Failure™ Magazine

Niagara Falls

The lost history of an American icon.

Written by Jason Zasky   Filed under History

What kind of impact do you believe your book will have?
All Americans are going to change how they view nature [laughs]. Most of the people I’ve been hearing from are former Niagara locals who now live elsewhere. They write to say things like: I’m so glad someone finally wrote about the Manhattan Project, the failed urban renewal and all the problems.

At the same time, locals depend heavily on tourism and there is some hesitation to talk about things that could potentially damage the tourism industry. No one wants to discuss the landfills or radioactive waste because that might impact tourism.

But a lot of people have told me they were never interested in going to Niagara but now that they know there’s such a fascinating history to the place, they would like to go. So I hope the book has the effect of letting people in the region see that they really should claim the history—warts and all. It might interest a whole new generation of tourists.

What do you see in terms of the future of the Falls?
The power authority on the American side just got another 50-year license so I don’t see anything changing in terms of hydrodevelopment. But I do see attitudes changing in regards to the natural environment. The most promising thing is an understanding of the Falls as being part of a larger region that includes the gorge, the [Niagara] river, the lakes at both ends of the river and the whole watershed. Once you have that kind of consciousness you begin to think about how things relate to each other. Then there’s hope that a saner relationship with the natural environment can be created.

Ginger Strand’s Web site

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