How the Falls boat rides began
Seven generations of boats named Maid of the Mist have served visitors to Niagara Falls for almost 170 years. The vessels, first steamboats and now diesel-powered, have outlasted business reverses, panics and depressions, Civil War and two world conflicts, and continue to provide poncho-wearing visitors with an often wet but always exhilarating sightseeing adventure around the base of the greatest waterfalls in the world. The iconic Niagara Falls experience has been enjoyed by millions of families, lovers and honeymooners and visiting royalty and heads of governments.
Category: New York State Attractions
Niagara Falls Illuminations
Lights over Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls represents one of the most spectacular sights in North America, and in fact in the world. The spectacle is even more remarkable at night, when the cascading waters are lit by various colors and styles of light, and frequently by fireworks as well. Illumination of the Falls began in 1860, when English electrical engineer Robert W. Blackwell proposed to celebrate a visit to the Falls by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, with Bengal lights, signal flares used for illumination and communication and particularly important in sea rescue.
Corning Glass Museum
The Corning Museum of Glass is one of the world’s largest collections related to glass history, technology and art. Located in Corning, New York, approximately 250 miles from New York City and 125 miles from Buffalo, the museum was opened in 1951 in celebration of the centennial of the famous glass works that was founded in that city, and that is now a world-wide presence in the glass and ceramics industries under the name of Corning International. The museum originally occupied a low-slung glass-walled building designed in the International Style by Wallace Harrison, famous for Lincoln Center, LaGuardia Airport and the Museum of Modern Art.
Statue of Liberty Cruises
History of Lady Liberty
The Statue of Liberty symbolizes New York City in the way that the Eiffel Tower means Paris and Big Ben instantly evokes London. The figure of “Liberty Enlightening the World” was a gift from the people of France, although the American people were expected to pay for and erect the pedestal. Construction of the statue began in 1876 in France, and in 1884 work commenced on the pedestal on Bedloe’s Island in New York harbor. The statue was presented to U.S. Minister Levi P. Morton on July 4, 1884 and then disassembled and shipped to New York; it arrived about a year before the pedestal was ready, but the statue was rapidly erected when that was finished, and the dedication on October 28, 1886 was marked by cannon salutes, fireworks and the cheers of a million New Yorkers despite fog and drizzle.
The Thousand Islands
Geography and Geology
The Thousand Islands were called “the garden of the great spirit” by their original native inhabitants. There are actually almost two thousand of them (1,864), and more recent visitors have considered them to be among the most beautiful places on earth. This archipelago of tiny islands at the emergence of the St. Lawrence River into Lake Ontario represents the intersection of the Canadian Shield and the Adirondack Mountains. The Canadian Shield is the ancient geological core of the North American continent, extremely ancient igneous rocks from long-gone volcanoes active in the Precambrian period. The Precambrian age began at the probable formation of the earth 4.6 billion years ago, and lasted until the Cambrian period that began about 540 million years ago; creatures with shells were first preserved as fossils in the Cambrian age and were found in Wales, the ancient name for which was “Cambria”.
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is located at the border between the two countries of Canada and the United States. On the Canadian side there is Ontario Province and on the United States side visitors will find the State of New York through which Niagara River flows before forming the falls. The name Niagara is used to identify three falls that are located close to one another. The biggest one is the Horseshoe Falls and the next is the American Falls. The smallest one is called the Bridal Veil Falls. Niagara River is the one that carries water from Lake Eerie to Lake Ontario which carries the water to form the falls.