Comments on: Niagara Falls

By: Fearless Leader

Fearless Leader — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:19:38 +0000

This stuff is just more of the same since WNY started dying in the 1950’s. My parents went to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon when they got married in 1956… they took a few pictures on the American side, but they did most of their touristy things on the Canadian side.

When I lived on the Canadian side in the 80’s, I was shocked to see how run-down the American side was, even with the brand-new Rainbow Center… I’d hate to see how bad it is 20 years later. I still can’t figure out why someone (Park Commission? Albany?) totally bypassed the parks on the American side by forcing people to get OFF the Robert Moses Parkway. We could stand in the middle of the crumbling highways that went right through the park. These roads were able to bring tourists right to the American falls at one point, but someone got the bright idea to shunt people AWAY from the park. Pure brilliance.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:24:07 +0000

Canada is so much better if you love carnaval barkers calling you to come and see the dog faced boy.

By: wcp

wcp — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:59:19 +0000

I think the problem now is finding a catalyst development that will encourage other developers to invest. Who wants to be the first one to build anything besides a hotel or parking lot in NF, NY? Much less risk on the Ontario side where there is momentum and a critical mass. Time for Urban Renewal II to take out the Rainbow Centre Mall. The first project is going to have to be big enough to create a destination on the NY side- that’s why the Cogan plan looked promising. NYState is going to have to have to do more than streetscape improvements to get things going here.

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:22:35 +0000

the gorge is cool. nothing like sitting in the niagara river on a hot summer day. Go down the stairs from the whirlpool state park and then hike up river a bit

By: mike hudson

mike hudson — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:41:59 +0000

no, it’s not much. but it’s ours.

By: eliz

eliz — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:14:22 +0000

Steve is correct. Niagara Falls, US clung to the industrial paradigm for far too long. That said, you can’t talk about the casinos on either side as though it’s apples to apples. The Canadian govt. owns their casinos and uses the profits to pay for all kinds of improvements. On our side, we don’t get enough to do much, though there are some decent streetscaping improvements on 3rd street.

I like our side of the Falls though, nature-wise. Goat Island is beautiful and you can get much closer to the actual Falls, especially Bridal Veil. And the hikes along the Gorge are magnificent. If you haven’t done this you really should.

I also like the new mayor. He has some great ideas and is way smarter than anyone they’ve had recently. There is money coming from the Greenway that will pay for improvements to the park and some new attractions, including, I believe the discovery center that has been mentioned. So, there is hope on some fronts.

By: Denizen

Denizen — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:11:34 +0000

That monstrosity needs to be demolished. NOW

By: Timothy Domst

Timothy Domst — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:41:10 +0000

If we had a few Ontario-quality strip clubs on our side NF NY would be rocking in no time, and I’m not being facetious.

By: steve

steve — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:08:09 +0000

hank — Perhaps you’ve forgotten that the FIRST casino in this area was in Niagara Falls, Ontario. So, saying that Niagara Falls USA kowtowed to the Senecas assumes that the Seneca Casino was the first and only effort at development on the US side.

The disaster of a mall, and the Wintergarden, and the Turtle, and the much lamented splash park, and the closing of Falls Street, and the convention center were all undertaken long before the Senecas dealt the first blackjack.

It’s now been at least three years since the idea of a major tourist attaction, a discovery center of sorts, was announced, and not a shovel has been put in the ground. In fact, I’m not sure they’ve even identified a site.

In terms of tourism and beauty, the US side has been playing catch-up since the late 1800s. That’s when the US side decided to use all that water, and much of the waterfront, for industrial purposes. It was a good deal for a long time…want a pretty view, go to Canada. Want a job, go the US side.

Times changed but, sadly and typically, our side was painfully resistant to changing with it. The result? A shrinking industrial/commercial base, a shrinking population, and an even more painful case of penis envy when we gaze across the river. In other words, downtown Niagara Falls USA in 2008. Pundit’s pictures don’t lie.

By: Russell

Russell — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:55:28 +0000

One important difference is Canada has most of the views while we have most of the falls. Yes, we need a lot more development on our side, but we don’t have quite the natural attraction that the Canadian side has. Also, a lot of the development on the Canadian side really took off after their casino was built. Sure there were hotels and some laughable attractions there before the casino, but Clifton Hill was not much of anything other than a street of wax museums about 15 years ago. Working with and around the casino sure worked over on that side.