Jun 24, 20234 min read

Niagara Falls, NY: Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center

Address: 310 4th St, Niagara Falls, NY 14303

Opened: 1973

Status: Formerly closed (2002), reopened (2004) as the Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino

Designed By: Johnson/Burgee Architects and Jane Davis Doggett

Elvis Dates:

June 24, 1974

July 13, 1975

I Visited On: June 4, 2023

My experience

A couple of months before my trip to Niagara Falls, I looked up places in the area. The Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center isn't a building that's easily forgotten. While driving to dinner our first night in town, I was staring out the window and caught a glimpse of the convention center between two buildings before it disappeared. I'm pretty sure I gasped loudly and said, "No! No way!" (lol) I didn't think I'd remember it after that long and prior to that moment, I didn't even know where it was in Niagara. We ended up parking right in front of it and walking to dinner.

The convention center is massive and absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, since I was only 20 years old at the time this trip, I wasn't able to venture further into the building that is now a casino.

History of the site

Opened in 1973 as a part of a Niagara Falls renewal project, this multi-purpose center with a 10,000 person capacity was built in the middle of downtown, just 5 minutes away from the falls. Designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects and Jane Davis Doggett, the convention center's arched design was inspired by the rainbows often seen above and in the mist of Niagara Falls, so said Philip Johnson, architect. Apparently, locals have long-joked that the center looks like a Quonset hut - I thought the same thing when I first saw pictures of it.

During its lifetime, the convention center was home to the NCAA's Niagara Falls Purple Eagles men's basketball team from 1973-1982 and 1988-1996. It also hosted bowling tournaments, wrestling and gymnastics events, among may others. There were a lot of big names that performed there, including Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, Phish, the Notorious B.I.G, etc.

Elvis at the convention center

Story: https://www.publish0x.com/a-brief-history-of/my-lucky-sister-saw-elvis-perform-live-two-years-in-a-row-xxzpgko

Newspaper article about June 24, 1974 (3 p.m. show)

"Elvis' Super '50s Star Still Bright"

By Bob Kostoff

Buffalo Courier-Express

June 1974

NIAGARA FALLS - The afternoon Elvis Presley concert, which had officials worried for a variety of security reasons, went off smoother than Elvis' voice Monday.

Not to say that the rock n roll superstar of the '50s didn't perform admirably. he did.

And his fans, many of the older variety sprinkled with a goodly number of new ones, showed their enjoyment with noisy enthusiasm.

But, for the most part, the 10,000-plus fans were orderly, kept so, no doubt, by the tight security measures.

Lt. Charles Schmahl of the convention center-metro unit said there were no particular traffic problems with incoming traffic just prior to the 3 p.m. starting time.

The afternoon show had been billed as a "sellout". but $10 tickets for the performance were on sale at the box office. Several persons out front were attempting to sell tickets they couldn't use, but police were watchful there was no "scalping" going on.

Elvis didn't appear until after the intermission at 4 p.m. and sang most of his popular hits until 4:50 p.m. The warmup show was creditable, especially the singing of the Impressions, but the crowd restlessly awaited its hero.

VERVE, ENTHUSIASM

Elvis was a little more subdued than the Elvis of old, but only slightly so. He sang with verve, movement, enthusiasm. The occasional bumps and grinds of old, accompanied to drum rolls, brought shrieks from distaff members of the audience.

Many of his grinding body movements came with the suggestive song "Fever," not one of Elvis' better numbers, but sufficiently motorized to keep the crowd near fever pitch.

He worked mostly up tunes of past fame: "I Got A Woman," "All Shook Up." "Hound Dog," "Teddy Bear." And he threw in a couple of fairly new ones, "Let Me Be There" and "Help Me," from his new album.

Elvis also went through dozens of scarfs, tossing them to front row admirers. He made sure the scarfs went around his neck before passing them to the public.

At the end, the crowd surged through a rope around the west end of the stage, but security men clasped hands and held the crowd away from Elvis.

Traffic continued heavy as fans began pouring into the city for the 8:30 p.m. concert, but, again, there were no serious tieups.

Setlist: June 24, 1974 (3 p.m.)