Niagara Falls
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Movies and television
Already a huge tourist attraction and favorite spot for honeymooners, Niagara Falls visits rose sharply in 1953 after the release of Niagara, a movie starring Marilyn Monroe. Later in the 20th century, the Falls was a featured location in 1980's movie Superman II, and was itself the subject of a popular IMAX movie. Much of the episode Return of the Technodrome in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series take place near the Niagara Falls and its hydroelectric plant. Illusionist David Copperfield performed a trick in which he appeared to travel over the Horseshoe Falls in 1990. The Falls, or more particularly, the tourist-supported complex near the Falls, was the setting of the short-lived American television show Wonderfalls in early 2004. With the recent influx of more international tourists, annual visits exceeded 14 million in 2003.
Tourism
Peak numbers of visitors occur in the summertime, when Niagara Falls are both a daytime and evening attraction. From the Canadian side, floodlights illuminate both sides of the Falls for several hours after dark (until midnight). The number of visitors annually is aproxomently 20 million in year 2007 and by 2009 it is estimated to grow to 28 million tourists a year.
From the American side, the American Falls can be viewed from walkways along Prospect Park, which also features an observation tower. Nearby, the Cave of the Winds trail leads hikers down some three hundred steps to a point beneath Bridal Veil Falls. The Niagara Scenic Trolley offers guided trips along the American Falls. On the American side, stunning panoramic and aerial views of the falls can be viewed from the top floor of Frank Parlato Jr.'s One Niagara / Niagara Center (called “The greatest view in the world”) , “The Flight of Angels” hot air balloon ride or by helicopter.
On the Canadian side, Queen Victoria Park features manicured gardens, platforms offering spectacular views of both the American and Horseshoe Falls, and underground walkways leading into observation rooms which yield the illusion of being within the falling waters. The observation deck of the nearby Skylon Tower offers the highest overhead view of the Falls, and in the opposite direction gives views as far as distant Toronto. Along with the Minolta Tower (formerly the Konica Minolta Tower), it is one of two towers in Canada with a view of the Falls.
Along the Niagara River, the Niagara River Recreational Trail runs the 35 miles (56 km) from Fort Erie to Fort George, and includes many historical sites from the War of 1812.
The Maid of the Mist cruises, named for an ancient Ongiara Indian mythical character, have carried passengers into the whirlpools beneath the Falls since 1846. The Whirlpool Aero Car, built in 1916 from a design by Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres y Quevedo, is a cable car which takes passengers over the whirlpool on the Canadian side.
The Journey Behind the Falls - accessible by elevators from the street level entrance - consists of an observation platform and series of tunnels near the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side.
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