Visitation to Niagara Falls USA is breaking all-time records this summer, as Niagara Falls State Park is celebrating 130 years, and new businesses and amenities are open in downtown Niagara Falls, N.Y.

The Niagara USA Official Visitor Center assisted 11,687 guests during the month of June, a 100-percent increase over last year. During the Independence Day holiday weekend, the Visitor Center welcomed 5,514, a fourfold increase over the same three-day holiday in 2014; and more recently, from July 10 – 13, the Visitor Center saw daily increases (compared to 2014) ranging from 240 to 330 percent. The Visitor Center has been trending up all year, finishing the second quarter 62 percent ahead, over 2014. To date, the Visitor Center is up 91 percent, welcoming 30,114 visitors through July 6, 2015. The official number of visitors to the Visitor Center in 2014 was 40,979.

“As the local tourism industry continues to prosper, it also means economic growth for Niagara County. Looking ahead to the end of the summer, I am confident we will be announcing a new recording-breaking number of visitors coming to experience Niagara Falls and its surrounding communities,” said John Percy, president & CEO, Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation (NTCC). “These numbers are indicative of what we are witnessing – an increase in State Park and attraction attendance, and hotel occupancy.”

Last year, the overall tourism impact included a recorded $525 million spent by visitors. With tourism being the second largest employer in the county, there are currently 14,232 people or 20.1 percent, making-up the total workforce. Labor income from tourism is more than $272 million, as reported in NTCC’s 2014 Annual Report.

“Our family saw the potential growth of tourism in Niagara County and we decided to capitalize on that vision, by investing in the growth of the industry and future of Niagara Falls,” said Frank Strangio, chair, NTCC board of directors; and owner of the Quality Inn Niagara Falls and the new Wingate by Wyndham Niagara Falls.

Michael Barnes, of Delaware North Companies, the concessionaire for Niagara Falls State Park, reported an increase in revenues of 16.5 percent compared to last year.

Hotels are also seeing an increase in occupancy, including Ron Drogmeyer, general manager, Sheraton At The Falls, who said the Independence Day holiday weekend was especially great. “Our hotel was very busy and our outlets had record business,” he said. “It all went extremely well.”

Sheraton At The Falls is home to one of downtown Niagara Falls’ newest eateries, the Rainforest Café, on Old Falls Street. New properties in Niagara Falls, N.Y. include the Wingate by Wyndham Niagara Falls, Tony Roma’s and The Great American Arcade at the Holiday Inn Niagara Falls, both are also open for business.

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The mission of the Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation (NTCC) is to expand the economic prosperity of the Niagara USA communities by generating individual and group visitation. For more information, visit niagara-usa.com.

The historic area surrounding Buffalo Avenue in Niagara Falls is an outdoor exhibition hall for Tom Batt, Georgia Robinson Bradberry, and Ron Schiesser. Georgia, Ron, and Tom are guides for the “Niagara Falls Legacy Tour: Power People, Powerful Places.” They are three of the escorts/companions for Niagara Historic Tours, a public education and tourism program of the Niagara Falls Historic Preservation Society. NFHPS is headquartered at the NACC, in partnership with Preservation Buffalo Niagara. Join them for a 90 minute $10 tour as they walk along Buffalo Avenue and explore the past. View the homes and meeting places for some of America’s greatest thinkers, inventors and industrialists. Learn about the dreamers, scoundrels and visionaries who changed the shape of history in Niagara Falls, formerly known as Manchester.

Tom, NFHPS Board Vice-President, is one of the original tour guides as well as a long-time promoter of awareness of the historical, cultural, and architectural uniqueness of the Niagara region. Ironically, Tom has resided in three of the tour locations, so his perspective of the route is indeed unique. His favorite stop on the tour is something that is out of the eye range of the average tourist. Ask him about the Jozef Slawinska House and the famous cement “sgraffito” mural of the Maid of the Mist. Tom also shares some interesting facts about the actual Maid of the Mist and the Glynn family that owns the boats.

Born in Alabama, Georgia is a proud Niagara Falls resident and a graduate of Madonna and Niagara University. Recently retired from public service, she is enthusiastic about her community and eager to share her personal insights of the area. One anecdote includes the time she spent working at the now defunct Hotel Niagara with the elegant ballroom. She hopes to see it return to its original grandeur under the new owners. Her favorite part of the tour is the city block where the Shredded Wheat Company and affiliated recreation areas once stood. With a roof top garden, tennis courts, ice rink, free lunches for female employees, Georgia thinks it must have been a great place to work.

Although Ron retired from a career in finance, at one time he was employed at the Red Coach Inn that was owned by a family member at the time. He has also worked as a limousine drive/tour guide in the Falls area. Ron took the tour in the fall of 2014 and was so impressed that he signed up for the docent training the following spring. His personal experiences, as well as ongoing research, definitely make his tour memorable. Ron thinks the elegant Hillcrest Inn, a Georgian mansion on a bricked, secluded street is the most distinctive part of the tour.

All three agree that the Whitney Mansion at 335 Buffalo Avenue is the highlight of the tour. The building was constructed in 1849 after delays due to the Patriot’s War and the Panic of 1837. In 1962 General Clinton Robinson, president of Carborundum Company, (but no relation to Georgia) lived there. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and is currently occupied by the Law Offices of Gold and Gold.

The tours depart from the Niagara Visitor’s Center, 10 Rainbow Boulevard, on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm, Fridays at 4:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. Reservations are suggested, but not required, and can be made at www.nfhps.org. Free parking is available after 5 p.m. at First Street and Rainbow Boulevard just opposite the Center. For more information on the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area visit www.discoverniagara.org.

*Docent – a person who is a knowledgeable guide, especially one who conducts visitors through a museum and delivers a commentary on the exhibitions.

[From education to art, people in Niagara Falls are making fantastic things happen!  “Lovin’ Niagara” is a series of articles by contributor Mary Leahy highlighting some of our outstanding citizens. Do you know someone who you feel should be featured? Contact us ]
NFHPS Treasurer, Joyce Sabin, is pictured on a carriage step on the tour route. Popular back in the horse and buggy days of the 19th century carriage steps could be seen in cities all over the U.S. These blocks of stone were placed near the edge of the street, usually in line with the front door, to help passengers as they climbed in and out of carriages. Most carriage steps have been destroyed because they became obsolete when cars took over as primary transportation.