To keep my summer vacation theme going for a few days, I'm posting a few 'then and now' shots that I took while up in Niagara Falls, Canada, last week.
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| 1952 Refectory Menu |
I saw this 1953 postcard (
above) of the
Refectory Restaurant on Ebay before we went up to the Falls and knew it would be an easy "then and now" subject to shoot as we would pass it many times during our stay. It faces the Falls.
The back of the postcard reads, "Dining at the famous Refectory Restaurant situated amid the gardens and beautiful trees and within a view of the Falls is a treat to be anticipated with pleasure by every visitor to the Niagara Parks. The restaurant is one of the three owned and operated by the Niagara Parks Commission."
An online
timeline of the Niagara Parks reveals that the restaurant was built in 1904, and replaced an earlier version built in 1860. It also explains that the word 'refectory' refers to the room used for meals in a monastery.
Here's a
link to a page on the Niagara Falls Public Library website about some ghostly goings-on at the restaurant. There's also some great vintage photos of the place through the years.
Anyway, here is my "now" shot of the restaurant (
below), which is now apparently known as
Edgewaters Restaurant.
The restaurant has been expanded and modified many times in its more than hundred years of existence. That's part of the Skylon Tower visible in the background.
Here's a
link to the restaurant's website.
