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Step inside the newly renovated Giacomo Hotel by clicking on the link to the audio slideshow created by award-winning Niagara Gazette photographer James Neiss.
THE GIACOMO: Read all about the Falls' newest luxury botique hotel
“United Office Building to Create Impression of Strength, Security”
Niagara Gazette headline, March 20, 1929.
It was an a very dark day when they first opened the United Office Building in Niagara Falls. Fortunes were crumbling across the country at the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929.
Despite such an infamous introduction, the building rose tall into the sky in the city’s South End and the citizenry seemed to embrace its existence as a standard bearer of prosperity and hope.
Throughout it’s early life it was home to some of the top business names in the city, before it was abandoned in the 1980’s.
The elegant, art deco structure with its distinctive monochromatic-colored brick and decorative Mayan sculptures became the topic of much tangled bargaining as many government agencies and private developers tried and failed to breath life back into the abandoned structure.
For a long time it stood, empty, crumbling and towering over the city 20 stories high, a reminder to anyone who looked up of great promise gone sour.
About ten years ago Buffalo Developer Carl Paladino purchased the building for $1 under the auspices of First Street Group, which included investors Joe Castle and Joe Mosey.
“There was a tree growing out of the roof and five fee of water in the basement,” said James Oliver, general manager of the building, which now includes 27 upscale apartments, office space and a boutique hotel, with luxury service for all tenants from a Towne car to laundry service and full breakfasts each morning.
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On a clear day the sight is a revelation — even to those who profess to know their city well ... the beholder realizes the great strides that have been made in this wonderful city of beauty and opportunity.
Niagara Gazette, Oct. 29, 1929.
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The $10 million renovation yielded a rebirth that will provide much needed luxury accommodations to the city’s tourist region and — along with the new West Mall area — may raise the tide on the entire South End. Certainly, much like in the days it was first opened, the views from the windows bring rave reviews.
“I love it. It’s great,” said Patricia Carter, who moved into the building from her home in Texas to be closer to her Canadian parents.
“There are six large windows in my living room which allow me to see the rapids and falls,” Carter said. “My parents have been here quite a few times. I can never get them to leave. They say when they come visit it’s almost like they're on a little vacation.”
Along with the 27 apartments, the building hosts a 38 room boutique hotel with all the accouterments distinctive to elegant travel, from plush robes in the bathrooms, sunken tubs and fireplaces, and fine linen.
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“The opening of the building marks a new era in the history of Niagara Falls,”
Niagara Gazette, Oct. 29, 1929.
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Each hotel room and the first floor lounge and lobby area were decorated by Clarence artist Donna Wojcik, who combined rich earthy tones of plum and gold and green throughout.
“I felt like the building kind of called out for what it wanted,” she said. “I also wanted to keep it classic, elegant, and not too overdone.”
There is a waterfall in the bar area, and standing guard at the fireplace in the sitting area near the check-in desk, are two large Mayan figures crafted from casts of the figures that decorate the exterior of the building.
“There’s a lot of positive energy in that building,” she said. “It feels good.”
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“With the upper stories of the new building illuminated the spectacle presented at night will be most beautiful.”
Niagara Gazette, Oct. 29, 1929.
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Buffalo developer, Carl Paladino, of Ellicott Development, led the effort after a career of successfully undertaking similar projects in the city of Buffalo, including the Pasquale at Waterfront Place and the Bellasara on Delaware Avenue.
“It was an interesting challenge,” Paladino said. “I think this hotel will inspire other projects.”
The Giacomo, named after his uncle, is not quite perfect yet, Paladino said.
“As soon as we get the lighting all figured out for the upper end ... that will be like putting the crown on the jewel for me,” said Paladino whose company, Ellicott Development, is also renovating Haeberle Plaza.
“Lighting up the top of the building is a big thing for me,” he said. “It’s been dark for so long.”
Contact reporter Michele DeLucaat 282-2311, ext. 2263.
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