Village of Gowanda c. 1900
Looking west from the head of East Main Street (center of photo). Prominent along East Main is the 4-story Grand Central
Hotel, built in 1879. Its life was long and eventful. For a time it was called "The Villiage Inn" and then, remodeled with
balconies on the front, restored to its original name. Never a very profitable enterprise in a village with several small hotels,
the hotel was transformed after the top two floors burned in the 1920's. The surviving structure was converted into
apartments with a grocery store on the ground floor. In 1996, another fire struck the building and it was leveled.
Today, the lot serves as a parking lot for the Municipal Building.