of way once ran.
above - Jun.28, 2009, same view, road newly paved this day

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