"To see the Falls at night is to be wide awake in the land of dreams"
is how one Niagara visitor in the mid 1940's described the illumination of the
Falls on Niagara. The description still holds true in the 1990's.
The first large scale attempt to illuminate the Falls at night was in 1860
using what were known as Bengal Lights (before electricity). In 1925 twenty four
great carbon arc lamps were turned on producing 1,320,000,000 candlepower.
Currently a total of 21 Xenon lights are used to illuminate the Falls. In
1998, 18 of these new lights replaced older lamps and fixtures at the Illumination
tower, doubling the intensity of the lights on the Falls without doubling the
hydro bills. Each Xenon spotlight illuminating the Falls at night has a brilliance
of 250,000,000 candlepower.
Funding for the year-round, nightly illumination of the Falls is provided by:
The City of Niagara Falls, New York
The City of Niagara Falls, Ontario
The Niagara Parks Commission
The Niagara Frontier State Park Authority of New York
Ontario Hydro.
2006 Schedule
Date
Hours
January
1 to January 2
5:00 p.m. - Midnight
January
3 to February 28
6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
March
1 to March 31
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
April
1 to April 30
8:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
May
1 to August 17
9:00 p.m. - Midnight
August
18 to September 30
8:30 p.m. - Midnight
October 1 to October
31
7:00 p.m. - Midnight
November 1 to November
16
6:30 p.m. - Midnight
November 17 to December
30
5:00 p.m. - Midnight
December 31
5:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Note: All times are approximate and are subject to change according to lights
conditions.
The Falls were first illuminated in 1860 to honour the visit of the Prince
for Wales. During that visit the great performer Blondin walked a tightrope across
the Great Gorge.
