By Tony Farina
Niagara Falls may not be officially considered one of the seven world wonders but is most commonly listed as an honorary 8th wonder or a natural wonder.
Anyone who has seen the mighty falls in person or on film recognize it is truly a wonder of worlds and are in awe of the Great Lakes flowing over the falls into the Niagara River. A majestic sight indeed, truly a wonder.
Located on the border of the U.S. and Canada, it is often described as a unique geological feature formed by ice sheets, melting ice, and island shifts and of course it is the birthplace of the world’s first hydropower station. And the display of water flow at Bridal Veil Falls, Horseshoe Falls, and American Falls with an average of 2,400.000 to 3,150,000 gallons of water falls per minute, is truly overwhelming. A world wonder? Yes, indeed.
But unfortunately, except for a brief moment in June of 2012 when aerialist Nik Wallenda walked across Niagara Falls on a tightrope, the mighty falls is not front and center in the world wonder category.
And also unfortunately, Wallenda’s walk into history was a brief moment for the falls to take center stage before the whole world and sadly, the moment is gone and so is Wallenda as city leaders couldn’t find a path to honor him in the city with a signature tourist center that would have attracted millions.
That’s sort of the legacy of Niagara Falls USA, a town next to a world wonder that can’t escape a history of missed opportunities. Just can’t quite turn the corner no matter how much public money is thrown into the effort to make it more than a summer diversion for tourists who might stay longer if the city had more to offer besides the mighty Falls. Mostly, it doesn’t it and that’s the real misfortune of Niagara Falls. The casino gobbled up the tourists and the money and left the rest of the city struggling to survive. No mighty plans have come to fruition only starts and mostly stops at the development game, a pattern that hopefully can be reversed with strong leadership and a commitment to convince private developers investment is possible.
So far, that hasn’t happened no matter how far back you look. Even the mighty and iconic Como Restaurant couldn’t hold on and is now empty like many other historic parcels that have gone into history as part of the failure of the city to capitalize on opportunities that have come and mostly gone.
There is always a bit of hope during political times when candidates take to the stage to spell out their vision for helping to revitalize the city. But unfortunately, it often blows away with the wind and freezes over in the cold days of winter when the tourists go to more hospitable environments, like in some cases across the river into Canada.
Can Niagara Falls become a world tourist wonder for more than a few months of the year? Can residents believe that enlightened and less political leadership can turn the ship around and make Niagara Falls even a little like the place some people can still remember.
It all has to start with a commitment to encourage and support private development at the expense of political cronyism and favoritism for big pocket political donors.
I guess there is always hope that some leaders can emerge with more to offer than empty promises and flawed development strategies that bank on public money that even the state comptroller had trouble finding in a recent audit.
Yes, Niagara Falls is at least an honorary world wonder but the city is not. Hopefully change will come to the city and leadership will do what Nik Wallenda did in his glorious tightrope walk and give Niagara Falls a place in tomorrow’s future. Let’s hope.