Talk:Niagara Falls, Ontario

See Also

I removed this section, as it only had a link to the falls itself (which is linked prominently in the article already) and to a local hostel. Considering the amount of hotels and attractions locally adding a link just to one establishment seems a little suspect. The contributor seems to only be adding pseudo-advertisement style text for this hostel to the wiki anyways. Avwhite 13:14, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

Economy

While it is true that tourism has always had an impact on the economy of Niagara Falls, I think the article misrepresents this -- it is in fact only recently (last 10-20 years) that tourism has become the primary driver of the economy.

Prior to this, Niagara Falls was home to a number of large industries, going back to the early 20th century. The generating stations built there were among the first to bring electricity to Ontario. Chemical manufacturing and electrochemical processes (e.g. electroplating) were some of the first large scale industries that took advantage of this electricty. Companies like Oneida (cutlery), American Cyanamid, Norton Advanced Ceramics, Ford Glass bananas works, Ohio Brass, Sailt Steel, and many others located there for obvious reasons.

These industries were the main drivers of the local economy until the late 1980s, early 1990s when they began closing down and moving elsewhere. This is what drove the shift in focus to tourism and hospitality.

In fact, the Wikipedia article on Niagara Falls, that is, the waterfalls themselves, has a much more accurate and informative section about the local economy.

The remark about the lower income level in Niagara Falls needs a source. Unlike many other articles about cities, I don't see the census data under the demographics section to support this statement.

I didn't want to just change this as I've never contributed before and I'm sure it would be reverted as POV. --65.92.95.197 22:33, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Made some little changes to reflect this — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.156.91.4 (talk • contribs)

Please discuss changes before defacing.

It would be nice if people could discuss their ideas on changing this page, prior to defacing it or placing advertising.

If you don't agree that the Casino offers a great deal to the economy of Niagara Falls (or even the province), then discuss it here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Urbanriot (talk • contribs)

Unbolded Niagara Livery Service - doesn't make sense for this to be in bold. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.54.108.41 (talk • contribs)

Oakes Park

That info is nice but really sohuld be in its own Wiki page. I don't see why one park in the city warrants a whole section of the Niagara Falls, Ontario article while the major attractions (even the falls itself) has nothing more than a link. We should move that to it's own article and make a section in here called "City Parks" or something along those lines. --Avwhite 17:49, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

It was in its own article, but was merged back in here. See Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Oakes Park. --Qviri (talk) 17:54, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

I suggest we merge it with the Sir Harry Oakes article and just make a list here that says "Parks in Niagara falls" and link to that. It's really not important enough to get three paragraphs of nicely referenced data in this article. --Avwhite 18:09, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for cleaning that up after I moved it Qviri. It fits much better now.

I think the park you are mentioning is Oakes Garden Theater at the foot of Clifton Hill. From a historical standpoint, a separate article about it could stand on its own. However, I would also concur about placing it under a "Parks" umbrella. It does have enough historical significance to warrant its own mention under that umbrella. Kevindh71 03:13, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Canadian Dollar

In the section titled "Economy" it says "The casino business has been successful in attracting American tourists with the currently lower Canadian dollar." Does this make sense any more?

Well the CDN dollar IS still lower, just not as low. If it becomes an issue we can just rewrite that so that it reads something like "Upon launching the casino business was successful in attracting American tourists due to the then lower Canadian dollar." Or something like that. We're not there yet though Avwhite 19:18, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

An anonymous user changed it to

The casino business has been less successful in attracting American tourists with the currently higher Canadian dollar.

which was confusing. I changed it back to

The casino business has been successful in attracting American tourists with the Canadian dollar lower than parity.

which, while introducing a term that may be not obvious to some, is perhaps the best way to phrase it given the confusing situation here. Does anyone know if the casino actually lost substantial amount of business because of the rising dollar? --Qviri (talk) 19:18, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Since the Canadian Dollar is now above parity, I've gone ahead and made the change suggested above. --Clubjuggle ^T/C 18:09, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

the location map

That map we have where the Falls is hightlighted in red is a bit confusing, I think we should get a map showing the location of the river. I'm not very good at inserting maps tho...! Tommyt 15:30, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm not entirely sure what you mean. The map shows the location of the municipality of Niagara Falls in the Niagara Region. The actual built-up area is smaller, but I wouldn't want to go around defining it. The Niagara River forms the eastern border of the city.

Were you looking for the precise location of the Falls, perhaps? --user:Qviri 15:56, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

OOOPS, mea culpa, I didn't realize this was Ont, not USA. Altho, a map showing the Niagara River would help clarify that I think, but don't worry about it! Tommyt 16:34, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Tacky and ugly tourist trap

Would it be pertinent to mention that the town is a tacky and ugly tourist trap? Lee M 02:16, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

No. That would be POV. RickK 02:44, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Yeah, just shooting off a bit there. One could mention however that the town is tourist-oriented, and apparently insensitive to the jarring visual impact of some of the buildings and watchtowers along the shoreline. Lee M 03:47, 17 Apr 2004 (UTC)

It's actually a beautiful city to live in as a resident, though the traffic is heavy. Residents know not to go into the tourist areas. I actually miss living there. And of course, Niagara Falls, ON is far better than that muckhole known as Niagara Falls, New York. Snickerdo 21:03, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

As a current resident, this is true. Chrisb65 (talk) 17:12, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

What are residents of the City of Niagara called?

Many city (etc.) articles state early on in the intro: "Residents of <whatever location> are [called or known as] [[Link to famous people from or residing in <whatever location>|<whatever residents are called>]]''."

E.g. Residents of Niagara Falls are called Niagara Fallsites, Niagara Fallsonians, Fallsers of Niagara?

It's a tough one to try to figure out and I've never heard it referenced, just the usual around here; you're from Niagara Falls just as I'm from Toronto (humblest apologies for that) not "a Torontonian". But there has to be some term used to refer to the residents of Niagara Falls. —S-Ranger 21:01, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I've seen "Niagran" used (here's one [1]) but it's awkward and I don't see it used often. I've seen "Falls Residents" or "Niagara Residents" in papers more often than not. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Avwhite (talk • contribs) 00:27, 18 March 2007 (UTC).

All I can suggest is contacting your (um whomever lives in Niagara Falls, nothing personal) city councillor(s), mayor's office, MPP, etc. to find out what the official designation is. If they were my employees/reps I'd contact them myself. —S-Ranger 00:44, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Another thought re "Niagran": how could that term distinguish between residents of Niagara Falls, ON from Niagara Falls, NY? "Ontario Niagrans" and "New York Niagrans"? —S-Ranger 01:01, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Personally I'd be hesitant to use "Niagran" at all. While there's some evidence of it being used online it's certainly not prevalent, nor do I recall it being commonly used in conversations among locals here. A good indicator is the city paper, and the Review never uses "Niagran" as far as I can see. Here's a sampling of references to residences in today's issue:

"A Niagara Falls contractor faces fraud charges..."

"A Niagara police officer was on patrol in Thorold..."

"Niagran" doesn't appear in any Review article via their search engine either, nor can I find it via the City's official website. I think this may simply be one of those cases in which the name of the city doesn't lend itself to a convenient label for the citizens. Avwhite 02:46, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

I understand that and don't mean to/imply disputing it at all. But the same would go for "A Toronto contractor...", "A Toronto police officer...", "Toronto man shot, stabbed and chainsawed by accident...", not Torontonian in our media or probably any news media. The last place anyone will hear the official designation of what they are referred to elsewhere and formally, is locally. But the mayor or any councillor of Niagara Falls should know or be able to find out (for a constituent, possible vote, not to me) what the official designation is. It is extremely rare to hear "Torontonian" around here or elsewhere ("Where'ya from?" "Toronto" not "Torontonian").

Around SARS and whatnot, if lots of people are involved in whatever, some headline might state "Fifteen Torontonians killed in pile-up on the 401" but how they'd know they were from the City of Toronto (less likely than not) just because they happened to be on the 401 where it runs through Toronto; well they'd have to check identification.

What is someone who lives in Ottawa called? Ottawantonian? Ottawanian? Ottawite? Ottawan? I have no clue (offhand) because such things don't come up very often, though it's probably on the Ottawa wiki article. —S-Ranger 06:01, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

I have never seen "Niagaran" used for Niagara Falls residents. When it is used - albeit rarely - it is used to describe residents/services of the region as a whole, not specifically Niagara Falls. While St. Catharinite and Wellander seem to be universally known and widely used, the only thing used by Niagara Falls seems to be Niagara Falls Residents. The Residents term also seems to be used with Port Colborne and Fort Erie, as well Snickerdo 18:59, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

What about the area's rich history?

Having made three dozen trips to the area between 1975 and 2003, and also having become interested in the history of not only the tourist areas, but also the park areas, I have noticed that historical people, places and events surrounding Niagara Falls are not well represented (or at least not well organized or publicized) in Wikipedia.

I have added some small articles with a historical flavor amongst the general pages of Niagara Falls. I wonder about the possibilities of linking more historical pages to this site, or even creating a mini-wiki detailing the area, past & present. I have some historical knowledge and consider the idea intriguing.

Any ideas or suggestions, be it positive or negative? Thanks. Kevindh71 03:07, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Newspapers

I removed these two. Are they actually real papers? They look like online directories to me

• Niagara Sports News
• Niagara Regional Guide, News, Events, Directory

Restored Article

I apologize to the editor who set up the new demographic table in this article, but somehow when they added it they also simultaneously removed a huge amount of the content contained in the article at the same time and then failed to correct it. My technical skills are such that I was unable to re-include the new demographic table, I'm hoping that someone else with sufficient skills will replace it.Deconstructhis (talk) 18:16, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:RMNiagaraFlag.jpg

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• That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
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This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --03:00, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

Adult Entertainment

The adult entertainment in Niagara is very well known not only in Southern Ontario and Western NY but is becoming a focal point for many visitors in the past 10 years. Is there any reason not to discuss this booming industry either in the Economy section or in its own section? Niagara is a very popular spot for the students because of the strip clubs and body rub parlors. Obviously much of this page is a puff piece for Niagara tourism but discussing this popular attraction is well within the guidelines of wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.138.214.116 (talk) 23:12, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

Silvertown

Individual neighbourhoods within cities — especially smaller cities such as Niagara Falls — are not necessarily entitled to independent articles. References need to be added to Silvertown, Ontario to demonstrate that it's genuinely notable as a separate topic in its own right, or it needs to be redirected to the city's main article. Bearcat (talk) 23:08, 30 May 2010 (UTC)

It's been a couple of weeks and no references added. I recommend simply redirecting it to Niagara_Falls,_Ontario#Communities, as there isn't much to merge. P. D. Cook ^{Talk to me!} 19:42, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Motto...

Is the motto really "Unforgettable Weekends from $49"? Could someone source that, please? Looks like a bit of a joke or hoax.--Newbiepedian (Hailing Frequencies) 16:49, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

Communities

The article has a list of "communities" and a list of "Niagara Falls neighbourhoods". Does anyone know the difference? Thanks. Magnolia677 (talk) 07:10, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

My understanding is that the communities listed are former villages, towns, and townships that have been amalgamated into Niagara Falls. The neighbourhoods are merely subdivisions within the communities. 209.90.140.72 (talk) 03:04, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Niagara Falls, New York, and possible economic downturn

Moved from User talk:Clovermoss

I'm not sure why you removed, "Its tourist areas had many attractions and a vibrancy, while Niagara Falls, New York languished in a prolonged economic downturn." It's completely true. Is it because it was unsourced? Thanks. Magnolia677 (talk) 22:39, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

@Magnolia677: It sounded unlikely to me and it was unsourced, which is why I removed it. I'm mostly trying to verify what I can to get rid of the 8-year more citations needed tag. The phrasing with "vibrancy" made me think it was more PR-y than nessecarily true. If Niagara Falls, New York did go into a prolonged economic downtown compared to Niagara Falls, Ontario, I have no issues with restoring the content. Preferably with a citation and without the peacock-like "vibrancy" in wikivoice. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 22:43, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

The wording is promotional, but the content is correct. I haven't read the whole article to see if it's sourced someplace else. If it's unsourced, then best not to add it back. Maybe I can find a source. As an aside, a few years ago I expanded Lake Ontario Ordnance Works. It's about 10 miles from the falls, and contains most of the nuclear waste produced during the creation of the first atom bomb. Magnolia677 (talk) 23:31, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

@Magnolia677: Huh. I wonder if that had an impact on the tourism. I'm not really familiar with our American counterpart that much and I see ads for NF, NY, all the time (and knew a ton of people who'd cross the border for better gas prices etc growing up) so I figured it might have been a "come to our city, we're better" thing. I didn't really see anything from a quick glance about NY's declining tourism either but it's quite possible I missed something. In general I try to add citations instead of removing content if it's possible. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 23:35, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

@Magnolia677: So I started a "Comparison to Niagara Falls, New York" subsection in economy. Thoughts? Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 23:58, 18 January 2023 (UTC)

Reversion

@Magnolia677: In regards to your revert here, that information really is outdated. The source cited is from 2012 (more than a decade ago). I added new content to address an IP's concern that the entire paragraph was outdated [2]. The same source I used there quotes the mayor of the city saying that a person can only refuse to pay it if it doesn't show up on their bill. This source also makes it clear that it is not voluntary. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 10:59, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

I've used the latter source to provide context here. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 11:12, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

@Clovermoss: Content was deleted, but still supported by the source cited. If the source cited is no longer accurate, and a newer more accurate source has been added, just remove the outdated source. Magnolia677 (talk) 11:12, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

@Magnolia677: Huh? I removed the outdated content the first time but not the source because it still supported the other content that was there and I saw no need to do so. You reverted me. I explain that it's outdated again, pointing to other sources used in the article already that directly contradict the "voluntary" aspect. Just now, I added more content cited from another source providing context about why the fee isn't completely voluntary. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 11:16, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

@Clovermoss: So, you kept an old source because it supports part of the content, but does not support other content, which has been updated by another source you added. Ok. Then just revert my edit. Thanks. Magnolia677 (talk) 11:26, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

@Magnolia677: Yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm glad we're on the same page now. :) Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 11:28, 25 May 2024 (UTC)