Niagara Falls State Park

Niagara Falls State Park is located in the City of Niagara Falls in Niagara County, New York, United States. The park, recognized as the oldest state park in the United States, contains the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls, and a portion of the Horseshoe Falls (also known as the Canadian Falls).

Niagara Falls State Park
Niagara Falls State Park's overlook of the American Falls, with the Horseshoe Falls in the distance
Niagara Falls State Park is located in New York
Niagara Falls State Park
Niagara Falls State Park is located in the United States
Niagara Falls State Park
TypeState park
LocationProspect Street & Old Falls Street
Niagara Falls, New York, United States[1]
Coordinates43°05′N 79°04′W
Area221 acres (0.89 km2)[2]
Created1885 (1885)[3]
Operated byNew York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Visitors9,529,325 (in 2016)[4]
OpenAll year
WebsiteNiagara Falls State Park
Niagara Reservation
LocationNiagara Falls, New York, United States
Area435 acres (176 ha) (landmarked area)
Built1885 (1885)
NRHP reference No.66000555[5]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated NHLMay 23, 1963[6]

History
Postcard from 1898 showing view of the American Falls from Goat Island

Prior to being protected, the lands surrounding Niagara Falls on both sides of the river were largely controlled by private interests, and public access to the falls was limited. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, an early champion of the falls' surroundings, began advocating for their preservation in the 1860s. In 1879, at the behest of the New York State Legislature, Olmsted and State Surveyor James T. Gardner helped prepare a special report on the falls' conditions, which argued for increased public access to the falls and recommended that the state purchase lands for that purpose. The report was followed by a publicity and petitioning campaign that helped bring the issue to the public's attention.[7]

Olmsted and others formed the Niagara Falls Association in 1883, a group that aimed to lobby New York to acquire and protect the falls from private exploitation.[7] Their efforts succeeded later that year when, on April 30, 1883, a bill authorizing the "selection, location and appropriation of certain lands in the village of Niagara Falls for a state reservation" was signed into law by then-governor Grover Cleveland.[8][9] The act led to the establishment of the Niagara Reservation in 1885.[3][10] New York State Assemblyman Thomas Vincent Welch figured prominently in getting the bill signed, and served as the first Superintendent of the Park for 18 years from its inception until 1903.

Niagara Falls State Park is claimed to be the oldest continuously operating state park in the United States[11][note 1] and the first established via eminent domain.[3]

The impetus to protect the falls and improve their accessibility to the public was international; early lobbying for the park's creation was bolstered by similar plans that were proposed for the Ontario side of the Niagara River. Although plans for an international park did not come to fruition, work to establish a park under Ontario provincial authority began in 1885, with the creation of the Niagara Parks Commission. The Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park, today known as Queen Victoria Park, was created in 1887.[10]

The Niagara Reservation's early design was accomplished by Olmsted and architect Calvert Vaux. The team completed their designs in 1887, with a focus on improving public access while preserving the landscape's natural and scenic elements, to the exclusion of commercial and resort-style attractions.[7]

The Niagara Reservation was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1963.[6][13] It is a major contributing element to the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area.[14]

A $44-million refurbishment of the park's facilities was completed in 2003. Work focused on improvements to the park's observation tower, visitor's center, bridges, trails, and other infrastructure.[11]

In 2007, Niagara Falls State Park was named as the 10th most beautiful spot in America by The Today Show.[15]

Park facilities
Niagara Falls State Park visitors center

In addition to its views of the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the Canadian Falls, the park overlooks the Niagara Gorge and allows access to the Maid of the Mist tour boats, Cave of the Winds, Goat Island, the Prospect Point Observation Tower, a statue of Nikola Tesla, and the IMAX movie Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic which is shown at the Niagara Adventure Theater.

The park also offers a museum, food concession, a movie theater, a gift shop, fireworks, hiking and nature trails, picnic tables, recreation programs, and fishing. The Top of the Falls Restaurant, on Goat Island overlooking the Horseshoe Falls, is also available within the park.[16]

See also

Notes
  1. Although claimed as the oldest state park in the United States, Niagara Falls was not the first state-managed park.[12] For a discussion of earlier state parks, see History of state parks in the United States.

References
  1. "Niagara Falls State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  2. "Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9". 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook (PDF). The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. 2014. pp. 671–674. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  3. "Niagara National Heritage Area Study Report". National Park Service. 2005. p. 26. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  4. "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  5. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  6. "Niagara Reservation". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 17, 2007. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007.
  7. Carr, Ethan (2014). "Olmsted and Scenic Preservation". Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America. Western New York Public Broadcasting Association. Archived from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  8. "Chapter 336: An act to authorize the selection, location and appropriation of certain lands in the village of Niagara Falls for a state reservation and to preserve the scenery of the falls of Niagara". The General Statutes of the State of New York for the Year 1883. Albany, NY: Weed, Parsons and Company. 1883. pp. 155–157. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  9. Natural Heritage Trust; New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; New York State Council of Parks & Recreation (1975). Fifty Years: New York State Parks, 1924–1974. Natural Heritage Trust. p. 10.
  10. "Niagara Falls Park System". Seventeenth Annual Report of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society to the Legislature of the State of New York. American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. 1912. pp. 278–284. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  11. "Governor Announces Completion of Multi-Million Dollar Improvement at Scenic Niagara Falls State Park". NYS Office of the Governor. June 24, 2003. Archived from the original on October 3, 2006. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  12. Edmondson, Brad (2001). "Publication #72 – Environmental Affairs in New York State: A Historical Overview" (PDF). New York State Archives. pp. 7–9. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  13. Richard Greenwood (January 16, 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Niagara Reservation" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved June 22, 2009. and Accompanying aerial photo, undated. (477 KB)
  14. "History and Culture". Niagara Falls National Heritage Area. National Park Service. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  15. "Niagara Falls State Park Named to Today Show's List of America's Beautiful Spots". readMedia.com. July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  16. Hufnagel, James (July 17, 2012). "Top of the Falls Dining Experience Falls Short". Niagara Falls Reporter. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
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