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. It was not until the 1920s
that failed expectations revealed the scope of the blighted
landscape.
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.
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