Niagara Falls, New York. Can we not do better?

[Crawford]

I always thought the U.S. side is much more pleasant than the Canadian side, and am not aware of any "abandoned hotels and mud parking lots".

Basically it comes down to preference. The U.S. side is all parkland. You have that island, and the Olmstead parks along the river. The Canadian side is like Las Vegas, with wax museums, theme attractions, gigantic hotel complexes and the like.

But for actually seeing the falls, I like the U.S. side, by far. And the blocks close to the falls don't look depressed to me. We stayed in some loft boutique hotel with some Italian name. It was fairly pleasant. There's a main street with independent restaurants that was quite nice. But definitely, the vast majority of tourists are on the other side of the river.

I guess, in terms of economy, it would have been better if the U.S. just built a Vegas-style canyon of commerce right at the falls, since the other side of the river is destroyed anyway, so might as well get a cut of the loot.

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by Razor

Ya, that's the Canadian way.ha ...Pretty parks, Not a big disparity in economic classes, not a whole lots of rust on her cities..

You don't see a whole lots of Mercedes, but not a whole bunch of junkers either.(A multitude of Honda Civics though)...No Vegas style hotel lobbies, but no massive slum neighbourhoods...

Vancouver has the highest luxury car ownership rate per capita in North America. I'm constantly amazed at the cars I see. Also huge economic disparity (lots of undeclared multi-millionaires) and a pretty horrible slum.

[NorthernDancer]

Originally Posted by Crawford

But for actually seeing the falls, I like the U.S. side, by far.

The Canadian side has a far better view of the falls.

[WilliamTheArtist]

Originally Posted by Razor

This thread is a bit of a coincidence..I had a summer student working with me who's last day was Friday..He's from the Canadian side of the Falls.

We were just talking about the economy there, and he said that even the Canadian side was doing real bad..It's true..Both sides of the Falls lost it's standing in their respective countries as the "Honeymoon Capital".

Air fare is a lot cheaper these days, so honeymooners are indeed choosing more exotic locales like someone mentioned on here.

One side of the Falls has to re-invent itself.. I said it before, and I'll say it again..Just go full bore Vegas or Atlantic City..Never mind these kitchy little souvenier shops that sell the same mugs and t-shirts..Go grande and big like the MGM or Venitian in Vegas. It's got the Falls as a back drop..Either town just needs a strip of elaborate hotels and legalized gambling. Not just a casino here and there. Do it right. Vegas style shows and all.

I don't know. It's as if your changing the reason people might go to Niagra Falls. They can either be going for the flash and bang of the Casino's and then try to compete with that industry in other areas, or people can be going to see the romantic "Niagra Falls".

In my mind I would far more likely want to go to Niagra Falls if it were a, classy (but fun and with a little kitsch thrown in), resort type place. A place that played more off nostalgia and romance, old black and white movie Hollywood. Gatsby era to Retro Mod elements. This I think would make it more unique and more of a draw. I can get flash bang casinos and large crowds anywhere. And yes, there are plenty of warm sunny climate vacation spots. But you could advertise yourself as something completely different and unique. A romantic, cool, misty moonlight stroll, snuggling with your sweetie as you looked out over the falls, strolled along streets lit up at night with charming cafe's, yes some cheesy touristy shops, and stayed in perhaps a vintage style hotel. Thats a destination I would go for.

That Niagra Falls went out of fashion for a generation, but now I think it would do quite well positioning itself as something so unique in a world saturated with flash bang casino's etc. and sunny beaches/destinations.

[MolsonExport]

Gourmet cupcake emporiums could be a partial answer.

Seriously, the US side of NF is fucking horrible, and parts of the Canadian side are pretty damned wretched as well (downtown NF Ontario has many abandoned buildings, and a few blocks from the falls, you can find your mud parking lots). Should tourism ever experience a major decline, the Canadian side would be in big trouble. Uni-industry cities are not a good model. Have you been to Atlantic City? Aside from the seaside block, it is a veritable catastrophe of urban decay.

[strongbad635]

I visited Niagara Falls for the first time when I was 11. I was not terribly impressed by the Canadian side, which contains some kitzchy attractions (similar to what you see in Myrtle Beach, SC or in Branson, MO), and some big, national chain hotels. And a lot of parking lots. The falls themselves are breathtaking, and a few of the natural attractions that have been turned into tours are quite impressive. But Niagara Falls, ON is nothing to write home about as far as the town itself. I remember little to nothing about the American side.

I came back to the area at a much older age a few years back. The Canadian side left the same impression on me: tacky, but not terrible. The streets are still relatively good and the buildings, while some are colorful and funny looking, relate pretty well to the street. Then I went over to the American side and immediately felt alienated, uncomfortable, and confused. SO MUCH of the street frontage in Niagara Falls, NY consists on blank concrete walls or weird undulating/jagged glass and steel jumbles. There are parking lots at regular intervals that disturb any attempt at a continuous fabric in which to walk. There is little on-street parking. Lots of one-way streets where cars jockey from lane to lane at 45mph, within feet on sidewalks. A no-man's-land brutalized by modernism and the automobile.

A while back, I looked into the city's history and was shocked to see what USED to be downtown Niagara Falls. It was charming, human-scaled, walkable, and apparently had a vibrant street life with lots of retail that made good profits. But, like many other midsized American cities, the powers that be put the fate of their city in the hands of the modernists, a breed who hate everything that makes cities great. They allowed them to physically gut, rape, and pillage their city into a muddled mess.

City councils should require that any mayors or planners considering such "urban renewal" visit the modernist's greatest success stories: Detroit, Niagara Falls, Albany, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Pensacola, Buffalo, and Boston's City Hall Plaza.

[pdxtex]

charge more for barrel rides.......yeah, i dunno in reality what the scoop is. ive been there a few times and it always seemed kind of hokie and honky tonk. which is fine but its not one of those attractions where people are going to stay for a week. its not a ski resort or spa town. so treat it more as a day trip instead and be content with that.

[dc_denizen]

It should have been a national park (excluding the useful hydro plants).

[pdxtex]

^^^this. it would have been more fitting from the get go if there was a big timber lodge next to it instead of a ripleys museum but thats how it goes.

[alchemist redux]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

The Canadian side is very interesting, far more interesting than the border region south of Montreal or Sarnia/Windsor. You cross the border, and suddenly every municipality wants to tell you their population levels. Niagara region, population 400,000. Hamilton, population [whatever], Burlington etc. It's like SSP forumers designed the signs.

LOL. The Ontario population signs make an impression, good or bad, on other people too. In many places it's unnecessary bragging and dick measuring, but in more remote parts of the province it's a kind of useful indicator of what services you can expect to find. Another very quaint piece of Canadiana used to be the Provincial Highway Map published by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (the Ontario DOT, if you will) which had little symbols for towns with hospitals, OPP (provincial police) detachments, and, IIRC, the presence of government-run liquor stores.

Anyway, to get back OT, Niagara Falls, NY could stand to be a bit more spruced-up, but even without poor planning it has several innate disadvantages to NFON. For starters, there's the fact that Niagara Falls, ON is within exurban reach of Toronto, and is certainly a favourite weekend getaway destination. The second is that the farmland on the Ontario side is more fertile and the peninsula offers a bit of a microclimate that, combined with the prevailing winds and limestone soils, creates a natural wine region with the support of a lot of Toronto startup capital. Finally, there's also Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is sort of an olde world, Gilmore Girls-like small town that has a very respectable Shaw festival. Basically, on the Ontario side, tourists are sold a package of goods: not just the falls, but the wineries, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and all the quaint attractions in between.

[Downtown Bolivar]

Niagara Falls is my hometown and still the nearest city to where I live. This city was never built for tourists--tourism has always been an afterthought that coexisted uneasily with industry. The Falls, the river gorge, and the Niagara Escarpment have been exploited for hydraulic and later hydroelectric power. George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla built the first large scale AC power plant here in 1896, attracting scores of industries along Buffalo Avenue along the south side of the city and Highland Avenue in the North Side. Industry meant a steady stream of high paying jobs through the early 80's, but then plants have closed one by one. Industry blessed the city with 80 years of boom, but cursed it with chemical waste, air pollution, and then a bust which has halved our population since 1950. Power is the reason we still have a few industries though--DuPont's chlorine and hydrochloric acid plant uses more power by itself than the entire rest of the city combined, and that's true of many of the plants that are left--industries that are power intensive. So that's the reality of the city--it's never been about tourism, always about electric power--that's it. If industry leaves, there's no reason for the city to exist--there is no commercial or educational base to speak of (Niagara University is far too small to have a significant impact on the city). If you want a charming touristy type town, you'll have north down the river below the escarpment to Lewiston and Youngstown.

[eternallyme]

It seems all of upstate NY, for the most part, is in serious economic decline though...

[north 42]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I always thought the U.S. side is much more pleasant than the Canadian side, and am not aware of any "abandoned hotels and mud parking lots".

Basically it comes down to preference. The U.S. side is all parkland. You have that island, and the Olmstead parks along the river. The Canadian side is like Las Vegas, with wax museums, theme attractions, gigantic hotel complexes and the like.

But for actually seeing the falls, I like the U.S. side, by far. And the blocks close to the falls don't look depressed to me. We stayed in some loft boutique hotel with some Italian name. It was fairly pleasant. There's a main street with independent restaurants that was quite nice. But definitely, the vast majority of tourists are on the other side of the river.

I guess, in terms of economy, it would have been better if the U.S. just built a Vegas-style canyon of commerce right at the falls, since the other side of the river is destroyed anyway, so might as well get a cut of the loot.

You have got to be kidding, Right?

[dc_denizen]

She seems to be enjoying the falls.

Traveling thru western New York we had to revisit the beautiful Niagara Falls. It's not as though we haven't been here before but you know, it was just as nice the 2nd time around! We chose a picture perfect day and walked from one end to the other including taking a trip to the river floor and back up! Afterwards walked across the Rainbow bridge to Ontario, Canada to get a better view of the Horseshoe Falls. Canada really knows how how to make you feel welcome. Their landscaping is lovely and always a treat to the eye! Love it over there and even found a coastal redwood in their park. Just spent the day but what a day!!

In the back, behold the Canadian side.



link

Aerial view:



link

[MolsonExport]

Things could get worse for NFNY. The Canadian side has just opened (May 2014) a mega factory outlet mall. http://www.canadaoneoutlets.com/

Ivanhoe Cambridge expects the “Outlet Collection” to bring between 6 to 8 million visitors per year and is expected to reduce cross-border shopping. The wide variety of selection that this mall will have, will feature many of the stores that Canadians head over the border for — thus encouraging locals and not just tourists, to keep the shopping local.

The only times that I have been over to the US side in the past decade have been for cross-border shopping here: http://www.fashionoutletsniagara.com/. Now I and many Canadians may spend at least some of our money north of the border.

The approach to the US outlet mall was extraordinarily depressing. Bombed-out beyond belief. The only thing other than the mall that was hopping was the adjacent US Army recruiting centre. 90% of the license plates in the parking lot were "Ontario"

Almost a carbon copy of Flint and nearby Birchrun shopping outlet (at Frankenmuth, Michigan...although the latter town is very quaint).

[MolsonExport]

Seeminly hopelessless on the Canadian side: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Hot...b2ce46ba3d1dff

photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/952637...ndonedniagara/

[miketoronto]

I drive by that new mall in Niagara Region, Ontario all the time, and the parking lot is always jam packed.

[vanatox]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Things could get worse for NFNY. The Canadian side has just opened (May 2014) a mega factory outlet mall. http://www.canadaoneoutlets.com/



The only times that I have been over to the US side in the past decade have been for cross-border shopping here: http://www.fashionoutletsniagara.com/. Now I and many Canadians may spend at least some of our money north of the border.

The approach to the US outlet mall was extraordinarily depressing. Bombed-out beyond belief. The only thing other than the mall that was hopping was the adjacent US Army recruiting centre. 90% of the license plates in the parking lot were "Ontario"

Almost a carbon copy of Flint and nearby Birchrun shopping outlet (at Frankenmuth, Michigan...although the latter town is very quaint).

Yuck, the canadian outlet is ridiculous... A giant parking lot surrounded by stores... Not the nicest experience.

I think the one in the US will continue to do well I think since both outlets have different stores (some are in both yes but most are different).

[dc_denizen]

Maybe they can open a Pedro's south of the border on the US side to revive the economy.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by north 42

You have got to be kidding, Right?

What do you disagree with? You don't like the parkland more than the Vegas-ish stuff?

Both towns are kind of dumps, but, if we're talking just around the Falls, I think the U.S. side is quite a bit nicer. It's parkland vs. wax museums. Or am I missing some stuff on either side? To me, that Olmstead-designed island is the nicest part of either side, esp. when you get right up to the falls.

Or maybe am I confused? Is the island on the Canadian side? I'm almost certain we walked it from the American side.