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Parking Kiosks

Street Parking at Weirs Beach

When do I need to feed the Lakeside Avenue parking kiosks?

Beginning on the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend, and ending on Columbus Day, kiosks are in effect daily, from 9am to 10pm. Parking costs $2 an hour, and can be purchased in 15 minute increments. There are 13 kiosks spread along the Avenue, and they accept either coins or cards. They do not accept bills.

Remember your space number when you park, as you will need to enter your space number when you pay at the kiosk. A receipt is optional. You do NOT need to display your receipt on your dashboard.

Depending on which space you are parked in, you can pay for up to 2, 3, or 5 hours at a time. Once a space is paid for, you cannot extend the parking time. You will have to start the time all over again (from zero) to gain additional parking time.

There are 220 parking spaces on Lakeside Avenue. There are 211 regular parking spaces, 8 handicap spaces, and one loading space. Of the regular spaces, 70% (149) of them are 5-hour spaces; 18% (38) are 2-hour spaces; and 12% (24) are 3-hour spaces.

Space numbering begins at the Weirs Beach arrow sign and runs to Foster Avenue. Parking spaces on the East (Lake) side of Lakeside Avenue are oddly numbered, starting with #101, and ending at #341. Parking spaces on the West (Buildings) side are evenly numbered, starting with #102, and ending at #298. (There are no-even numbered spaces between #300 and #340.) There are 168 angled parking spaces, and 52 parallel parking ones.

Can I pay by phone?

Beginning in 2023, you can now pay by phone to park on the street at Weirs Beach. No matter which space you park in, you will start your parking session by texting the following number: 727563.

The message that you will text to 727563 will depend on two things: the maximum number of parking hours allowed for your parking space, and whether you are parking in an even-numbered (“E“) or odd-numbered (“O“) space. All text messages will start with ParkLS, but end with either 2E, 3O, 5O, or 5E, depending upon the space.

To park in a 2-hour space, you will text the following code: ParkLS2E. This covers spaces #220-#264, the spaces in front of the Half Moon block, and spaces #266-#298, the spaces that start in front of the Tower Hill Tavern and that continue up to Foster Avenue.

To park in a 3-hour space, you will text the following code: ParkLS3O. (Make sure you use the letter “O”, for odd, at the end of the code, not a zero.) This code covers spaces #291-#341, the spaces in front of the wide, central section of the boardwalk, from the Winnipesaukee Pier to the train station.

To park in a 5-hour space on the East (Lake) side of Lakeside Avenue, you will text the following code: ParkLS5O. (Make sure you use the letter “O”, for odd, at the end of the code, not a zero.) This code covers spaces #101-#289, the spaces in front of the narrow section of the boardwalk, from the train station down to the beach.

To park in a 5-hour space on the West (Building) side of Lakeside Avenue, you will text the following code: ParkLS5E. This code covers spaces #102-#218, the spaces in front of the historic buildings from the Half Moon Pizza Stand down to the Weirs Beach Arrow sign.

When do I need to feed the parking meters?

In 2017, the 220 public parking meters on Lakeside Avenue were replaced by the 13 parking kiosks. There remain about 20 private parking meter spaces. Be careful to feed these according to the signs, or your car may be towed!

HISTORY OF JEAN’S CAFE and FOURTH TRAIN STATION and ROOFTOP BANDSTAND

In the following, late 50’s photo, in addition to the parking meters, one can see a sign for Jean’s Cafe to the left of the photo. Jean’s Cafe (named after its original owner, Jean Tehberg) was a small diner that had replaced the large, “3rd Regiment” Victorian that had been destroyed in the great Weirs Beach fire of 1924. Local businessman Sidney Ames leased the building from the NH Veterans Association from 1951 through about 1980. Every summer Chef Sandy Baroni would return from his winter job as a college cafeteria chef and serve up delicious Italian food; there was a mini-bar seating 4 persons and booth style seating complete with in-wall jukeboxes.

Roughly a decade later, the Ames family re-entered the Italian restaurant business when, after purchasing the Winnipesaukee Marketplace building in 1991, they opened the Patio Garden Restaurant, which featured an Italian & American menu. The Patio Garden Restaurant shined during Laconia Motorcycle Week. There were two outdoor stages, one on each side of the building. The restaurant featured four bands a day, and its two bars and two outdoor patios were often filled to the 640-person total capacity. Calling itself “Party Central” during the event, the restaurant’s slogan was “Liquor in the Front – Liquor in the Rear – Lick Her All Over!”. The restaurant closed permanently after the 2019 season.

The sandwhich board sign out front advertises “Now Serving Spaghetti • Pizza • Italian Specialties”. Also, notice the sign for “Speedboat Rides” at the entrance to the Winnipesaukee Pier. Cars seen in this photo include: c.1950, Mercury c.1950, 1958 Oldsmobile, 1957 Ford, 1955 Ford, 1957 Chrysler Imperial, 1953 Chevrolet, 1950 Plymouth, 1958 Ford, 1957 Chevy, Cadillac c.1950, and more.
Another view of Lakeside Avenue around the same time. Cars include 1951 Chevy, 1953 Chrysler, 1955 Ford Country Squire, 1951 Mercury, 1955 Pontiac and more.
The train station in the photo was the fourth train station in this location. It was designed by Architect Norman P. Randlett and built in 1940 (its 1893 predecessor burned in 1939). A very plain and unadorned building, built in the post-WWII modernistic style, it was replaced in 1987. Its best feature was its curving, overhanging roof, which gave it an art-deco touch. The stairs on the right side of the building, visible in the photo, were added later. They led up to a stage on the flat roof of the building where band concerts were held. From this prominent position bands could be heard all over Weirs Beach, although this arrangement left much to be desired in terms of the musicians being seen and interacting with their audience.
This image of the bandstand is part of a larger photo. Click here to see several more photos of the station, and a photo of a band playing on the rooftop.