Every year, more than nine million people come from all over the globe to experience the bucket-list waterfalls at Niagara Falls State Park. With attractions like the Cave of the Winds decks and the iconic Maid of the Mist boat tour of the base of Niagara Falls, visitors can experience the power of the Falls first hand. This year, we celebrate the 140th anniversary of the park, the role it played in the fight for preservation, and its central place in the memories of families worldwide.
What a year we’ve had! From kicking off our Centennial in the outdoors with First Day Hikes, to lighting up New York on the official anniversary in April, to birthday bashes hosted at state parks and historic sites all summer long, it’s certainly been a year to remember. Visitors from near and far joined in on the festivities and participated in the different activities to help us celebrate.
Take a look at our year-in-review video that recaps all the fun we’ve had this year.
Still want to celebrate with us? Here’s a more in-depth look back at all the excitement we’ve had with you by our sides.
Continue reading Centennial Reflections and Future PromisesIn honor of the 100th anniversary of the founding of New York’s park and historic site system, we knew we wanted to do something special. Telling our full story in-house in a documentary style — and ensuring that the agency’s 100-year legacy was shared accurately and completely — seemed like a daunting task for our small (but mighty!) Public Affairs team.
Above all else, it required bringing the right voices to the table:
Thankfully, from discussions early on, Capital region PBS affiliate WMHT demonstrated enthusiasm for working on a documentary that would share our state park and historic site system’s Centennial story with New Yorkers. And it was this author’s honor to play a small role in seeing the enormous undertaking come to life.
Continue reading Behind the Scenes of ‘From Land to Legacy: 100 Years of NY State Parks and Preservation’Any settlement story of the state parks along the Genesee River in the western part of New York State begins with the Onöndowa’ga:’, the People of the Great Hill.
The Genesee River’s sweeping valley, with naturally re-nourishing floodplains, hills, and well-draining glacial moraines ideal for farm towns, is the dominant land feature of the region. Flowing to Lake Ontario in Rochester, the Genesee River’s tributaries branch through Monroe, Livingston, Wyoming, Genesee, Ontario, Allegany, Steuben, and Orleans Counties. The Onöndowa’ga:’ are master agriculturalists who established the first permanent towns on this landscape, known regionally today as the “Genesee Country.”
On a trip to a New York State park, you are likely to encounter distinct—and historic—architecture that feels, well, like it belongs in a park. And that’s because many of the historic buildings and structures in our system were originally part of a movement to create a distinct architectural style for park infrastructure. How did that develop? Read on to learn more about park architecture from the 1920s and 1930s…from administration buildings to trail shelters!
The development of the state park system, which began with the adoption of a unified state park plan in 1924, necessitated the construction of buildings and structures that could accommodate increased public usage in the pre-World War II era. These included bathhouses, erected for the use of patrons at parks with swimming facilities; picnic pavilions and smaller trail shelters, which provided shelter to park visitors during inclement weather or for special events; cabins, built to accommodate overnight visitors that did not wish to camp; and other specialized buildings, including park offices, golf clubhouses, and public restrooms.
The architectural program of the New York State Park system between the late 1920s and early 1940s was decidedly rustic. This meant that projects usually used locally available natural materials, had a natural color palette, exhibited straightforward but skilled craftsmanship, and were designed to be integrated with their natural surroundings.
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New York State Parks and Historic Sites Blog 