Canadian Niagara Power Glass Slide - Drawing: Section thru Wheelpit

Drawing of "Section thru Wheelpit" dated September 1925. Shows unit no.1 through unit no.11, power house floor and water surface.

Canadian Niagara Power Glass Slide - Engineer Drawing (untitled)

Engineer drawing (untitled), some of the labels read "exciter chamber", "fore bay", "power house floor".

Canadian Niagara Power Glass Slide - Men in Tunnel

Four men (unknown) standing in the tunnel wearing hard hats.

Canadian Niagara Power Glass Slide - Large Group in Tunnel

A large group of men in hard hats in the tunnel. The names of the men are unknown.

Canadian Niagara Power Glass Slide - Four Men in Tunnel

Four men standing in hydro tunnel.

Canadian Niagara Power Company - Water rushing through tunnel

Photograph of water rushing through hydro tunnel.

Canadian Niagara Power Company - Tunnel

Another photograph of several men walking through the tunnel.

Canadian Niagara Power Company - Large group photo in tunnel

Large group of men standing in the tunnel wearing boots and hard hats.

Canadian Niagara Power Company - Group in Tunnel

Group of men in the hydro tunnel with a loaded dolly and large lamp for light.

Canadian Niagara Power Company - Man in Tunnel

One male looking down tunnel.

Canadian Niagara Power Company - Water pouring into Tunnel

Three men looking down tunnel as water is pouring in.

Canadian Niagara Power Company - Four Men in the Tunnel (different angle)

Four men, same men from a previous photograph, standing in the water of the tunnel.

Canadian Niagara Power Company - Man working in rafter of tunnel

A photograph of man working high in rafter of the tunnel with ropes securing him.

Canadian Niagara Power Company - Tunnel Wall

A photograph of the hydro tunnel wall.

Canadian Niagara Power Company fonds, 1901, 1925, no date.

The Canadian Niagara Power Company was created in 1892, in large part due to the efforts of William Birch Rankine, a businessman who pioneered the development of hydropower on both the Canadian and American shores of the Niagara River. Numerous delays and problems postponed the construction and operation of the company's powerhouse, which was formally opened on January 2, 1905. Upon opening, the powerhouse boasted the largest generators of their kind in the world, with a capacity of 10,000 electrical horsepower each. The company was acquired by FortisOntario in 2002. In 2009, the company’s water rights expired and the Canadian Niagara Powerhouse building, also known as the Rankine Generating Station, was turned over to the Niagara Parks Commission.