This photograph was taken from the former train station on King Street (today Balzac’s Coffee shop). It shows Polish soldiers, with their luggage in hand, marching up King Street towards the Niagara Commons military training grounds during the First World War. Over 20,000 Polish Americans were trained here to support the work of the Allies. The Polish saw the war as an opportunity to reclaim Poland, which had been partitioned by several Axis powers beginning in 1795. You will note the Polish flag is upside down. Unfortunately, these soldiers had never seen their country’s flag fly before. They had a 50/50 chance of getting it right, and sadly, they chose wrong. But they still proudly flew it.

The Niagara Hotel, (today the Prince of Wales) stands prominently in the background. Note the building next door which no longer exists today. In 1899, Patrick J. O’Neil took over running the hotel and in 1909, he began construction on this addition. This new building was at one time used as bedroom apartments. The stone building remained on the site until at least 1949, at which time it was torn down, and a sympathetic addition was put on by the 1970s.