Niagara Falls: A Tourist Destination for 200 Years

The tourism industry in Niagara Falls began to develop as early as the 1820s.  Many of the early tourist attractions here remain today.  The Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, and Whirlpool Rapids attractions continue to operate.   Other attractions such as the Burning Spring, Clark Hill Islands, and Lundy's Lane Observation Towers disappeared many years ago.   

Nineteenth century handbills advertising these attractions provide a fascinating glimpse of Niagara's early tourism industry.   The advertisements boasted of stunning views and assured patrons of the safety of their attractions.  Some even inspired poetry, claimed to improve health, and professed to be the only place on earth where rainbows form a circle.  

A list of the admission fees and tolls for popular Niagara Falls tourist attractions from Notes on Niagara, 1883.  The prices range from 10 cents to one dollar.