Buffalo Rising Online

Dec 4th 2007, 12:58pm By Elena Cala Buscarino

Over 40 history buffs will take part in a ceremonial toast to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition on Thursday, December 6, at 7:30PM. December 6th is significant as the date in 1933 that the United States repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and once again allowed Americans--and Buffalonians--the legal right to consume alcoholic beverages, ending almost 14 years of prohibition.

The toast will be part of a bus tour sponsored by Forgotten Buffalo, according to founder Marty Biniasz. "We're going to three Mom and Pop taverns, starting with Lottie and Ronnie Pikuzinski's R and L at 23 Mills Street. Lottie, now in her 80's will start us off with homemade pierogi," Biniasz said. "Next we go to Daren's, which ithe most historic tavern of its kind. It didn't go through gaudy remodelization. It's small, cozy and has a beautiful back bar."

Daren’s Tavern, at 514 Howard and Metcalf, was built in 1900, and has served as a tavern/restaurant ever since. It's representative of most of the area's taverns of that period, giving Thursdays revelers the feeling of being transported back in time to that 5PM very happy hour call back in '33, save for a little neon.

Next, the crew will bus to the G & T Lounge at 68 Memorial Drive, where Eugene Kiszelewski will sign polka songs, play spoons and may even channel Tom Jones. The tour is sold out, but there'll be another mid-January, and Biniasz plans on adding another every quarter.

"Our goal is to go to out of the way places, places off the beaten track and those time has forgotten," Biniasz said.

Forgotten Buffalo maintains a website that features, in their words: Unique landmarks, classic taverns, old world neighborhoods, historic 20th century sites and Nickel City oddities! Forgotten Buffalo hopes to provide visitors with an uniquely Buffalo experience by highlighting sites that have been left behind, or perhaps clandestinely left in place, providing clues as to what was there before. More than just a nostalgic trip through time, Forgotten Buffalo allows visitors to better understand why Buffalo is one of the most unique urban communities in the world.

Pictured above: Adam's Tavern, 1012 Sycamore (at Loepere), Buffalo, NY, 1933.