FIRE AND WATER ~ DISASTERS ON THE BUFFALO HARBOR
AND THE
SURROUNDING WATERFRONT
“Fire and Water” features over forty-five catastrophic and near catastrophic events that include:
- Barge 45 impaled on the Peace Bridge – 1986.
- Pillsbury Mill Explosion – 1972
- Destruction of the Michigan Avenue Bridge – 1951
- General Mills Fire – 1940
- The Gale of 1921
- Minnesota ore dock disaster – 1900
More than 300 photos, maps, and illustrations complete this comprehensive volume.
Printed on high quality gloss paper.
Soft Cover.
254 pages including index and bibliography.
$33.00 includes New York State sales tax and media rate shipping.
THE BUFFALO WATERFRONT ~ A HISTORY IN PICTURES
The Buffalo Waterfront - A History in Pictures presents over 120 years of history of the Buffalo Harbor. It tracks the evolution of the inner and outer harbors and the Black Rock Canal by comparing archival photographs of the significant structures and features to contemporary images. Included are plans and illustrations of proposed waterfront developments and rejected proposals from the late 19th and the 20th centuries that were not meant to be.
All segments of Buffalo's waterfront are presented: Buffalo River Entrance Channel • Watson Turning Basin • City Ship Canal • Upper Buffalo River • Outer Harbor • Erie and Black Rock Canals • Slips and Ancillary Canals.
and private collections that span 120 years from from 1890 to present day.
• Maps and illustrations that depict changes to the harbor's shoreline.
• Perspective maps orient the reader to the camera
location relative to the subject in select images.
• Introductory text to each chapter and informative photo captions provide
an overview of the rich history of the Buffalo's waterfront.
• 226 pages printed on high quality gloss paper, indexed with bibliography.
$33.00 each. Price includes NYS sales tax and media rate shipping.
The sounds, scents and screams that emanated from the midway spanned many generations and eras. Crystal Beach Park: A Century of Screams presents the growth and development of Crystal Beach and the people behind the park from its start as a picnic grove in 1890 to a major amusement park through its 1989 demise.
All of the rides that populated the midway through the century are presented with more than 300 vintage photographs, including more than 30 color images and blueprints. The midway was known for offering a smorgasbord of rides that ranged from the sedate to the sadistic.
Printed on high quality stock, this 262-page book includes a comprehensive index and bibliography. Other features of this book include:
- Vivid details about more than 100 of the park's major rides.
- Original blueprints of the Comet, Magic Carpet, Laff in the Dark, Caterpillar and the famous dance hall.
- Unique site plans that illustrate the many physical changes throughout the park over the decades.
The wealth of information and vintage photographs are meticulously arranged in chronological eras. The presentation allows readers to explore the evolution of this magical place, from its modest beginning as a picnic grove to a major entertainment mecca.
$33.00 each. Price includes NYS sales tax and media rate shipping.
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$35.00 each. Price includes NYS sales tax and media rate shipping.
ENTERTAINERS FROM BUFFALO AND TORONTO AND MORE
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$30.00 each. Price includes NYS sales tax and media rate shipping.
Against the Grain tells the story of a group of mostly Irish immigrants who toiled in the hulls of grain ships and in other waterfront industries in an area called the First Ward of Buffalo, New York. The First Ward was a geographically isolated area of Buffalo primarily inhabited by settlers from the south and west of Ireland, but was also home to enough Germans, Poles, and Italians to make life even more interesting. This economically deprived area produced an abundance of historically important people including Fingy Conners, the largest private employer on the Great Lakes; Michael Shea, Buffalo’s greatest entertainment showman; “Wild Bill” Donovan, the founding father of what became the CIA; John Sheehan, one-time Tammany Hall boss; Jimmy Slattery, the Light Heavyweight Champion of the World; and Jimmy Griffin, the longest serving mayor in Buffalo history. The stories of other lesser-known but equally important Ward residents such as Mike Quinn, Jack White, Algie McGuire, Roggie Lavin, Father Thomas Conway, the McCarthy brothers, and even Rick James are also told. Readers will also learn about historical events that Ward residents were thrust into such as the Tidal Wave of 1844, the Fenian Raid, violent railroad strikes, the Great Strike of 1899, the Tewksbury Disaster, and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway—the ultimate cause of the demise of Buffalo’s waterfront economy.
275 pages
More than 60 photos
Index
$28.00 each includes NYS sales tax and media rate shipping
A richly illustrated story from the glory days of passenger travel on the Great Lakes.
For decades Canada Steamship Lines proclaimed itself as the world’s largest transportation company operating on inland waters. Its passenger and freight vessels could be found on the Great Lakes as far west as Duluth, Minnesota, and as far east as the Lower St. Lawrence River.
The passenger steamers were known collectively as the Great White Fleet. These ships – from day-excursion vessels to well-appointed cruise ships – had rich histories. The sheer scope of these passenger services were a wonder to behold. No fewer than 51 steamers comprised the passenger fleet at the company’s inception in 1913, and its network of routes was awesome.
This is the story of the beloved steamers of the Great
White Fleet from 1913–65, when the passenger vessels stopped running.
Nearly half a century after the last passenger boats sailed, this book
will provide a window into a wonderful lost way of life.
Hard Cover
142 pages
Loaded with photos and illustrations
Index
$39.00 each includes NYS sales tax and media rate shipping
"Jones was acknowledged to be one of the best, if not the best, shipbuilder of his time. All five of his sons became shipbuilders, and all owned yards. This one family had more influence on the era of wooden ships on the Great Lakes than any other individual or family, and together they built more vessels than any other family on the chain of lakes." Dr. Richard J. Wright wrote this in his thesis, Adz, Caulk and Rivets.
Augustus Jones settled at the Mouth of the Black River in 1818 with his family from Essex, Connecticut. This new book helps tell the fabulous story of Augustus and his five sons and the vessels they built all over the Great Lakes."
Soft cover
360 pages
$33.00 each includes NYS sales tax and media rate shipping.