CLAYTON — A chapter in local history ended Tuesday as the Clayton Casino building was demolished to make way for a parking lot.

The structure that stood on Theresa Street for well over 80 years was reduced to a pile of rubble in just a couple of hours by workers from W.D. Bach Excavation and Consulting LLC.

"The Clayton Casino was the biggest nightclub between Montreal and Chicago," said Marilyn Hutchinson, Clayton.

"It was 7-days-a-week with live entertainment," she said.

The building originally housed Clayton Ship & Boat Building Corp., which manufactured 110-foot-long submarine chasers during World War I. It later became Frye and Denny Boatworks.

Stewart and Mary Ormsby, Belleville, and Westman LaLonde bought it in 1934, shortly after the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ended 13 years of Prohibition, and they transformed it into the Clayton Casino.

"The Clayton Casino was never a gambling site. It was a nightclub with big bands very popular at the time," said Linda L. Schleher, executive director of the Thousand Islands Museum.

"Why they named it Clayton Casino? I guess that's what they called a nightclub back then," Mrs. Schleher said.

Popular musicians such as Timmy and Jimmy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Paul Whiteman filled the 800-person casino with people swinging on the club's 80-by-100-foot oak dance floor. In 1934, patrons got beer for 10 cents a glass, a club sandwich for 20 cents and ice cream for 15 cents.

"The casino was only open for six to seven years. It didn't last very long because of the war," she said.

It closed permanently in 1942 as traffic declined due to World War II, and the building's ownership and use changed several times since then.

"The right-hand extension was a six-lane bowling alley in the 1950s, and on the left-hand side there was a wax paper factory," Mrs. Schleher said.

It was sold to Dr. Salvatore "Sam" Rivoli, Rochester, and son Peter S. in 2006 and most recently housed Remar Shipyards.

The Riviolis will use the site as a parking lot for the Islander Marina and the anticipated Hotel St. Laurents. Construction of the 58-room hotel, which will replace the current Islander Marina building, is scheduled to be completed by April 2010.