Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

If Niagara-on-the-Lake doesn't have the market on quaint cornered, it's not for a lack of trying. 

This is a post card of a city that has been attracting visitors for years. The city center is charming, filled with interesting shops and tons of flowers (at least in season). Horse-drawn carriages share the roads with automobiles. 

The geography of the area plays a role too. Niagara-on-the-Lake takes up the corner of this portion of Ontario, bordering the Lake of the same name as well as the Niagara River. Once upon a time, when the United States and Great Britain weren't getting along at times, Fort George - located right on the river - was a key strategic spot for military action. It played a role in the War of 1812, which you can learn about during a visit. 

The location also plays a role in the region's climate, which is a little milder than other nearby spots. That has allowed the region to become a leader in wine-making. Several wineries are located along the shore of Lake Ontario. You might have heard of one of the owners - hockey's Wayne Gretzky.

There are cultural activities as well, and that brings us to the photo. That's George Bernard Shaw, captured in a statue that's located in downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake. He was one of the most popular dramatic writers in British history, coming up with several plays that are still performed today. Ever heard of "Pygmalion?" That was Shaw's work - hope his estate received a cut from the proceeds of "My Fair Lady." He won a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925, but turned down some other honors before his death in 1950 at the age of 94. 

The Shaw Festival's home is just up the street from his statue, and each year it presents a varied program of plays that are restricted to Shaw's own work. In fact, in 2024, "My Fair Lady" was one of the featured presentations.

The tour buses love to visit what has been called Ontario's biggest town, and it's a great destination for a day trip or a weekend jaunt. Just be sure to stop at Cows' Ice Cream for a treat - particularly when it is making cones in front of you. 

St. Catharines, Ontario: Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame

You don't have to tell the lacrosse fans of Buffalo that Ontario is a hotbed of the sport. Several of the greatest players in Bandits' history are from Ontario; the team still often practices there.

They might want to drop in on the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame, then, if they are in the neighborhood. It is located in the St. Catharines Museum, located right along side of the Welland Canal.

The newest inductees are saluted right by the entrance to the area dedicated to Ontario lacrosse. Right away, a familiar smiling face is there. Yes, John Tavares, the Bandits' coach and former player (OK, the best indoor lacrosse player ever) is that face. Not sure what took the Hall so long to recognize him, but he's there. There is some memorabilia of the game on display. Plenty of other familiar names are honored there, such as Bandits' GM Steve Dietrich and ex-player Tracey Kelusky, and you'd have to think that Mark Steenhuis and Billy Dee Smith will be joining them at some point.

The Hall is part of an odd complex, with something for everyone - history, boating, sports, etc. All in all, the idea works pretty well. 

St. Catharines, Ontario: Welland Canals Center

Imagine you were a European explorer of North America, and had sailed up the St. Lawrence River and through Lake Ontario to the Niagara River. You had plans of continue to travel deep into the continent, only to come up against the formidable sight of Niagara Falls. It was clearly time for Plan B. 

Way back when, Plan B was to unpack everything and carry it all to the other side of the falls to continue the journey. But clearly, there had to be an easier way. And there was, once technology caught up with the concept.

Thus, the Welland Canal eventually was born. It first simply went around the falls to Buffalo in the 1820s, and certainly that changed the shipping business in the area. But soon the canal was expanded to go to Port Colborne and its access to Lake Erie. It was as big of a hit as you could imagine, to the point where three more canals were built. The one you can see in St. Catharines, right by the Welland Canals Center, is No. 4. They've gotten bigger and better as time has passed.

The only way to be closer to the enormous ships that pass through the locks is to work for a shipping company. There's a great viewing station at Lock Number 3. It's great fun to watch these mammoth ships squeeze into the locks with inches to spare, and then rise or fall in minutes depending on the chosen direction. It takes a number of locks to get over the Niagara Escarpment, but this system does the job. 

The lock is bordered on one side by a park-like setting. There are some giant old anchors on display, as well as a tribute to those who gave their lives in the building of the canals. Happily, the building that overlooks the lock has a display that tells when boats are expected to go through the lock. It's worth the wait. 

By the way, there's a nice gift shop inside. It has some good books and clever t-shirts about the canal as well as other items. 

A video is obviously needed here:

St. Catharines, Ontario: St. Catharines Museum

St. Catharines is famous for a few different things. They are covered nicely in the city's official museum, located within a complex located by the Welland Canal.

The first, naturally, is shipping. St. Catharines became a port once the Welland Canal was first built in the 1800s. As the canal was enlarged over the years, the ships became bigger and the port became busier. The museum has some nice displays about that relationship.

The second concerns the famous Underground Railroad, which helped move African Americans to freedom in Canada before the Civil War in America in 1861. About 10,000 people made the trip north, and some of them - almost 1,000 ended up in St. Catharines. The Museum has an area dedicated to that part of the city's history, including a section on the problems the new residents encountered. A nice video is available as well.

Third, there's hockey. Well, this is Canada, so hockey has to come up. Among the players with connections to St. Catharines are Bobby Hull, Marcel Dionne, Stan Mikita and Mike Gartner. However, Gerry Cheevers gets extra credit since he was born in St. Catharines. And Cheevers became famous for his goalie mask.

The netminder once took a shot to the face in practice with the Boston Bruins. It was a weak shot, but Cheever thought it would be a good way to miss the rest of the workout, so he skated off the ice. Coach Harry Sinden ordered him to return. However, Cheevers decided to have a little fun with the idea. He had trainer "Frosty" Forristal l paint fake stitches on to the mask. It started a tradition of adding more stitchmarks when he took a shot to the face. The mask became famous in hockey circles, and Cheevers donated it to the St. Catharines Museum. 

Niagara Falls, New York: Power Plant Site

With all of the beauty associated with waterfalls such as the one in Niagara Falls, electricity isn't far behind when discussing potential benefits to scenic wonders. If you can figure out a way to tame it, you can use to power to improve the standard of living. 

Jacob Schoellkopf was a successful business man when he acquired the land, water and power rights to the area in 1871. Soon water was flowing over the gorge to the turbines below, creating a pioneer in hydro-electric energy. More power stations were built in the 1900s, and a merger with the Niagara Falls Power Company gave Schoellkopf even more financial might. Several buildings had been constructed over the years, and the cutting took a slow toll on the integrity of the structure.

Sure enough, on June 7, 1956, workers started to notice water coming out of the rocks and into the plant. The cracks quickly grew that afternoon, and sandbags were deployed in a desperate effort to stop the water. At 5 p.m., about two-thirds of the structure collapsed. It's something of a miracle that only one person died. 

The New York Power Authority was created shortly after that, and a massive power plant was finished in 1961. But what about the old place? You can still see the top of the plant, which survived the collapse. It is located a handful of yards away from the Great Lakes 360 building, which is part of the Niagara Aquarium. Can't imagine what sort of clean-up was necessary.

Amazingly, a camera happened to be filming the area when the building collapsed. It's become relatively famous, at least up in this part of the world.