The_Maples

The Maples Roadhouse

1924 - This map is oriented with west pointing up. Starting in 1916 there was an establishment called The Maples operating at Stop 8 on the Old Liverpool Road. It was closed in 1926 by a Federal Court order. By 1930 a second establishment, also called The Maples, was operating on Old Liverpool Road at Trolley Stop 5.

This is a picture of the second roadhouse called "The Maples," that was operating at Stop 5 in June 1933.

The Search For “The Maples”

The main focus of this section is a roadhouse that went under the name of The Maples. It wasn’t on the Cicero Plank Road but it located on the former Liverpool Plank Road that went between the villages of Salina and Liverpool. The table below displays the results of an extensive search of two old newspaper archives. Any roadhouse, saloon or hotel activity on or near the old Liverpool Plank Road was the object of the search. It was uncertain if The Maples of the 1920s was the same establishment that went by that name in the 1930s. It was also of interest to determine if these establishments evolved from earlier structures at the same locations. Any information that could establish the existence of an operating business, location or date was useful, even if there was no interesting story behind it. However, now and then some very interesting stories were found and these in turn led to some very interesting characters.

The final conclusion in the case of The Maples, as a result of this search, was that there were two businesses that operated on the old Liverpool Road under the name of The Maples. The first appeared at Trolley Stop #8 in the summer of 1916. It was more of a picnic place and was called “Maple Lea.” In 1921 that same location was referred to as “the Maples, the new summer place at Greenpoint…” The owners of the place ran afoul of the Prohibition era Dry Agents more than once and the place was finally closed in 1926.

There was an absence of stories about The Maples for about four years and then, in 1930, a want ad appeared. “Wanted – A partner for lunch room and dance hall. Apply Manager, Maples, Stop 5, Liverpool road.” The name was the same but the location had moved closer to the city of Syracuse. Stop #5 was located just a little ways up the hill after Buckley Road cuts to the north, off Old Liverpool Road.

Over the years the new Maples was operated under several different names. The structure from the early 1930s was a large house set back a ways from the road. At some point the operation was moved to a smaller structure, closer to the road, on the same property. No report of a fire was found in the papers but that larger house-like structure is no longer on the property. The newer structure is still there doing business as The End Zone.

Greenpoint

Greenpoint is a very old name and its use in describing locations can cause some confusion. The area around the northeastern portion of Onondaga Lake was where the Jesuit priest, Father Pierre LeMoyne, had been shown the salt spring by the Onondaga Indians. This area was called Greenpoint and the salt boiling industry was first developed here by the early settlers as the tiny village of Salina grew up just to the east. This area, known as Greenpoint, expanded east and west of the original spring and also spread to the north. The extension of Park Street from the village of Salina to the larger village of Liverpool became the Liverpool Plank Road and is now known as Old Liverpool Road. Since it passed through Greenpoint it was sometimes referred to as the Greenpoint Road, which was never its official name. Greenpoint extended north to approximately where Seventh North Street is now and so Seventh North Street would also take travelers to a portion of Greenpoint and it was sometimes referred to as the Greenpoint Road. At the intersection of Buckley Road and Seventh North there was another notorious roadhouse known as the Greenpoint Hotel. This led to further use of the name Greenpoint Road when referring to Seventh Road Street.

Organization

The story of The Maples was more fragmented than the other roadhouses. As a result, the story of this roadhouse will also be a bit fragmented. The timeline below was built to establish the existence of an establishment, on the old Liverpool Road doing business as the Maples. Many of the entries represent just a short mention in an article with no story to go along with it. Occasionally there would be a story, in those cases the stories will be told.

Date	Description	Comment
Early saloon, restaurant or hotel activity on Old Liverpool Road
First appearance of the name Maple in connection with entertainment or eating on Old Liverpool Road.
1916-08-04	“The final meeting of the convention committee will take the form of a picnic and weiner roast at Maple Lea. Stop 8, on the Liverpool road…”
1919-07-26	Will & Baumer annual picnic held at Maple D. Point on the Liverpool Road.	“Maple D. Point” might have been a distorted reference to "Maple Lea."
1921-09-30	In a story about a couple killed in a train-auto collision it was mentioned that the woman had “two cards of admission to the Maples, the new summer place at Greenpoint…”	Described as “the new summer place at Greenpoint…”
1921-10-30	Halloween Party at the Maples. Gus Weinbrecht, Proprietor	“Doing business at the old stand just the same”

1922-02-22	Brawl at the Maples. Ingersoll and owner Weinbrecht.	Described as “a resort on the Liverpool road.”
1922-03-12	“Sheriff’s Deputies Raid ‘The Maples.’ “ Gus Weinbrecht subpoenaed to appear at DA’s office.
1922-03-29	"When the inn was raided by the sheriff's deputies, no liquor was found on the premises. Later a quantity of whiskey was found in a field, with tracks in the snow, leading from the hotel to the cache." August Weinbrecht, the proprietor of the Maples was fined $400.	The Maples described as “a private dining and dancing club on the Liverpool Road…”
1922-12-01	"One hundred cases of fine whiskey valued at over $8,000 were seized Wednesday night at The Maples, on this Liverpool State road by Deputy Sheriffs Sleeth, Burns and Dunn. They were found in the barn." "Jack Richards, one of the proprietors, arrived during the raid and protested that he knew nothing of the presence of the liquor. He was directed to report to Sheriff Isaac C. Davis today." "The raiders, acting on reports of a big booze delivery at The Maples, went armed with a search warrant sworn out several weeks ago on affidavits of Deputy Sheriff Fay King and Joseph Collett, a Pugilist, now missing, who was involved in a recent brawl at the roadhouse."
1923-02-09	John Richards, one of the proprietors of the Maples paid a $500 fine.
1923-04-20	Former proprietor of the Maples, Jacob Cantor, pleads guilty to smuggling 100 cases of whiskey into Alexandria Bay by boat.
1924-05-12	The Maples and many other establishments were raided over the previous weekend.
1924-02-05	The Aftermath of An Evening at The Maples On December 8th of the previous year, George Beagle and his co-worker at the Syracuse Chilled Plow Company, Antonio Tucci, had met Anna Hall on the street and asked her to join them for some drinks at The Maples on Old Liverpool Road. Anna agreed and the trio took a taxi cab to the Maples roadhouse. According to Tucci, after the group finished several rounds of drinks an argument began between he and Beagle and that led to a fight. Tucci felt that this set of events had been planned. After coming out on the losing end of the battle, Tucci was walked to a taxi and sent home. It was then that he discovered that he was missing $75. Beagle was charged with grand larceny and the trial began on February 5, 1924. Beagle and Hall claimed that they didn't know anything about the missing money and after deliberating for two hours the jury found Beagle not guilty. [1924-02-05], [1924-02-06]
1926-02-12	Mrs. Daisy Van Alstine is the owner of the Maples.	“Vicissitudes of the Maples, once popular Liverpool road resort, were recalled in County Court…”
1926-02-13	Maples Must Remain Closed " 'As long as I am district attorney, the Maples will never be permitted to open for business,' District Attorney Clarence Unckless told a County Court jury Saturday morning in his summary of the people's case in the trial of Frederick Richards, charged with grand larceny in disposing of an automobile upon which there was a chattel mortgage." [1926-02-13] Richard's mother-in-law, Daisy Van Alstine, is the owner of The Maples roadhouse. The DA was attempting to discredit her testimony, in the automobile trial, with his statement about closing The Maples. The connection isn't obvious unless he was going for guilt by association. "The Maples was padlocked under a Federal Court order several months ago." [1926-02-14]
1926-02-14	Frederick Richards Convicted. [1926-02-14]
There is a 4 year gap in here where The Maples did not make the papers.
1930-07-11	“Wanted – A partner for lunch room and dance hall. Apply Manager, Maples, Stop 5, Liverpool road.”	The ad appears to have run in the Journal for 5 days.
There is a 3 year gap in here where The Maples did not make the papers.
1933-03-15	Ad for the Maples – “A Friendly Place – Dine and Dance” Stop 5, Liverpool Road.	Could this be another location taking over the name of “The Maples?” This is now Stop 5 and it was formerly Stop 8.
1933-06	Nicholas J. Fink was the owner of the Maples and had formerly operated it, until he had rented the dance hall and beer garden to Storms and Stearn. Fink continued to reside on the property.	It was a three-year lease for $60 per month but according to Fink at the time of the shooting neither party had signed the lease.
1933-06-12	Clarence Storms and his brother-in-law Harold Stearn opened the former “Maples” under the name the “White Rock Inn.”
1933-06-14	Harold Stearn shot and killed Clarence Storms at the White Rock Inn. Clarence Storms was shot and killed by his brother-in-law and business partner, Harold M. Stearn, the evening of June 14, 1933. The shooting took place at the White Rock Inn, formerly The Maples, on old Liverpool Road. They had just leased the establishment the week before. [1933-06-15a], [1933-06-15b], [1933-06-15c]. An interesting character emerged out of this tragedy - James Corcoran. He was Stern and Storms' landlord at 334 Seymour Street, where the families were living in the upper flat of Corcoran's house. He was at the White Rock Inn just prior to the fatal shooting and might have been a catalyst in causing it to happen. This very colorful character never ran a roadhouse but was more of a bootlegger. James Corcoran is described on a separate page.
1933-08-23	Stanley Sakowski given a liquor license for Old Liverpool Road – Stop 5.
1933-10-29	Sakowski of the White Rock Inn Warned.

1933-12-29	BIG New Year’s Eve Party at the White Rock Inn.
1934-01-06	Mathew Sakowski of the White Rock Inn was injured after being hit by an auto near the Will and Baumer plant.
1935-07-18	“The Old Maple Inn – Beer restaurant fully equipped and newly remodeled, 50 yards from Will & Baumer Co., old Liverpool road. Call 2-4091 after 5 p.m.” [1935-07-18]	There was no mention that its former name had also been the White Rock Inn.
Related Events
1936-11-11	Mary Sakowski of Stop 5 Liverpool injured by auto at Salina and W Water.
1938-09-09	Spot Cady at Orchard Inn in Lakeland.	Still there 1938-10-07 1938-10-28 Spot Cady, Proprietor & Paddy Corcoran at the bar.
1939-10-09	Daisy Van Alstine’s one-story frame building on the old Liverpool Road was destroyed by fire.	It had been unoccupied for years.
Cady’s Tavern Period
1939-11-10	Cady’s Tavern, ¼ mile from City on Old Liverpool Road. Spot Cady and Pat Corcoran.
1943	Liquor License for Cady’s Tavern on Old Liverpool Road.
1944-09-30	Cady’s Tavern Liquor License on Old Liverpool Road	In 1945 Spot Cady’s Tavern was at 512 Midland Ave at the Corner of Hovey St.
Parkway Tavern Period
1945-12-12	Parkway Tavern – Raymond J. Biel
1950-12-21	Parkway Tavern – *110 Liverpool Road*	1951-05-23 Raymond M. Biel Obit. First appearance of the 110 Old Liverpool Road address.
1952-09-06	Viola Biel – Proprietor of Parkway Tavern
1952-11-03	Liquor License to George W. Swatt Parkway Tavern.
1966-10-22	Liquor License to George W. Swatt Parkway Tavern.
1967-08-12	George Swatt of the Parkway Tavern arrested for bookmaking.
1972	Anna Swatt owned Parkway Tavern until 1972.	1997-03-26 Anna Swat Obit
1978-11-09	Judgment Against William G. Smith – Parkway Tavern.
1988-01-08	Hallock’s Parkway Tavern – 110 Old Liverpool Road.
1993-04-26	Tax Warrant against Hallock’s Parkway Tavern.
The End Zone Era
1997-07-17	The End Zone had a softball team.
2001-04-07	Help Wanted Ad – End Zone – 110 Old Liverpool Road.

These are two aerial photos of the area of the old Liverpool Road where Buckley Road splits off to the north. The photo on the left was taken in 1926 and the one on the right was taken in 1951.

NOTES:

[1916-08-04] - "Picnic to Be a Feature of Final Meeting," The Syracuse Herald, Syracuse, NY, Friday, August 4, 1916.

[1919-07-26] - "Will & Baumer Co. Holds Annual Outing," The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Saturday, July 26, 1919.

[1921-09-30] - "Train Hits Auto; Girl And Man Die," The Syracuse Herald, Syracuse, NY, Friday, September 30, 1921.

[1922-02-22] - "Deputy Sheriffs Respond to Hurry Call Sent from Resort on Liverpool Rd.," The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Wednesday, February 22, 1922.

[1922-03-12] - "Sheriff's Deputies Raid 'The Maples'," The Syracuse Herald, Syracuse, NY, Sunday, March 12, 1922.

[1922-03-29] - "Proprietor Of The Maples Is Found Guilty, Tracks in Snow Lead to $400 Fine on Liquor Charge," The Syracuse Herald, Syracuse, NY, Wednesday, March 29, 1922.

[1922-12-01] - "100 Cases Of Whisky Are Seized - Officers Visit The Maples and Take Liquor Valued at $8,000," The Evening Telegram, Syracuse, NY, Friday, December 1, 1922.

[1923-02-09] - "Maples Owner Pays Fine Of $500," The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Friday, February 9, 1923.

[1923-04-20] - "Jury Drawn, Cantor Enters Guilty Plea," The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Friday, April 20, 1923.

[1924-05-12] - "Raiders Stage Clean-Up Drive Over Week-End," The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Monday, May 12, 1924.

[1924-02-05] - "Beagle Goes On Trial For Grand Larceny," The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Tuesday, February 5, 1924.

[1924-02-06] - "Jury Frees Beagle On Robbery Charge," The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY Wednesday, February 6, 1924

[1926-02-13] - "Maples Must Remain Closed," The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Saturday, February 13, 1926.

[1926-02-14] - "Convict Kin of Maples Proprietor," The Syracuse American, Syracuse, NY, Sunday, February 14, 1926.

[1933-06-15a] – Clarence Storms Killed by Inn Partner – Part 1, The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Thursday, June 15, 1933.

[1933-06-15b] – Clarence Storms Killed by Inn Partner – Part 2, The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Thursday, June 15, 1933.

[1933-06-15c] – “Wives Tell of Slayer Offering Gun To Victim For Duel,” The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Thursday, June 15, 1933.

[1935-07-18] - "Opportunities," The Syracuse Journal, Syracuse, NY, Thursday, July 18, 1935.