Main entry:

Irwin, William R.

Title & Author:

The new Niagara : tourism, technology, and the landscape of Niagara Falls, 1776-1917 / William Irwin.

Publication:

University Park, Pa. : Pennsylvania State University Press, ©1996.

Description:

xxiii, 276 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-262) and index.
1. Awakening to Niagara: Early American Development and Tourism at Niagara Falls -- 2. Bridge to a New Niagara -- 3. Preserving Niagara and Creating the State Reservation -- 4. Capturing the Falls: Power, Powerhouses, and the Electricity Age -- 5. Electricity's Throne: Niagara Falls and the Utopian Impulse -- 6. The Spirit of Niagara: Niagara Falls and the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 -- 7. "The Wonder of the Age": Shredded Wheat and the Natural Food Company's Model Factory.

Summary:

Visitors may wonder how Niagara Falls came to be the site of magnificent bridges, a famous cereal factory, and a picturesque New York state reservation designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Although many have always admired the natural splendor of the Falls, William Irwin explains that it was not until the mid-1800s that Niagara truly captured the American imagination. With the coming of John Roebling's railway suspension bridge in 1855 came the promise of a "new" Niagara, one in which nature and technology could flourish in harmony. Although some saw the transformation of Niagara Falls as a national shame, for many others it stimulated utopian visions of a great modern America.
Tourists flocked to a place that showcased both the beauty of nature and the marvels of technology. Companies such as Shredded Wheat (later absorbed by Nabisco) fed on the public's expectations of novel and revolutionary progress at Niagara. The Shredded Wheat factory and the Niagara Power Company became tourist attractions in their own right. Some developers went so far as to claim that their works exceeded Niagara's natural beauty. By taking us back to a period when Niagara Falls was appreciated as much for its utopian promise as for its natural beauty, The New Niagara reveals America's remarkable romance with technology and its faith in human mastery of the environment.

Resources:
Table of contents
Table of contents

ISBN:

0271015349 (cloth ; acid-free paper)
9780271015347 (cloth ; acid-free paper)
0271015934 (paper ; acid-free paper)
9780271015934 (paper ; acid-free paper)

Subject:

Landscapes Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.) History.
Tourism Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.) History.
Industrialization Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.) History.
Public opinion United States History.
Paysages Niagara, Chutes du (N.Y. et Ont.) Histoire.
Tourisme Niagara, Chutes du (N.Y. et Ont.) Histoire.
Industrialisation Niagara, Chutes du (N.Y. et Ont.) Histoire.
Opinion publique États-Unis Histoire.
Industrialization.
Landscapes.
Public opinion.
Tourism.
Industrialisierung
Landschaftsplanung
Tourismus
Toerisme.
Watervallen.
Industrialisatie.
Landschappen.
Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.) Public opinion History.
Niagara Falls (N.Y. and Ont.) History.
Niagara, Chutes du (N.Y. et Ont.) Histoire.
Niagara, Chutes du (N.Y. et Ont.) Opinion publique Histoire.
North America Niagara Falls.
United States.
Niagarafälle

Form/genre:

History.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 120476
Call No.: ID F127.N8 I7; ID:96-B480
Status: Available