Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla

Niagara Falls is known for the beauty of the mighty waterfalls that bear the name, but thanks to Nikola Tesla the production of hydro electricity is a close second. Tesla was an ingenious inventor and one of his greatest accomplishments was inventing alternating current.

Tesla brought his discovery to Niagara Falls and along with George Westinghouse, Thomas Evershed, Benjamin G. Lamme and Oliver Shallenberger built the Adams Power Station in 1895. The Adams Power Station was at the time the world’s largest hydro-electric plant and was located in Niagara Falls New York.

Nikola Tesla has many claims to fame because of his many inventions over his adult life. His accomplishments in both Niagara Falls New York and Niagara Falls Canada have resulted in monuments erected in his honor.

On Goat Island in Niagara Falls USA a monument to Tesla, portraying him reading a set of notes, was sculpted by Frano Kršinić. The statue was delivered in 1976 by Yugoslavia. An identical copy of this monument stands in front of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

The monument was located near the Cave of the Winds entrance and gift shop, but is being moved to Stedman’s Bluff near the Luna Island bridge over the Bridal Falls.

Nikola Tesla Monument in Niagara Falls Ontario

In Niagara Falls Ontario a monument of Tesla standing on a portion of an alternator, was erected at Queen Victoria Park on July 9th, 2006 to celebrate his 150th birthday. The monument was sponsored by St. George Serbian Church, Niagara Falls, and designed by Les Drysdale of Hamilton, Ontario.

Adams Power Station on Buffalo Avenue

Tesla’s invention of alternating current or AC as it is known today was revolutionary in the later 1800’s because it allowed electrical current to travel miles instead of yards as with direct current.

Nikola Tesla’s life had many successes, but he lived out his final days relatively obscure. It was in the last forty years that the Tesla genius and reputation has been resurrected.

Arch from Adams Power Station now located on Goat Island

Today what remains of the historic Adams Power Station is located on the banks of the upper Niagara River near the Niagara Falls New York waste treatment plant. The structure sits, fenced off from the public and unavailable to sight-seers. The building has been placed on the National Registry as a National Landmark.

An arch from the original Adams Power Plant was moved to Goat Island and sits just yards from the Nikola Tesla monument itself.

Catholics visiting Niagara Falls USA will want to visit St. Mary’s of the Cataract Church at 259 4th Street in downtown Niagara Falls. St. Mary of the Cataract is the oldest church in the Diocese of Buffalo which covers all of Western New York.

Christianity and the Catholic Church in particular was very involved in the discovery and colonization of Niagara Falls. Native Americans of the region were certainly aware of the mighty Falls, but the first white explorer to see Niagara Falls was Father Louis Hennepin in 1678.

Following Father Hennepin’s “discovery” many of the earliest settlers in the area were French and Irish Catholics. Then in 1836 Father John Neumann, now Saint John Neumann, built the mission station in the location which is now St. Mary’s of the Cataract.

The current church was then built in 1847, but the existing Sacristy was constructed in 1813 and is the oldest structure still currently in use in the City of Niagara Falls.

The tallest steeple of our church was built at the same height of Niagara Falls themselves and the tower’s oldest bell was installed in 2003, with the tower clocks added the previous year. In 2004, through the generosity of its parishioners, the church was renovated to a style compatible with its early history.

Niagara Observation Tower

Niagara Observation Tower

The Niagara Observation Tower is located in the Niagara Falls State Park at Prospect Point and it offers tourists a great close-up view of the American Falls. That added beauty is that the view will only cost you one dollar.

The one dollar admission fee allows you to walk out onto the observation deck or take the elevator down to the base of the American Falls. Both the view from the top and bottom of the Niagara Observation Tower are a bargain and offer a thrilling experience.

The Niagara Observation Tower was erected by New York State in 1961 not long after the State completed the New York Power Plant down river. The Niagara Observation Tower remained as it was built in 61′ until it underwent a major face-lift in 2001. Today the tower stands 282 feet tall and offers a unique elevated and out-front view of the American Falls.

The Niagara Observation Tower is also the official entrance to the Maid of the Mist on the American side. The elevator takes you down to the bottom of the Niagara Gorge where you board the Maid of the Mist after paying an additional fee up top.

If you go down the elevator to the bank of the Niagara river you can follow the pathway to the base of the American Falls. You will find yourself standing next to huge boulders that were once up at the top of the Gorge, but have fallen due to the erosion of the American Falls.

Tourists can actually walk up a metal stairway that takes you about half-way up the Gorge, right next to the falling waters. While you are not quite as close as the Cave of the Winds on the other side of the American Falls, you can still stand just yards from the pounding cascade of Niagara.

The skyline of Niagara Falls Canada began to change drastically in 1964 when construction of the Skylon Tower began. The tower was then opened on October 6, 1965 in a ceremony that included then New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Ontario Premier John Robarts.

The tower cost $7 million in 1965 and owned by a private partnership called Niagara International Centre, which was financed by the The Hershey Company shareholdings of Charles Richard Reese, former co-owner of the H. B. ReeseCandy Company of Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The Skylon Tower stands 520 feet tall from ground level and is 775 feet above the level of the Falls. The height of the tower forced the builders to seek approval from both the Canadian and American air transport authorities, due to its proximity to the international boundary.

The tower features three outside mounted “Yellow Bug” elevators which were the first of their kind in 1965. Unlike conventional elevators that are guided by side rails, the Skylon elevators operate with a guide rail on the backside only. Special equipment is employed to prevent the cables from becoming tangled in the wind or impeded by snow and ice in the winter. A curtain wall on the outside of the tower behind each elevator protects the counterweight and traveling cables from the elements.

The Skylon Tower also has a special feature with two restaurants at the top, the lower Revolving Dining Room and the upper Summit Suite Buffet.

The base of the tower features a number of gift shops, fast food restaurants and a large amusement arcade. A floor for conventions is also available, but is seldom utilized.

The Skylon Tower has become a fixture on the Niagara Falls Canada skyline and will continue to do so for decades to come.

Niagara Falls held the title “Honeymoon Capital of the World” for over 150 years.

The first recorded honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls was in 1802 by Theodosia Burr, daughter of US Vice-President Aaron Burr, and Joseph Aliston. After that Niagara Falls became more of a destination point for a very young nation.

The construction of the Erie Canal in the early 1900’s rapidly increased the accessibility and popularity of Niagara Falls and it began to be marketed as a honeymoon destination spot. Young couples began to envision themselves standing hand in hand at the brink of the Falls very much in love.

Some claim the crashing water at the base of Niagara Falls creates a “vibe” that appeals to those in love. Others believe the overwhelming magnitude of Niagara Falls leave those who gaze at its beauty feeling a sense of “one-ness”. Whatever the case may be, Niagara Falls very much was “the” honeymoon destination spot for America until airfare became more common and affordable.

In the 1930’s and 40’s the comedy skit “Slowly I Turn”  was performed on burlesque stages around the country which used Niagara Falls as the back drop for a romantic relationship gone bad. The Three Stooges were one of the well known comedy teams who performed the skit on stage and in one of their popular movie shorts.

Today Niagara Falls is still very much a popular honeymoon and vacation destination point and the addition of legalized casino gambling has added to its appeal.

Rainbow Garden

Rainbow Garden Koi Pond

The beautiful Rainbow Garden area sits on the Canadian side of the Rainbow Bridge. While some tourists may drive right past the Rainbow Garden after crossing into Canada, but it is a beautiful combination of flowers, sculptured shrubbery and a peaceful koi pond.

The Rainbow Garden was constructed when the Rainbow Bridge and Carillon Tower was erected in 1937. The complex was designed by the father of Canadian landscape and architecture Howard Dunington-Grubb and assisted by J.V. Stensson and architect William Somerville.

The fountains and sculptures located in the Park were designed by Florence Wyle, Frances Loring and Elizabeth Wyn Wood who were all well known Canadian sculptors from Toronto.

The purpose of the Rainbow Gardens was to connect the Oaks Garden Theatre complex and the Rainbow Bridge. The Oakes Garden Theatre is a grass covered Greco-Roman style amphitheater surrounded by a limestone staircase, and features lovely fountains, urns and ornamental statuary.

The Garden area is beautifully surrounded by a large ornamental stone wall which helps create a feeling of seclusion and serenity, despite it’s proximity to the many high-rise hotels and the Falls themselves. One can walk through this tranquil setting and forget the hustle and bustle of the always crowded Clifton Hill just 100 yards north.

The Gardens are also home to the Secret Garden Restaurant which has played home to such American national television shows as Regis and Kelly and Canadian nationally televised News Years Eve broadcasts.

The Rainbow Garden complex has a plaque at the entrance to the Oak Garden Theatre dedicating the entire area to Thomas McQuesten who was instrumental in the building a number of Canadian Parks in the Ontario horseshoe region. 

A trip to Niagara Falls Ontario would not be complete without a stroll through the Rainbow Gardens.

Niagara Falls Canada offers the Canadian version of Goat island’s Cave of the Winds with the “Journey Behind the Falls”. Take an elevator ride down 150 feet and walk down the tunnel as you hear the thunder of the mighty Horseshoe Falls. Then you can either step out on to a cement platform and look up 130 feet as 2,800 cubic meters of water thunders over the brink every second.

You can also walk the tunnels leading to the Cataract Portal and the Great Falls Portal, one third of the way behind the massive sheet of water. The experience includes a rain coat to keep you dry as you witness one of nature’s greatest wonder.

The origin of  “Journey Behind the Falls” goes back to the early 1800’s when a spiral staircase was constructed to allow visitors to walk down to the base of the Falls.

In 1885, The Niagara Parks Commission was created to maintain the area around the Falls.  In 1887, the commissioners removed the staircase and installed a water hydraulic powered elevator. The lift held eight to ten visitors with their guides and took almost a minute to make the up or down trip.  The first tunnels were built in 1889, and lantern-carrying guides made brought visitors up close and personal with the massive cataract,

In 1902, the hydraulic lift was taken over by the Ontario Power Company when they began construction of the Ontario Power House. This plant is now decommissioned but still sits at the river’s edge below the Falls. In exchange for using the hydraulic elevator, the Ontario Power Company agreed to sink a shaft through the rock and construct an electric elevator and a new “scenic tunnel.”

In 1925, work began on a new Table Rock House. In the new building, the elevator to the “Scenic Tunnels” attraction was duplicated, and dressing rooms were built for visitors to get ready with heavy rubber rain coats and boots.

“Journey Behind the Falls” has an admission fee from April through December: $15.95 Adults (13+ years), $10.95 Children (6 to 12 years). Children 5 and under are FREE! Note: Mid-December – Mid-April: $11.25 Adults, $6.95 Children. Reduced rates in the winter.

There are several ways to get soaked at Niagara Falls, but the Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds tour on Goat Island in the Niagara State Park is the wettest.

The Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds tour takes you down a 180 foot elevator ride to the base of the Bridal Falls on the American side wearing a yellow rain coat. It becomes obvious as you walk along the wooden walkway towards the falls why you’re wearing a rain coat.

The Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds “Hurricane Deck” is correctly named as the swirling winds created by the torrent of foaming water crashing against the rocks completely soaks the on-lookers.

Participants can get as close as fifteen feet away from the falling water.  In fact, the Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds allows individuals to get as close to the actual Falls as any location on either side of the border.

Originally the Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds was an actual cave located behind the Bridal Falls. The cave went about thirty feet behind the Falls and was about fifteen feet wide. Eventually the cave was blocked by falling rock and finally in the 1950’s a series of slides made the entire area too dangerous for tours. At that point New York State created what is now the Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds by constructing wooden “Hurricane Deck” at the base of the Bridal Falls.

The “Hurricane Deck” is torn down every autumn by New York State Park maintenance workers and then reconstructed every spring. This is done because the heavy amounts of ice created by the falls in the winter would tear the deck apart. This has become a rite of Spring for Niagara Falls residents as they know the announcement that the deck is being built means warmer weather is on the way.

Goat Island Renovations

Goat Island renovations are taking place in the Niagara Falls State Park, the oldest State Park in the United States. Goat Island is situated between the American and Horseshoe Falls and the State of New York is conducting $25 million dollars in renovations.

Funding for the Goat Island renovations came from Niagara River Greenway funds provided to OPRHP by the New York Power Authority. The New York Power Authority has made these funding allocations as part of their re-licensing agreement with the region.

Goat Island has already under gone renovations in the summer of 2013 which included new stone path walkways on the Three Sisters Island as well as the planting of native plants and shrubs.

The renovations around the Three Sisters Islands have cleared some of the over grown areas and made for a better landscaped and groomed area along the stone path. They have also fenced off some of the worn paths created by tourists over the decades which went dangerously close to the rapids.

Renovations are also taking place at the brink of the American Falls at Prospect Point. The area is being repaved and the guard rail along Prospect Point is being re-constructed. This portion of Prospect Point has been the location of rock slides over the centuries and has needed to be shored up from time to time to combat the erosion caused by the constant mist and winds of the American Falls.

Goat Island offers as close a look at Niagara Falls as any location on either side of the border. The work being done has kept a small portion of those prime viewing areas inaccessible for the present. However, once the renovations are completed before the 2014 Niagara Falls tourist season Goat Island will once again be the jewel of the Niagara Falls State Park.