1920S New York City History
I had so much fun writing this book, partly because I’m so familiar with Niagara Falls. I live near Lake Ontario on the outskirts of Rochester, New York, and the Falls are only about an hour away from us. I don’t visit often, but I’ve been there several times over the years.
As most of you know, I always include historical tidbits that I discover while writing each book, so let’s begin with the Cave of the Winds tourist attraction. The original cavern behind the Bridal Veil Falls was discovered in the early 1800s. Until a staircase was opened in 1829, the only access was by a ladder or rope. By 1879, the attraction had become so popular that they started charging tourists $1 per person to visit the cavern.
In 1920, the cave-in closed the attraction for good, and it was destroyed in 1955. Today, the Cave of the Winds is the name of a tourist attraction near the same site. An elevator takes people from the area between the American and Canadian Falls down to the level of the Niagara River at the base of the American Falls. A series of redwood decks allows sightseers to walk right up to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls.
Funny Sidenote: When I began researching the original Cave of the Winds, I found some terrific old pictures that I wanted to use. So, I called them and spoke to a very nice man who worked there. While he gathered permission for me to use some of the photographs, we corresponded back and forth for about a week until…we both realized that I had called the Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs, which is a different tourist attraction. It was also discovered in the 1800s and consists of elaborate mazes of beautiful caves in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado. They are still open to the public. (I felt like an idiot:)
Moving on to The Maid of the Mist. The name for the touring boat originated from a Native American legend that was associated with the falls. According to the legend, Lelawala, a young Native American maiden from the Ongiara tribe, sacrificed herself by plunging into the raging waters of the Horseshoe Falls to appease the Thunder God, thereby saving her people from danger. In honor of her bravery, it was believed that Lelawala transformed into the spirit of the falls and continued to reside within its magnificent waters. Some say her presence has been seen in the mist of the falls through the years.
The title of Queen of the Falls was given to Annie Edson Taylor (October 24, 1838 – April 29, 1921), an American schoolteacher who became the first person to survive a trip over the falls. Annie used a custom-made barrel constructed of oak and iron and padded with a mattress. There were several delays in her launch because no one wanted to be involved in the stunt.
On October 24, 1901, her 63rd birthday, the barrel was put over the side of a rowboat, and Annie climbed in, along with her lucky heart-shaped pillow. After screwing down the lid, friends used a bicycle tire pump to compress the air in the barrel. The hole used for this was plugged with a cork, and Taylor was set adrift near the American shore, south of Goat Island.
The river currents carried the barrel over the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, which has since been the site for all successful daredevil stunts at Niagara Falls. Rescuers reached her barrel shortly after the plunge. Taylor was discovered to be alive and relatively uninjured, except for a small gash on her head. The trip itself took less than twenty minutes, but it was some time before the barrel was opened. Annie told the press: ‘If it was with my dying breath, I would caution anyone against attempting the feat ... I would sooner walk up to the mouth of a cannon, knowing it was going to blow me to pieces than make another trip over the Fall.’
Here are two 1920s videos of the falls, mostly silent and rather lengthy, but interesting to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ7gAppa4Ys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zptE5U-zl8Q
As for Etta Dudley and her husband, Frank, they have a fascinating history. Frank Dudley, a lawyer and politician, met Etta Brown Payne of Niagara Falls when he moved to the nearby town of Lockport. They married in 1890, and after the Clifton Hotel burned in 1898, they purchased the property. It reopened for business in 1905 and was one of the most beautiful and popular hotels in the world.
In 1910, Frank founded the United Hotels of America, a chain of upscale hotels located across the U.S., and he was involved in a slew of other business ventures. The Clifton Hotel ended up burning down (again) in 1932. This time, for good. The Oakes Garden Theatre, an amphitheater, was built on the site in 1937, and it is still open today. Frank Dudley died in 1945 at the age of 81. Etta became very active in the Daughters of the American Revolution organization through three great-grandfathers and passed away in 1957.