Jun 29, 20235 min read

Niagara Falls, NY: Fallside Hotel

Address: 410 Buffalo Ave, Niagara Falls, NY 14303

Status: Partially demolished (2014), reopened as a Doubletree by Hilton (2016)

Elvis Dates: 1974-1975

I Visited On: June 4, 2023

My experience

Nothing to report.

History of the hotel

This hotel's history is heavily involved with the history of Niagara Falls, New York, itself, and it's a long one, so I've included a short and long history. Please, enjoy.

Short version

This high end hotel was built in 1957 as the Treadway Inn, and it helped bring in more tourism with a nice place to stay. In 1963, a bigger Treadway Inn was built 4 miles away, and the hotel was renamed the Parkway Inn. The inn was very popular, especially with major political figures. The fall of Niagara Falls, New York, and the inn, started with the Love Canal disaster (Google for more info) and continued with the election of mayor E. Dent Lackey and his urban renewal plan. The renewal plan included demolishing most of the historic buildings in downtown (regardless of their significance), and building a parkway through the middle or downtown that hindered traffic more than helped it. By the early 70s, residents were leaving town by the thousands; around the same time, the Parkway Inn became the Ramada Inn. In the mid-to-late 70s, the hotel rebranded, again, and became the Days Inn Riverview Hotel. Even though the hotel rebranded, again, and advertised things that not many hotels had at the time, the hotel was still outdated and declining fast. In 2005, the hotel rebranded, yet again, as the Fallside Hotel and Conference Center by Niagara Hospitalities, but it was still very outdated and they didn't even change the logo shape when they rebranded to the Fallside. In 2009, the hotel closed without warning. In 2014, two thirds of the hotel was demolished (the main building was demolished, leaving the wing). 2016 saw the opening of the Doubletree by Hilton, taking the place of the Fallside hotel.

Long version

BUILT IN 1957 on 3.8 acres as the Treadway Inn, the postcard advertisement for this high end inn stated that all the rooms had their own private A/C units with controls, "the most comfortable and modern furniture," and private TVs. This new property helped bring a new surge of tourism to Niagara Falls, New York, and was so well-loved and important to the community that in 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy delivered a speech in front of the inn during the presidential election campaign.

IN 1963, a bigger Treadway Inn was built 4 miles down the road, and the smaller one was renamed The Parkway Inn. At that time, the inn was noted as having the following: 200 rooms, a restaurant, a cocktail lounge, dining and public rooms, administration offices, and the Gaslight Terrace--built to "provide a turn-of-the-century atmosphere as an appropriate setting for the enjoyment of dining reminiscent of that period." With the name change, the Circle was also added. It was a dining area in a recessed floor. WHLD, the local radio station, also found its home in the inn. It was also a very popular spot among political figures.

THE FALL OF THE INN followed that of the town. Niagara Falls, New York started to decline around the 1940s with the beginning of the Love Canal disaster. The disaster involved a picturesque neighborhood with a strip of land down the middle, where a number of factories/plants in the immediate area dumped over 22,000 tons of around 200 different toxic chemicals from 1942-1953. The massive amounts of chemicals in the ground, in puddles in the streets, and rusted out drums in people's backyards, was lifting swimming pools out of the ground, burning children, killing animals, and turning the Niagara Falls into a rainbow chemical river, among other things. Decades after the dumping stopped, the disaster was still wreaking havoc in a big big way. Tourism started to dwindle, or obvious reasons, meaning the main revenue stream for the town was drying up. None of this was helped by the election of mayor E. Dent Lackey in 1963. His big claim to fame and the reason he was elected was his urban renewal idea. The renewal project called for the demolition of the town's historic downtown and the building of a new parkway (Robert Moses State Parkway--now demolished), which Lackey, himself, said ended up being more of a Great Wall of China, keeping the falls from the rest of the town. The parkway had an exit specifically for the Inn, but it still made it harder to get to.

If you've ever been to Niagara Falls, Canada, you'll notice that the Canadian-side is flourishing, while the American-side resembles a forgotten city of nothing but abandoned buildings. Ralph Aversa, a former city councilman and worker at the inn, said Canada was a lot smarter in their approach to their city. "Canada kept what they had and built around it, and we didn't. They realized earlier than we did the value of their historic downtown. We demolished and they rebuilt."

BY THE EARLY 1970s, people were leaving the town in the thousands due to the continuing chemical disaster, plummeting property values, and the city's heavily damaged reputation.

THE EARLY 70s also came with another name change and the Parkway Inn became the Ramada Inn.

IN THE MID-TO-LATE 1970s, the inn was rebranded, yet again, and became the Days Inn Riverview. Even though the inn advertised a Nintendo system in all the rooms, an outdoor heated pool, and close proximity to the casinos (the current hope for the town's economy), at this point, the inn was beyond outdated.

IN 2005, the inn lived to see one more rebranding, and was renamed the Fallside Hotel and Conference Center by Niagara Hospitalities. The hotel had so little money that they didn't even change the shape of the logo. At this point, the hotel was still very outdated, worn, and badly needing repairs. When open, the hotel was basically a zero-star hotel with nothing but absolutely horrendous reviews. Niagara Hospitalities filed for tax breaks, so they could afford to renovate, but the tax breaks were denied, and in 2009, the hotel closed without warning--they didn't even notify the staff.

ALMOST 3 YEARS LATER IN 2011, was when the first known pictures of the inside of the hotel were taken after closing. Some of the rooms in the hotel were still looked like they were in good enough condition to function, while others appeared like they were made of black mold and moss.

IN 2014, two thirds of the building were demolished (the main building was demoed, leaving the wing intact) and a new Doubletree by Hilton was built in its place. The new hotel has 194 guest rooms, an indoor pool and gym, a restaurant, and a patio facing the Niagara River.

Pictures of the abandoned Fallside Hotel, 2011

The last room in the slides is one of two suites Elvis might have stayed in.