For Human Accumulations Alan Gignoux and Jenny Christensson are documenting the Niagara Falls of today – the waterfalls and the two cities of Niagara Falls in New York and Canada - in photographs and words in the form of interviews. Once, at the heart of an ancient forest, there was a beautiful waterfall, whose … Continue reading Human Accumulations: Documenting Niagara Falls
A City Haunted by Ghost Houses
One of the most visible signs of economic decline in Niagara Falls, New York, comes in the shape of “ghost” or “zombie” houses. Residential areas in the city are peppered with empty, boarded up and decaying houses. These houses are for the most part traditional mid-century clapboard structures, which even when down on their luck … Continue reading A City Haunted by Ghost Houses
Voices of Niagara: Richard Chapman, former Carborundum factory worker
We interviewed Richard Chapman, now retired, on 17th October 2018, about his experience of working at the Carborundum plant in Niagara Falls, where he was employed for ten years. "I got out of high school, I mean it was all right. Like I said, the people who lived next door to us, Mr. and Mrs. … Continue reading Voices of Niagara: Richard Chapman, former Carborundum factory worker
Love Canal
Love Canal was not just a national, but a global story. At one level, it was a catastrophe. On the other hand, it gives us the opportunity to claim that the modern environmental movement, as we understand it globally, was really born here at Niagara Falls. Mayor Paul Dyster, Niagara Falls, New York Back in … Continue reading Love Canal
Voices of Niagara: James Glynn, Chairman and CEO and Christopher Glynn, President, Maid of the Mist Corporation, Niagara Falls, New York
Jim Glynn and his son, Chris Glynn, discuss the history of the Maid of the Mist, the recent growth in tourism and how the family came to own the company. JG: My name is James Glynn and this is my 68th year with Maid of the Mist. The Maid of the Mist actually started … Continue reading Voices of Niagara: James Glynn, Chairman and CEO and Christopher Glynn, President, Maid of the Mist Corporation, Niagara Falls, New York
Thomas Cole and Ed Ruscha: Two Prophecies of American Decay
An earlier post on this blog - The Hudson River School- explains the importance of Thomas Cole as the leading light of the Hudson River School and outlines his critical stance towards what he regarded as the wanton destruction of the American landscape by greedy speculators. Two related exhibitions currently on display at London’s National … Continue reading Thomas Cole and Ed Ruscha: Two Prophecies of American Decay
Hidden in Havana
In Niagara: Two Centuries of Changing Attitudes, 1697-1901 (the catalogue that accompanied the Corcoran Gallery 1985 exhibition surveying historical artistic responses to Niagara Falls), art historian Jeremy Elwell Adamson tells us that Regis painted four wintertime Niagaras. He explains that the most famous of these, and one of the most popular paintings of the Falls … Continue reading Hidden in Havana
Voices of Niagara: Bryan Printup, GIS Manager, Tuscarora Nation Environment Programme, Niagara County
The Tuscarora Indian Nation has a reservation of approximately 24km2 on the outskirts of Niagara Falls, New York. Originally from the area that is now North Carolina, the Tuscarora Indians decided to emigrate north at the beginning of the 18th century due to colonial conflict. Because of ancestral connections, they were accepted as the Sixth … Continue reading Voices of Niagara: Bryan Printup, GIS Manager, Tuscarora Nation Environment Programme, Niagara County
Voices of Niagara: Michael Di Camillo, Di Camillo Bakery, Niagara Falls, New York
My name is Michael Di Camillo and my grandparents started Di Camillo Bakery in 1920. They were both immigrants from the Abruzzo region of Italy. They came separately and were married here in 1902. They started their family here. My grandfather was working at the Shredded Wheat plant – that’s the iconic cereal started in … Continue reading Voices of Niagara: Michael Di Camillo, Di Camillo Bakery, Niagara Falls, New York
Death and Defying Death at Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls has become associated with death in several ways: accidental death, which has been and remains a real possibility for those who venture too close the cataract's thundering waters, suicide and in the form of daredevil acts intended to defy death. The Lure of the Abyss According to Matthew Conheady, President and Founder of the … Continue reading Death and Defying Death at Niagara Falls
Human Accumulations 