Whirlpool Rapids Park

Guide to the Whirlpool Rapids Park, Niagara Falls, Ontario

The Whirlpool Rapids became a popular tourist attraction after the construction of incline railways in the Niagara Gorge.  The railways made it possible to transport tourists into the gorge so that they could easily and safely view the world-famous rapids at close range.    One such incline was built on the Canadian side of the Niagara River sometime after 1876 and was known as the Whirlpool Rapids Incline.   The railway cars would descend the gorge to a path that ran along the edge of the rapids.  In 1932, the Niagara Parks Commission became the new owners of the railway.  Two years later, the Whirlpool Rapids Incline and its buildings were destroyed by fire.    An elevator was built to replace the railway and a boardwalk constructed along the water's edge.  

A handbill advertising the attraction notes that "...the visitor will go down the slope to the water's edge, as it is absolutely necessary to get close to the water to have a proper conception of the magnitude and grandeur of the Rapids".   There is also mention of a "most singular phenomena" known as the "boiling well".

A view of the Whirlpool Rapids from the American shore, 1901.