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.