I commented a while ago that HOCO had put up some new signs for Dinosaur Park Miniature Golf. It turns out that at least one of the signs was temporary. Beside the large T-Rex, there is now a nice neon sign that turns/spins at night.
I also noticed that the torches on the main sign are now lit up again. I don’t know if they had problems with them or not, but I hadn’t seen a flame in months.
I hope you all read the article in the Globe and Mail about Greg Frewin. It had some great information on him and how he ended up in Niagara Falls.
There were also some unexpected interesting tidbits. One of those was information about who owns the land. In a previous posting, Dan and Rick had a brief exchange about the building next to the Greg Frewin Theatre that has been under construction for a while. The Globe and Mail article says that future hotel, the theatre, and the Days Inn & Suites are all owned by Ashak Merani. If you look at this Google Maps screenshot, it looks like Mr. Merani owns that entire city block.
A Google search for Mr. Merani’s name brought up a few interesting hits:
- His company is (or at least was) 1174757 ONTARIO INC. He is also president (or at least was) of Niacan Ltd. I think one company became the other.
- He was an investor in the TV station that was proposed for the region, TVN
- Before renovating the property where the Greg Frewin Theatre is, it held an entertainment facility called CyberPort. There were some legal problems with the contractors and CyberPort.
From Niagara This Week:
The grassroots citizens group which successfully lobbied the Niagara Parks Commission to scrap plans for a controversial gondola ride at Table Rock in 2004 has once again stepped forward, this time to fight a proposal for a hotel expansion the group says will block the final unobstructed view of the falls in the Fallsview district.
Preserve Our Parks, the group which led the fight against the gondola plans, met last week to formulate its strategy to fight the expansion plans for the Marriott Fallsview Hotel.
Mel Grunstein, a member of Preserve Our Parks, said the hotel proposal has the potential to rile up Falls residents.
“The citizens of Niagara Falls are relatively laid back,” said Mel Grunstein. “This proposal is another issue that will awaken the sleeping giant.”
The Niagara 21st Group, owners of the Marriott, asked city hall to release it from a pedestrian deck agreement in place since 1991. The pact, which restricts use of the land and air rights to only a pedestrian deck to the south and east of the current hotel building, originated in the early 1960s.
Niagara 21st made the request so it could move forward with design plans and apply for rezoning for the lands with all the required studies and reports.
Note/Update: A previous commentor had mentioned this a week ago…
From the Niagara Falls Review:
Ed Werner, founding president of Horn Abbot Ltd., which introduced Trivial Pursuit, has been appointed to the board of the Niagara Parks Commission.
A longtime Niagara resident, Werner’s involvement in the success of the Trivial Pursuit board game has been recognized with an Outstanding Business Achievement award from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and induction into the Canadian Toy Industry Hall of Fame. Parks commission Chairman Jim Williams welcomed Werner as a “great acquisition.”
“You need good business sense around the table when you’re making multi-million dollar decisions,” said Williams.
The Globe and Mail has an amazing article about Greg Frewin! It is 5 pages long on the web (it must have been a very lengthy article in the actual newspaper) and talks about Greg’s childhood, his rise to stardom, and how he ended up in Niagara Falls. It also talks about the challenges they’ve faced in getting the theatre going. It is an excellent read, and I highly recommend it!
It’s Saturday night in Niagara Falls. SUVs and minibuses inch their way up Clifton Hill, past the Marvel Superhero Adventure City, past Dracula’s Haunted Castle and Guinness World Records Museum, past the Movieland Wax Museum of the Stars and the House of Frankenstein. The sidewalks are crammed with weary parents, overstimulated kids and casino-bound tourists loaded with cheap souvenirs and cash.
Just off the main drag, a trickle of cars negotiates the turn at a low-slung yellow building with a three-storey-high billboard that shouts, “Las Vegas Has Arrived.”
Above this bold claim appears the face of Greg Frewin, posed next to a white Siberian tiger. While Frewin’s name has none of the cachet of David Copperfield or Siegfried and Roy, to magic buffs, he is the International Grand Champion– the most highly decorated magician in the world and the star of one of Niagara Falls’s newest tourist attractions. He has worked some of the biggest rooms on the Vegas strip: the Flamingo, Caesars Palace, the Tropicana. He’s made a cruise ship disappear on live TV and, in an illusion called the Drop of Doom, he has escaped from a wooden crate dangling from a helicopter over the Mediterranean.
In May, 2005, Frewin staged what may be his most daring trick yet: He opened an eponymous 700-seat dinner theatre in this tourist mecca.
On Saturday I received the latest issue of the Falls Avenue Newsletter. The newsletter highlights some Fall packages, New Year’s Eve packages, and also has some information about changes to the Brock Plaza hotel:
To subscribe, visit their “Spin to Win” page and fill out the form. Be sure to check that you’d “like to receive news on Niagara Falls discounts and seasonal special eMail”.
From the Niagara Falls Review:
People might see Laurie Little’s painted pumpkins and think she has a plum gig.
They don’t see the nights on the Internet tracking new trends. Or the endless travelling to shows across Canada. Or the frequent trips to the U.S. scouting the competition.
By the time she gets around to actual painting, some serious legwork went into it.
“I’m always down in the States doing different conventions and research,” said the Welland artist, preparing for this weekend’s 15th annual Art By the Falls show at Optimist Park.
“I carry more luggage under my eyes because we’re up till two or three in the morning getting ready.”
It’s always worth the worry - Art By the Falls is one of her top money-makers every year.
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