Posted Jan 13, 2009, 5:20 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 225
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Talking to a friend - he is guessing the windows exposed were probably from the Diamond Jim's days...
Amy Kenny did a fantastic timeline about this location in he December issue of H.
1906: Local architect and merchant Charles Mills founds Mills Hardware Co.—a hardware store for farmers. The retail space starts out on John Street and moves to Barton. It eventually ousts the J.B. Gay Bookstore when it moves into 95 King Street East in 1911.
1929: A fire results in $36, 000 worth of damage.
1935: Mills Hardware consolidates its offices at the King Street location and shuts down all other Hamilton locations. From his King Street headquarters, Mills also runs retail outlets in Galt and Burlington.
1950’s: Mills becomes the Golden Rail, a live music venue that attracts the likes of Ronnie Hawkins—the singer who brought the members of The Band together when he employed them as backing musicians. Across the street, at the Royal Connaught Hotel, is where Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson will first announce their decision to split from Hawkins and become one of Canada’s best-loved rock outfits.
1966: Herman Laufer leaves his cozy Florida retirement to open an 1890’s San Fransisco-era tavern in Hamilton. Diamond Jim’s Tavern opens at 95 King Street East in 1968. People say a working man’s town like Hamilton won’t support such an establishment, but the Tavern takes off. A giant sign above the front doors features a larger-than-life rendering of Laufer—top-hatted and holding a diamond-tipped cane, his neon-lit arms welcome patrons into the luxe establishment. Waitresses wear feather plumes and dangle from ceiling swings. Plush, red velvet seating matches the stage curtains. Hamiltonians visit to dine, dance and play the authentic Monte Carlo roulette tables and Conklin carnival slots. People pay to see bands like The Sugar Shop, the Five Bells, Ricky Francis and the Ink Spots. Though he lives in Toronto, Laufer’s hectic schedule means he keeps a room at the Royal Connaught Hotel, for the nights he can’t make it home.
1971: Kitchener lawyer Sheldon Kosky buys Diamond Jim’s outright from partner Max Mintz—the restaurant owner who hatched the plan for the bar with Laufer back in 1965.
1978: After owners default on the mortgage, local mortgage broker Ronald Vexler buys the bar for $485, 000. This is a far cry from the $800, 000 Laufer spent remodelling the interior of the building into a 500-seat Tavern years earlier.
1989: Bannister’s is one of a handful of downtown bars that is busted in an undercover operation aimed at cleaning up the city’s cocaine scene. Police arrest waitresses, dancers, bouncers, managers and bartenders at Bannister’s, Pandora’s Place, Gangster’s Roadhouse, Hanrahan’s, The Balmoral Tavern, Eddie’s Lounge and Debonair.
1993: Arson is suspected after the fire department is called to a 4am fire at Bannister’s.
2008: The city buys Maxim’s strip club under power of sale. Councillor Brian McHattie announces plans to convert the space to public housing—a move that will provide much needed residential space and rid the King Streetscape of the dirty pink stucco façade, with its signs boasting ice cold beer and hot ladies. H
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