Niagara Falls ice bridge tragedy — 100 years later
From the Niagara Falls Review:
One of the most dramatic and tragic events in the history of Niagara Falls took place 100 years ago Saturday.
Feb. 4, 1912, a Sunday, was a clear, windy and very cold day in Niagara Falls. Nevertheless, hundreds of people — both residents and tourists — were on hand that morning to view the gorgeous winter scenery around the falls and to take a walk on the ice bridge.
One of Niagara’s most spectacular winter creations, the ice bridge is essentially a suspended glacier, often of great thickness, that stretches across the gorge just below the Falls. Beginning in the 1880s, it became a popular winter playground. Local businessmen even set up concession shanties out on the ice where one could buy drinks, including whisky, hot dogs, souvenirs and get a tintype picture taken.
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Maid of the Mist future in jeopardy
From the Buffalo News:
Though Maid of the Mist boats have been shuffling tourists to the base of Niagara Falls for 126 consecutive years, their future on the American and Canadian sides of the cataracts remains uncertain.
In six weeks, the tourism company will find out if it can continue those tours, or whether the Canadian government will award a 25-year lease to another company, possibly with different ideas for the real estate around the cataracts.
“We’re still in the review process,” interim Niagara Parks Commission Chairwoman Janice Thomson said today.
The government had hoped to make a decision by the end of 2011, but needs five or six more weeks, Thomson said.
Some of the comments after the article are worth looking at…
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NPC adds carousel to winter attractions
From the Niagara Falls Review:
The Niagara Parks Commission would like people to do more than just drive past the Festival of Lights exhibits. In an effort to expand their list of winter activities and try to get tourists to spend time outside of their cars, the commission has installed a carnival-type vintage carousel to anchor what it’s calling Victorian Candy Land.
“It allows people to not only stay in their cars, but get out and experience more of the parks up close. It’s about turning the park into a four-seasons destination,” said NPC director of communications Tony Baldinelli.
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A few more articles about Nik Wallenda’s proposed wire walk over Niagara Falls
Here are a few more articles that I’ve found that mention Nic Wallenda. He is the guy who wants to walk on a wire above Niagara Falls. NY side has approved it, but the Canadian side hasn’t.
- Niagara Falls Review – Tightrope walker’s bid to cross falls should be nixed
- Niagara Falls Review – Tourists support wirewalker Nic Wallenda’s proposal to cross Niagara Falls
- BBC – Can Niagara tightrope walk offer safety net for sagging tourism?
- Associated Press (via the Santa Cruz Sentinel) – Canadian mayor backs Niagara Falls high-wire stunt
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Perfect tourism model comes with a price
From the Western Star:
Sometimes, you hear complaints about the lack of professionalism in this province’s tourism industry — about the way that standards, quality and the skills and training of tourism staff vary wildly, depending on which establishment you go to.
Three different bed and breakfasts will have three different levels of service and three different prices — and the ones that offer the best experience aren’t necessarily the ones with the best price, either.
It’s something that makes operators pull their hair out — they hear about the mistakes and miscues of others from their own patrons, and wonder just how the industry can guarantee a basic level of quality. It’s an organic thing, really; operators who figure out the right standards will stay in business in the long run, while eventually the under-equipped and the unprepared will fall by the wayside.
In the process, there’s always the fear that a critical number of tourists will visit once, have a bad experience and never come back again — and worse, that they’ll tell their friends and neighbours, who will then not even show up for that first visit.
Now, there are places that elevate tourism to a near art — try Niagara Falls on for size — where every single employee is drilled to wish you a good morning, even if you make eye contact for only a fraction of a second, even if you’re merely passing their establishment and not coming in.
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Niagara Glen getting back to its roots
From the Niagara Falls Review:
It’s all about getting back to nature at the Niagara Glen and visitors like Jane Bartell couldn’t be happier.
She is in total agreement with the many changes that have occurred and the new direction the Niagara Parks Commission is taking to protect and preserve one of Canada’s premier nature areas.
“It’s just so wonderful here,” said Bartell who grew up in Niagara Falls and attended A. N. Myer secondary school, but now lives in Grand Island, N.Y. “You get a good bit of exercise and get to see a beautiful part of Niagara Falls that many tourists never get a chance to see.”
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Woman dies after being swept over Niagara Falls
From the Toronto Star:
Authorities say they’ve recovered the body of a woman who appeared to be swimming in the Niagara River before being swept over the brink of Niagara Falls.
Officials say tourists on the Canadian side of the river reported seeing the woman in the water above the falls around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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Battle Ground Hotel offers taste of early tourism
From the Niagara Falls Review:
Access to mass transportation in the middle 1800s created new industries and introduced destinations such as Niagara Falls to the masses.
Railroad networks provided easier access to the wonders of North America and Niagara Falls was one of the major must see attractions, just as it is today.
At this time, people were also seeking out the historical points of interest in the region. Survivors from the War of 1812 could be found throughout the region, providing first hand accounts of the battles.
In Niagara Falls, competition for these tourists was fierce. The battleground at Lundy’s Lane is the highest point in the city, so it also provided one of the best views away from the Falls. To take advantage of that, inns and taverns opened up in the area based on the proximity to the battlefield and tourism promoters also created towers to overlook the battlefield and the surroundings.
Built in the 1820s, Adam Fralick modified his home and reopened it as the Battle Ground Hotel — a tavern and early tourist destination.
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‘It feels more like a park than a Parkway’
From the Niagara Falls Review:
The inaugural Car-Free Day on the Niagara Parkway wasn’t free of suggestions from both tourists and locals who want to see the event evolve from its humble beginnings Sunday.
“This is awesome,” said Mike Sherman, a cyclist from Montreal who was riding down the empty Parkway toward the Horseshoe Falls with fellow Montrealer Jen Zwarych.
“I think it’s great,” Zwarych said, adding it was their first time in Niagara Falls. “It’s a little empty though. We’ve never been here with the cars, but if the cars are louder than the falls it would definitely make it less cool.”
For the first time ever, the Niagara Parks Commission on Sunday shut down the Niagara Parkway to vehicle traffic, except the NPC’s people-mover buses.
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EASTER WEEKEND BODES WELL FOR 2011 NIAGARA FALLS TOURISM SEASON
From the Niagara Falls Reporter:
If Easter week is any sort of barometer, the 2011 tourism season is going to be an exceptionally good one for Niagara Falls. Tourists were out en masse, and even the reality of $4-per-gallon gas prices did not keep them from traveling to see the world’s most famous waterfall.
The Hilton Fallsview and Suites in Niagara Falls, Ont., was filled to capacity with guests representing states from all over the union, along with a number of European, South American and Middle Eastern countries.
No one seemed to be clutching their wallets too closely, as they freely spent on sightseeing, attractions, shopping and food. All of this came despite the fact that the area’s top attraction, the Maid of the Mist boat ride, was dry-docked due to unseasonably cold weather that caused a very late release of the Lake Erie ice boom.
The Cave of the Winds and the Journey Behind the Falls operated at diminished capacity. The Cave could only allow visitors a ride to the base of the American Falls, as their famed wooden decks have yet to be rebuilt for the season, while the Journey dealt with falling rock that closed their outside observation decks to visitors in the early part of last week.
With the dawn of another busy and profitable season upon us, it seems the proper time for a primer as to how all local residents can best be prepared to handle and augment the big tourism push that fuels the economy of our city and county.
Nothing frosts the hardworking people in the tourism sector of Niagara Falls, N.Y., more than when they hear tales from tourists that locals seem to go out of their way to send people across the border to Canada.
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