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The REAL Niagara Falls

What a magnificent building! What a shame there are so many gorgeous heritage buildings just rotting away...in the world's number one tourist destination, no less! Brantford has a tough time because it is fairly isolated and there is no major tourist draw nearby. This is definately not the case for downtown Niagara. Maybe it just needs some attention? Isn't there any way that downtown could be better integrated with the tourist areas as another attraction (in a town replete with them)? NOTL was a dead place too until somebody dreamed up the Shaw Festival. Maybe a wine centre could be established downtown as sort of a 'heart' for the Niagara wine region? A revitalized downtown might also be more of a draw year-round for locals.
 
just for the sake of being correct NF is far from the worlds number one tourist destination. There was a newspaper article a few months back comparing NF to Orlando Florida which does about 10 times the toursit numbers and dollars...
 
Redroom Studios said:
just for the sake of being correct NF is far from the worlds number one tourist destination. There was a newspaper article a few months back comparing NF to Orlando Florida which does about 10 times the toursit numbers and dollars...
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Forbes travelor lists it as number 6 in the world. Not bad. Even just in the top 10 is amazing. Point being, a lot of people go there and it's one of the most famous and iconic places on the planet.
 
adma said:
...except that unlike NF, NOTL was already historically "recognized" and being reclaimed by a tony class...
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True, but maybe the same will happen for downtown NF. Not necessarily as driven by the tony but maybe by business interests. The average length of stay of a trip to Niagara has been increasing, in part to the development of tourism within the region as a whole, i.e. casinos, mega resorts like Great Wolf Lodge, NOTL/Shaw Festival, Niagara Parkway, the wine route etc. Downtown could be the beneficiary of this trend, at some point, once the potential is recognized. Accessibility would be key though.
 
NiagaraFTram.jpg


I think a better route might be to take the LRT right down Queen St through the heart of downtown and then down Victoria back to the old rail ROW. It would be more expensive and slower, but it would take riders right through downtown and provide a lot more incentive to revitalize.
 
Looking at these pics, downtown Niagara Falls could just as easily be Detroit, Buffalo or Gary, IN.
 
MisterF said:
NiagaraFTram.jpg


I think a better route might be to take the LRT right down Queen St through the heart of downtown and then down Victoria back to the old rail ROW. It would be more expensive and slower, but it would take riders right through downtown and provide a lot more incentive to revitalize.
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Another line up Lundy's Lane would be great as well. The road is a bit narrow at some points but I'm sure they could figure something out. The current "People Mover" is not bad, but when I worked at the KOA on Lundy's Lane, we would get a lot of complaints that the stops on either side of our campground were in front of strip clubs. At least an LRT could help prevent this. Mind you, I guess kids have to grow up someday...
 
jn_12 said:
Another line up Lundy's Lane would be great as well. The road is a bit narrow at some points but I'm sure they could figure something out. The current "People Mover" is not bad, but when I worked at the KOA on Lundy's Lane, we would get a lot of complaints that the stops on either side of our campground were in front of strip clubs. At least an LRT could help prevent this. Mind you, I guess kids have to grow up someday...
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Hey, that's a free market for you. Zoning is for communists and killjoys.

But seriously, Lundy's Lane would indeed make a great supplementary transportation corridor...
 
Lundy's Lane
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Fallsview Hotels
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Rainy Night
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Hwy 420 / QEW Interchange
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Gino's Pizza
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View from my apartment
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The Real Niagara Falls (you can see Buffalo in the distance on the right horizon)
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Good photo tour of Niagara Falls,Ontario's lesser seen Downtown...

Flar: Good pics of Niagara Falls,Ontario-I have been in this area a bit on my trips from 1979-1990 as well as 1998 and 2002 visits as well. I have wanted to chime in on this for some time-I will comment on these pics:

#2-the CASO Railway overpass over I believe Zimmerman Street-The old NFS Youth Hostel was located at 4699 Zimmerman back before the early 90s.

#10 and #15-Rosberg's Department Store-Closed now!

#12-that light colored stone structure is quite a building-where exactly is it?

#17-I recall that this bank was an antique store back in the 80s.

#21-the VIA Rail station-plenty of memories of train trips thru there.

#28-I recall seeing that Armoury back then.

#33-the closed Canada Southern Railway arch bridge-note the barricades on it after the line was closed-I recall on my last trip to NFS in June 2002 seeing that bridge from the closed SB lanes of the Robert Moses Parkway which was under re-construction at that time-the road was using the NB lanes one in each direction leaving a good walking/bike path on the SB lanes-I recall taking a hike up there and seeing the Amtrak Maple Leaf stopped at the VIA station-my buddy wanted to take some pics but I talked him out of because I did not want to get hassled by the US Customs people below-you got a perfect view of the closed-up CASO Bridge and the barricades on it.

#36 - Canadian Federal Building-located exactly where?(the unreadable streetsign?)

#47-I like those old film projectors-where were those?

#66-68-Nice Victorian houses-are any overlooking the Gorge?

#69-Nice group of houses-again where?

#74-Good NFL pic!

Anyway-I want to mention one of my favorite Falls memories from the 80s-I was down in the Gorge near the American Falls exploring the staircases built on the rocks-anyway the air currents can be unpredictable and I ended up getting drenched - I recall walking back to the NFS Hostel-it was a nice late-summer night feeling like an total idiot and wishing that I could just hide...

What I would like to also mention is that it seemed to me that NFS's Downtown was a neglected area compared to the touristy areas like Clifton Hill and Lundy's Lane. I also recall in 1990 that prostitutes were working the area near and S of the Via Rail station-someone mentioned that they came over from Niagara Falls,NY to work the area.

I have a late 90s MapArt of Canada NFS map-I like their maps and I can now pinpoint locations easy on it.




In closing a good tour-and good memories! LI MIKE
 
Good LRT line idea for Niagara Falls

Mr.F: Good LRT idea using the closed CASO ROW from Downtown to the tourist and Casino areas-I recall walking this ROW from near Zimmerman Street-that pictured overpass I believe and walking all the way to the cut adjacent to the Skylon-I remember freight trains would tie the Clifton Hill area in knots sometimes when they came thru. Why not use that ROW for something? LI MIKE
 
Long Island Mike said:
#12-that light colored stone structure is quite a building-where exactly is it?



#36 - Canadian Federal Building-located exactly where?(the unreadable streetsign?)

#47-I like those old film projectors-where were those?

#66-68-Nice Victorian houses-are any overlooking the Gorge?

#69-Nice group of houses-again where?
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#12 was the old customs office (I think)
#36 the federal building is right on Queen St, the main drag downtown
#47 the old film projectors were displayed in the window of an abandoned shop, I don't know why

Some of those houses overlook the river, along River Rd between downtown and the Rainbow Bridge. All of the houses pictured are in this area but some are a block or two in from the River Rd.
 
Niagara Falls Pics...

Flar: Thanks-It has been a while but your descriptions jog my memory.
I wanted to mention that in pic #33 the Robert Moses Parkway overpass is in the background.

The houses in pics #66 to #68 and #69 I may very well have seen-especially if they front the Gorge on River Road-I have walked that quite a few times on my visits.

I am a little surprised that you did not include pics of the Niagara Transit Bus terminal across from the VIA station-I for one would have liked to see an example of NT's buses today. I remember the good transit maps-with some good city detail-that NT used to sell for 25 cents there.

Another memory is the Tourist Dollar coins that were sold in the 80s by the NF Canada Chamber of Commerce-on one of my trips I recall buying some for the small coin collection I have. Their office was on Queen Street also. I tried on my 1998 trip to get some-but the C of C had moved.

In closing that was a good photo group showing NFS as it really is-and NOT to tourists. I wonder if anyone has pictured Niagara Falls,NY this way-the comparison alone would be interesting. Long Island Mike
 
It always puzzles me when someone claims to show the real downtown of cities and then they only show the dilapidated, rundown parts. While I find these ghost towns interesting, they are no less real than the Clifton Hill area.

Niagara Falls needs to do something like what Las Vegas did to resurrect it's downtown.
 
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