Niagara Falls — Water, War & Power
Clifton Hill and the Manufactured Spectacle
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
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Transcript
Clifton Hill is the opposite of Queen Victoria Park, which is exactly why it belongs in the same guide.
Wax museums, haunted houses, arcades, observation wheels and bright signs continue Niagara's long tradition of selling entertainment beside the natural wonder.
Visitors have always wanted more than geology. Nineteenth-century Niagara offered museums, souvenir photography, guides, tightrope acts and daredevil performances.
The commercial strip is therefore not a modern corruption of an otherwise pure destination. It is the descendant of a very old tourism economy.
Daredevil legends are especially powerful here. Annie Edson Taylor survived going over Horseshoe Falls in a barrel in 1901. Others attempted similar feats, sometimes fatally.
Do not mistake survival stories for safe traditions. Modern authorities prohibit such stunts for good reason.
Niagara tourism has always balanced awe with spectacle. Clifton Hill simply removes any pretence that the spectacle is natural.