Dec 28 2008
Oneida’s Memory Lane
Here is a walk down the City of Oneida’s memory lane. Click on photos to enlarge
Above: The old Oneida High School, circa 1917. In the 1950 a new High School was built and this became the Junior High School, consisting of grades 7-9. Sometime in the first half of the 1970’s the new High School was expanded to include 9th graders. A new Junior High (now called a middle school) was built and this was closed in the early 1980’s. A developer wanted to turn the building into condominiums but residents in the neighborhood (a state historic district) opposed it. The building has been empty of people since the school closed and is now inhabited by animals and rodents and reeks of their feces. In a terrible state of repair it is scheduled for demolition this coming year. All of this because a bunch of well-to-do people, who for decades had put up with school buses and kids didn’t want increased traffic which a handful of condo tenants would have caused. Money is the root of all evil and the cause of a great deal of stupidity.
One of the feeder canals used to supply water to the Erie Canal which borders the city. Note the two trolleys on the right side of the street, and the horse and carriage on the left. This photo was taken from Main Street Looking towards Elizabeth St. The latter street is where the old High School was located.
Another view of the canal feeder. This photo was taken circa 1906.
The Oneida Hotel. Once the hot spot in Oneida, it hosted many big name performers, including the Glenn Miller Orchestra. I once saw a documentary on Glenn Miller in which one of the band members mentioned performing here. More recently it hosted recording artist Benny Mardones, a perennial favorite in upstate New York. There is a beautifully ornate barroom in the basement, but the building has been vacant for several years. My Uncle’s band played here on a number of occasions.
Sunset over Crystal Lake, circa 1908.
Sunset Lake
The New York Central Railroad Train Depot, circa 1909
Above: City Park, circa 1910
The North Broad Street Elementary School. This is where I attended school. Had this photo been taken after 1929 you would be able to see a little of my parish church in the back left corner. Had it been taken in the 1950’s you would probably also see a part of the rectory. The old parish church, a wooden structure, was located on the other side of the street.
The corner of Main and Cedar Streets. The bridge spans the feeder canal.
Madison Street.
The Drake Building is in the foreground. It burned in the 1980’s. The building right next to it was a bar, it too was lost in the fire. The third building was, at the time of the photo, a movie theater. It was turned into a bowling alley at some point and time and survived the Drake fire, unfortunately, it burned down a few years ago. None of the buildings have been replaced and there is now nothing there but an overgrown plot of land.
A celebration on Madison Street around 1910. I’m guessing from the bunting that it’s Independence Day. The Madison House is on this street bu nearly impossible to identify. Due to its proximity to the Main Street Train Depot, its comfortable accommodations, and outstanding food, it was a popular layover spot for statesmen, men of industry, and entertainers. The list includes Senator Bobby Kennedy and one Abraham Lincoln from Washington D.C., by way of Illinois. Lincoln stopped over in Oneida as he made his roundabout way to Washington for his inauguration. Sadly, President Lincoln would pass through Oneida again, on Wednesday, April 26 1865, as his funeral train traced his inaugural journey in reverse. The Madison House still serves good food and “spirits” but the hotel rooms have been converted into apartments.
The Main Street Trolley Stop #21. I’m not sure but this looks like an elevated area, making me wonder if the station didn’t load and unload over the feeder canal. When the city streets were paved they apparently just covered over the old trolley tracks. When I was in grade school Lexington Ave. was torn up and repaved an I got to see the old tracks and the cobble stone paving.
St Patrick’s Church.
The 1911 train wreck (on East Railroad Street?). My mother witnessed a train/car collision on Main Street when she was a girl. She saw one of her teachers get ejected from the car and strike a building about forty yards away. My Grandfather (her father) was a fireman and he witnessed a collision between a train and one of the city’s fire engines. He had the gruesome task of helping to clean up the body parts of his fellow firefighters. Just a few years ago a train derailment in the city made national headlines, and we were forced to evacuate. A cop came into the Church just after Mass, during the Rosary recitation to order us out.
An unidentified General Store. The photo was taken in 1910.
Upper Broad Street, circa 1930. The sidewalls are made of thick, flat slate, and many of those walks still exist on Main, Broad, and Elizabeth Streets ect.
The Spring Street Feeder Canal.
Allen Park in the 1930’s. The park is still lined with beautiful trees.
The Savoy Apartments on the corner of Main and Washington, circa 1930. The place became a sewer hole but was fixed up nicely in the 1990’s.
A snowbound Main Street around 1909. The mode of transportation has changed but the weather remains the same.
The 1906 Centennial Parade.
Main Street, 1941.
Main Street in the 1950’s. Grant’s Department Store is on the right; next to it is H.L. Green’s, it closed a few years ago. Green’s had a soda fountain/lunch counter where I often got sundaes. Next to Green’s is the old Kallet Theater (see the marquee). Mister Kallet, an immigrant, came to Oneida with nothing more than a cart-load of produce. Needless to say, he did quite well for himself. At the time this photo was taken a kid could go there at ten o’clock on a Saturday morning and watch movies till mid-afternoon. It was turned into a roller skating rink in the late 70’s and is now a civic center. The Oneida Savings Bank is in the foreground on the left; it’s still there today. Next to it is the old Woolworth’s Store. The person who took the photo would be standing right in front of the Oneida Hotel. Source of Photos.
Do you happen to have a picture of the old Santa Clause house that was located in Higginbotham park at Christmas time?
Is it something you need for your organization? Perhaps asking area churches to place a request in their Sunday bulletins for such a photo might get you somewhere.