“The possession of arbitrary power has always, the world over, tended irresistibly to destroy humane sensibility, magnanimity, and truth.”
– Frederick Law Olmsted
There is a funny little trait shared by many people that have grown up in the city of Niagara Falls – we tend to think of parts of the city as belonging solely to us. Take Hyde Park for example; Duck Island in particular. I first walked onto Duck Island to fish with my grandfather when I was little past the age of being able to tie my own shoelaces. Not long after, I routinely rode my Schwinn Stingray 5-speed there to find an oasis amidst the tempest of childhood drama.
The city market at Pine and 18th is much the same. Some people went there to buy fresh produce or look for treasure amongst someone else
I just don’t know what to say. Everything that was cool about the islands has now been altered or fenced off. It is incredibly sad.
I have lived in Niagara Falls my entire life. When I was a kid, my grandfather (God rest his soul) used to take myself and my brothers to Three Sisters constantly to explore and play. I basically grew up on Three Sisters, Duck Island and the Wintergardens. To keep us entertained, my grandfather would hide pennies in the rocks on Three Sisters and my brothers and I would search for them. Some of my fondest memories are those with my grandfather, and some of them take place on the last island.
That being said, last week I visited Three Sisters with my girlfriend. Being from Buffalo, she’d never been to the islands. I was really impressed with the renovations that were made. Instead of beat up, gravel paths; there are now nicely tiled stone walkways. New ferns were planted all around, in areas which are currently roped off but I’m sure in time they will be once again opened to the public. Sure, her and I may have snuck past the roped off area but hey that’s half the fun isn’t it?
She found the location very beautiful and we had a nice romantic date there. I was happy to see that improvements were actually made somewhere that is so sacred to me. I think change is sometimes for the best and in this case it is definitely more pleasing to the eye as far as the walking paths go. Once the barriers come down, it will probably seem much more approachable to both those who have never been there and those who return often.
I love Niagara Falls and I think the more we can support improvements to our natural attractions, the better! I still visit there from time to time, looking in the holes in the rocks for my grandfather’s pennies…
I have to recant my statement, because (as stated in the previous comment), I was under the illusion that the barriers would be coming down.
Instead, more went up. These ones are more permanent.
This is an outrage. Ignore the railing.
Hey, I was known as the nice guy when I was at the Reporter – Hudson used to say that everything made me happy.
FTC
Please, nothing ever makes Frank (or anyone at the reporter) happy. Another cry baby article. boo hoo. Why no mention of the old train in Hyde park? Ceretto is on his one and only term. Lets hope George can get him an office next to Rob Daly!
Niagara Falls is so beautiful naturally and the city planners don’t know what to do with it.
Yes, the pathways needed repairs, as did the railings, but those paving stones look like they belong in Robert Moses’ mausoleum.
when my Friend called me this morning to tell me about this, I was devastated to hear the news BUT then when she forwarded me this well written article and I saw the pictures for myself, I was totally SICKENED how they have taken away our Natural Beauty and put in this ridiculous man-made CRAP. Leave, what mother-nature, has given us alone!!! This is NOT Canada ~ we, in Niagara Falls, NY had the Natural Beauty of 3-sisters island, as I have always been attracted to from a little girl. Always so, so PROUD of our Falls. Shame on EVERYONE who was involved with this disaster of what they call a renovation and are so ignorantly proud of!!!!
dear frank,
although i see your point, I have to disagree. the walkways were unsafe and dangerous. many times when i was there i saw visitors wading in the waters around 3 sisters island, obviously not knowing the dangers or the fact it was illegal.there were no clear cut markers. I think this will let people see the island the water and preserve the plants and “nature of the park”. Now I agree local people want to keep it as it was but if you hade never been there before and wanted to be impressed, it was a dump. I will continue to frequent the park and love it.
Great article except for your reference to redheaded stepchild. Excuse me! Are redheads second class citizens!
What insane IDIOT thought of this? I hope everyone in my hometown rises up and DEMANDS that it be put back the way it was, this is vile and inexcusable. TACKY!
My sister Alison is going to be pissed! she spent many years down on three sisters with her saint bernards, and loved it ,some say people are affraid of change not the case just want to leave natural things the way they are and keep our memories of growing up in the park, bringing our kids and sitting on the rocks by the water the way we did as kids, isnt there enough problems with the city of Niagara Falls ,abandon houses that need leveling ,roads that your affraid to drive down because theres so many pot holes, come on wake up mayor we need good planning not this! hate to see what becomes of all that seneca money geez!!
The beauty of Mother Nature, folks, is that she never needs much prodding to revert to her default state. I can see how pavement might be a challenge, so she may have to work around that, but the funny thing about landscaping gravel is that it’s not cemented down and it fits very nicely in pockets and backpacks. Seeds, too, are extremely portable, and I think you’d find that if someone unexpectedly and without your permission erected a fence around your property, you’d figure out how to take it down. I know that parts of the chainlink fence that supposedly prevent people from crossing the Moses to get to the Gorge trails mysteriously come down only hours after the city repairs them. I assume it’s God’s own will being done, for mere mortals cannot break metal… can they?
C’mon, Fallsies! Grow some ballsies! No elected official is going to spend another $2.5M after slowly watching this investment “erode” before his eyes. We have hands and we have tools and we’re smart enough to realize that a little guerrilla gardening here and there, bit by bit, along with a little relocation of objectionable pieces of matter will take care of this fairly quickly.
I’m not a native Fallsian, so forgive my ignorance, but why does it seem that the same people who weep over the loss of natural beauty then go on to complain that we don’t have a Mini Vegas on our side of the Falls, a la Canada? What do people really want? The natural beauty that seems to have been the intention of Olmsted, or the ka-ching of the cash registers? Do we want both? Is that possible? If so, then for goodness sakes, people, just DO it! Don’t wait for permission that won’t come. This land is your land. If you have to carry out a couple of pocketsful of expensive landscaping gravel every time you visit the Islands, so be it. 50 people a day can carry 100 cups out in cargo shorts, purses, back packs…. Small children can be challenged to see how many stones they can toss into the water each day… how many flowers they can pick… how many wild grass seeds they can toss onto landscaped lawns… this doesn’t seem like rocket science.
Mother Nature will be more than happy to play along while the good folks in Albany scratch their heads at the bills that keep piling up for more polished stone and Round Up. Eventually, they will get tired of paying them. They’ll throw up their hands and shake their heads and figure that they shouldn’t waste their time trying to help us poor slobs anymore if we can’t appreciate their vision. And we’ll be very grateful for all the help they’ll keep to themselves in the future.
Maybe a few harsh winters and mother natures raw power can start to reverse this man made putt-putt patio.
Also one of my favorite spots on earth. I cant count the number of pictures taken on those rocks, all seasons..thank God! They cant take those away…sad, sad, sad… “they paved paradise…”.
It’s interesting to see that many posts are from FORMER residents of the NF area. The fact that State and, dare I say, local government “ideas” always seemed to be, well, BAD are one of the main reasons (I believe) that the City of NF has so many FORMER residents. I will forever be puzzled as to why the natural wonder of that rushing water was never enough to make the area world-class. Where are the great buildings, restaurants, hell even tacky-but-successful attractions like the Canadian side has?
I have good friends and a couple wonderful relatives that make trips to my old home town worth it. But the sadness of seeing the constant decline makes those visits difficult.
I agree with Mr. Croisdale 100 %. They have done some needed renovations to the railings in the Cave of the Winds but Luna Island and Three Sister Islands have been desecrated. They chopped down all of the natural foliage on Luna Island, instead of just trimming it back, “to give a better view” they said..as if you can’t the wondrous waterfall by moving to another area. And Three Sister Island’s landscape if forever changed. What was once a “natural wonder”, is not so natural anymore.
Not only do the people that make these idiotic decisions not ask the residents for input but they actually pat themselves on the back.
It’s a disgrace!
Thank you Jim for your to the point post. The shame and horror which still goes on in my hometown….I guess it will never end.Frank, bless you for your truthful well written article!
This was a very good article. I enjoyed reading it. All I have to say is this: at least I have my memories. No one can take those away from me and I will always cherish the happy times in the 70’s and 80’s. Niagara Falls was a great place to live and I miss it.
Might I add that there were some improvements that did need to be made. For example, the walkways, while they were not “commercial” or “suburban” as they are now, were in bad repair and very outdated. Blacktop met concrete met more blacktop. The step at the very beginning of entering the islands allows you to walk down to the water that flows under the first bridge….In the past it was always questionable as to whether visitors were actually allowed to go down there. It was dirt and unkempt so I do believe improvements were needed there. I am not a landscape architect, so I cannot give an opinion as to what should have been done to improve but not “suburbanize” the area, but there were indeed questionable choices.
What has been done to the third island breaks my heart. Those huge boulders were a history lesson for us all. Placed there by Mother Nature, trekked upon by countless visitors, rubbed smooth as a testament to all those who longed to get close to the beautiful waters edge. I used to imagine, and tell my kids to imagine, all the Native Americans whose feet and hands must have also touched those boulders centuries before. I imagined them standing in awe of the natural wonder they were a part of as they stood there on the island. That alone should have rendered those rocks sacred. Who thought it was a good idea to dump loads of driveway gravel on them and cover that history forever?! The flowers that have obviously been planted just beyond the boulders are already trampled by those who still long to get down to the water. What a travesty!
Chris – I am Native Tuscarora and I really appreciate what you wrote and how you felt about the island. I deeply saddens me to see pictures of what they have done. I don’t live in Niagara Falls anymore, but would always “do the trek” when I came home to visit. Now, I’m not sure I will ever go back; I will hold on to the memories that are sacred in my heart.
*It…oh I hate typos!
what used to leave me breathless now renders me speechless….and yes I did go to see for myself
Once again, the Benevolent (or should I say, Malevolent) Godfather, the State of New York, has bequeathed upon us another travesty. I agree with you about the 3-sisters, but you shouldn’t limit your comments to those. I am old enough to remember back in the 1940’s and 1950’s when Goat Island was au-natural, covered in forest and populated by all kinds of flora and fauna. It used to be a Sunday routine to walk there after church and glory in the beauty of nature, trekking through the woods, never knowing which of God’s creatures might run across our paths. It was that natural beauty that separated “our side” of the falls from the commercial and manicured Canadian side. And this was when tourists abounded int he downtown area. People were four deep strolling Falls Street, both visitors and (believe it or not) many locals, too. We had on street parking and a number of street level parking lots. Our population was much larger than it is now, and our visitors had the option of traveling here by car, bus, and train. We not only managed, but we thrived. Then the state decided we needed more parking so they cut down the old-growth forest and put in blacktop. I won’t even mention “Lord” Robert Moses and what his grand vision did to us. Yes, the downtown was kind of worn out and dreary at times and the failed urban renewal did nothing to help.
Even after they destroyed the nature of Goat Island, the state couldn’t do much else right either. They bought trolleys that wouldn’t fit under the existing bridges so they had to change the traffic pattern, which just happened to re-route the traffic past the big time vendors. State of New York, you screwed up enough! You aren’t “improving,” you are (and have) destroyed us. For years we have been your golden goose. It’s time you were stuffed and roasted.
Take the fence down… you have done enough damage !!!!
Great article Frank. I agree! Travesty that can not be undone. Very sad.