Historic Niagara forms backdrop to Better World Conference

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Photo: Michael Manett

When you come to Niagara Falls to enjoy the joint OPPI-CIP conference in September, you are coming to an area steeped in history.

The first recorded settlers in Niagara Falls arrived in 1782. The first roads followed the trails of the First Nation's people and are still important transportation corridors today. Portage Road (the name reminds us that Niagara Falls required those travelling by water to make a long portage) extends from Chippawa to Queenston and wends its way through the City, skirting the upper rapids, falls and whirlpool of the Niagara River. Mountain Road follows the original trail along the brow of the Niagara Escarpment, overlooking Niagara-on-the-Lake.

In 1833, The City of the Falls Project was conceived as the first ìplanned communityî in Niagara Falls. Approximately 400 acres were to be subdivided surrounding the hotels at the Falls. The plan called for the building of public gardens, churches, schools and a library; in essence a complete community. Alas, the project failed, because it was too costly to construct the necessary infrastructure and the sale of lots was slow. Today, many streets in the Fallsview area bear the names of the principals in the plan.

A double-deck suspension bridge was built across the Niagara River in 1853 to accommodate the Grand Trunk Railway, which arrived that year. The railway brought new prosperity and an ever-growing number of visitors to see the natural wonder of the New World.

After the Falls, the second most popular attraction was a visit to the Lundy's Lane Battleground, immortalized in the lyrics of ìThe Maple Leaf Forever.î Initially, tourists came to climb or ride to the top of the observation towers erected on the site of the bloodiest conflict ever to take place on Canadian soil. The towers are long gone, but conference participants can see the best collection of artifacts, uniforms and memorabilia associated with the War of 1812 on exhibit at the Lundy's Lane Museum. The collection will form the centrepiece of displays for bicentennial events planned three years hence.

By the 1860s, the area along the Niagara River next to the Falls on both sides of the border was a centre for sideshows, stunters and all manner of disreputable money-making activities. Complaints from both Americans and Canadians to their respective governments led to the creation of parks on either side of the river. The United States passed legislation in 1883 to establish the State Reservation above the Falls. The grounds and landscape were the work of Fredrick Law Olmstead, pre-eminent parks planner of the period and father of landscape architecture in North America. His work will be examined during one of the mobile workshops of the conference.

In 1885, the Niagara Falls Park Act began the process that led to the creation of a public Canadian park at the Falls. Today, the Niagara Parks Commission controls the lands from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie and is lauded for its preservation of publicly accessible land. Join us for our opening celebrations at Edgewater's Tap and Grill in the heart of the Park, or for an early morning jog through the Park on Friday.

The late 19th century also saw the first efforts to harness the falls for hydroelectric power generation. The Canadian Niagara Power Company, formed in 1892, was the first to generate power on a large scale on the Canadian side. Its Rankine Generating Station is now owned by the Niagara Parks Commission. Over the next several years, other companies were granted rights to use water to generate electricity, including the syndicate led by Sir Henry Pellatt (who made his home at Casa Loma in Toronto). Power development continues on an even larger scale today.

Currently, the provincial government and Ontario Power Generation are boring a new (third) tunnel under the City to divert water from the upper Niagara River to operate turbines at the Sir Adam Beck plant at the north end of the City. Sign up for the mobile workshop that includes a visit to the generating station and tunnelling site.

The supply of hydroelectric power brought with it an influx of industry, including Nabisco, Post Foods, Canadian Ramapo Iron Works, Burgess Battery, Ohio Brass, and Cytec. Most of the heavy manufacturers are now gone, leaving brownfields behind. One of these sites will be the focus of an intensive urban design charrette on opening day.

The Niagara region on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border will be featured in several mobile workshops. The City's historian will lead an orientation tour highlighting cultural heritage for both delegates and their families. Speakers from across the country will showcase their projects as our profession debates, challenges and discusses the opportunity to Build a Better World. Join us at one of the world's wonders for a fabulous experience where we can learn from the past as we chart the future.