970 Oliver Street.jpg
Dublin Core
Title
970 Oliver Street.jpg
Description
970 Oliver (between 16th and 17th Avenues) has been an apartment building, a tavern, a delicatessen, a dry cleaners and more. It appears on a 1908 map, when much of the Avenues was still undeveloped. The building *may* have acquired its distinctive wood shingles when the Creo-Dipt / Weatherbest Corporation was located just north (see 1951 map: Creo-Dipt sold stained shingles worldwide).
The newspapers tell of an interesting incident that happened here in September 1925, during Prohibition. An intoxicated man walked into the "drinkery" around 11 pm, pretending to be a dry agent (one who enforces anti-alcohol laws). After failing to convince the men gathered there to give him money, he pulled out a revolver, at which point the men disarmed him and threw him into Oliver Street. He drove away, only to get into a car accident and be taken away by police. Police soon connected him to a series of "petting party" robberies that had taken place in the remote lovers' lanes and outskirts of the Tonawandas over the previous month.
- 1907: Ad for furniture in Tonawanda News, household goods for sale
- 1908: Appears on a map, maybe "W. Dier" property (see images)? 1903 a William Dier is identified as living on Young Street in Tonawanda; March 2, 1905 a William Dier "dies suddenly," lived on (100) Ellicott Creek.
- 1910: Ad for Toni Trocki renting rooms
- 1917(6?): 11-19 Peter Harber fined for not sending his 15 year-old daughter Alice to school
- 1922-02-18: A vagrant whom occupant Albert Clench and Thomas Conklin had permitted to sleep in the basement started a fire on his mattress by smoking, and disappears.
- 1923-01-27: Albert Clench dies at 58, survived by wife, 5 children and brother in Tonawanda. Worked at Buffalo Bolt.
- 1925-04: Resident Mrs. Anna Gworek is charged with failing to make her 8 year-old daughter attend school. In court she claimed she could not afford to clothe the child properly. "Mrs. Gworek is the mother of five small children. She gave her occupation in court as a housekeeper. She said her husband, who goes under several names, abandoned her and their family a year ago last January. Mrs Gworek said the last she heard of him he was employed in a hotel at Wheeling West Pa." The Red Cross was asked to take up the plight of the family. Stucki, Tokbouski, Wald other associated names of this time.
- 1925-09-28: "Drinkery of Anthony Jaubowski" [sic] is held up by man pretending to be a dry agent, later connected to a series of "petting party" robberies. See article
- 1926-01-06: Anthony Jakubowski given 12 mos probation after pleading guilty to assaulting wife. "His wife accused him of non-support of herself and their four small children, in addition to assault. Yakubowski said he would ignore the probation...A request to separate from his family was denied by the court.
- 1933: MacPherson Carpenter (tavern?).
- 1934-12 :Grand Opening of Maerten's Tavern (formerly at 57 Fredericka).
- 1935 Maerten's Tavern hosts "Pedro Card Party," Euchre, men-only.
- 1935-06-28: Martin's Tavern advertises they are going out of business, "Last Fish Fry Tonight" (he dies in October).
- 1940: DeWitt Lindsay dies.
- 1947-1954: A "retail beer license" granted to "Lindsay's Market" (in 1954 to B&A Fisher).
- 1951: As shown on the map, the building is now close to the Creo-Dipt / Weatherbest plant. Is this when it took on its distinctive coat of wood shingles?
- 1955: "Thompson and Son Produce"; Promises "chickens fresh killed."
- 1957: "Gratwick Dry Cleaners"
- 1964-1967: Ad selling for "3 apartments, 4 single rooms, storefront."
- 1976: Remodel permit of $1300.
- 1979: A man living there is charged with selling PCP, part of November 1978 raids rounding up more than 50 teenagers and young adults in Tonawandas.
Citation
“970 Oliver Street.jpg,” North Tonawanda History, accessed September 28, 2024, https://nthistory.com/items/show/2821.