10,000 cases of booze on the wall, 10,000 cases of booze, take one down, pass it around, 9,999 cases of booze on the wall…

The Larkin Terminal Warehouse was a center of attention on December 5, 1933, the day the Prohibition Amendment was repealed and this, the city’s only bonded warehouse, was expected to release 10,000 cases of imported whiskey and gin to Buffalo hotels and restaurants to mark the first night of legal liquor. Repeal Day, now celebrated in bars across the United States and undoubtedly in Hydraulics taverns like Sharkey’s and the Swan Lounge tonight, was anticipated to be a day of celebration, and commerce, in Larkinland in 1933, as well. Read the rest of this entry »