NIAGARA FALLS — What was once one of the more popular hot spots in the Falls, as well as the scene of a cold case homicide and a multiple alarm fire, is being reduced to ruins.
Demolition crews began work Monday morning tearing down the former Pharoah’s Nightclub, 1919 Whirlpool St., after city officials said the property owner failed to respond to a May 10 order from the Falls’ director of code enforcement, to demolish the structure within 30 days.
The owner of the property is listed in city records as 1932 Main St. LLC. That company is linked to an address in Ridge, NY, that is tied to Nicholas Garone, a former All-American collegiate wrestler and boxing promoter.
In a brief phone conversation Monday evening, Garone declined to comment on the demolition or address the issues surrounding it.
The ongoing demolition is being performed by a contractor hired by the city. Bids for the demolition were opened on Wednesday and awarded on Friday.
“We have communicated with the property owner and had hoped he would have addressed (the demolition order),” Mayor Robert Restaino said last week. “Unfortunately, that did not happen and so we will need to take action as we have in other situations.”
City officials also said they acted to begin tearing down the structure after a demolition contractor reportedly hired by Garone failed to provide proof of insurance or a license to operate in the city. Restaino said the cost of the demolition would be billed to 1932 Main St. LLC.
City building inspectors said they had determined that the former nightclub building was in “a state of significant disrepair and now requires demolition.” The inspectors said that both the interior and exterior walls of the structure were buckling and in danger of collapse.
They also said the building was in violation of state fire prevention codes.
The nightclub was a popular spot along the Main Street bar scene in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
It had been shuttered before a fast-moving fire ripped through the two-story structure in the early morning hours of July 14, 2003. After the flames were brought under control, Falls firefighters found badly burned human remains underneath some debris. The remains were later identified by a forensic pathologist as those of a woman.
Her cause of death was listed as “homicide by beating.” Former Falls Police Detective Capt. John Soltys said, “The fire was set to cover up the homicide.”
An autopsy showed that the victim had “multiple blunt force injuries to (her) head, face (and) neck.” Firefighters found a gasoline container near her body.
Further forensic examination of the remains led investigators to conclude that the victim was between 25 to 50 years old, between 4 feet 10 inches and five feet three inches tall and weighing about 69 pounds.
The victim has never been positively identified and is referred to in police files as “Jane Doe.”
While the building was boarded up at the time of the fire, Falls police said they had received reports that people would break into the building and “have parties inside.”
The fire did an estimated $50,000 damage and the building has remained vacant and unused for the past 21 years.