Niagara Falls Bridge Commission Scrapbook and Clippings, 1948, 1950, 1954-1960

he Niagara Falls Bridge Commission was created by a joint resolution of the 1938 U.S. Congressional Third Session. The Extra Provincial Corporations Act of Ontario, Canada licenses the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. Canada and the United States are equally represented on the Commission by an 8 member Board of Commissioners. Canadian commissioners are appointed by the Premier of Ontario. The three Niagara bridges are the Whirlpool Bridge, the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge and the Rainbow Bridge.

Niagara Falls Bridge Commission Scrapbooks, 1941-1948, 1953-1963, 1965-1974

The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission was created by a joint resolution of the 1938 U.S. Congressional Third Session. The Extra Provincial Corporations Act of Ontario, Canada licenses the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. Canada and the United States are equally represented on the Commission by an 8 member Board of Commissioners. Canadian commissioners are appointed by the Premier of Ontario. The three Niagara bridges are the Whirlpool Bridge, the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge and the Rainbow Bridge. Source:http://niagarafallsbridges.com/index.php3

San Francisco bay bridge; report of the Hoover-Young San Francisco bay bridge commission to the President of the United States and the Governor of the state of California, August, 1930.

Mode of access: Internet.

Report upon a traffic investigation for a proposed highway bridge between Easton and Phillipsburg, located at the foot of Bushkill street, Easton, Pennsylvania, to the Delaware river joint toll bridge commission, Pennsylvania-New Jersey, October 1935.

Mimeographed.

Niagara Falls Park: Notice to Treat to Sutherland Macklem, Esquire, 1885

The Niagara Parks Commission administrative headquarters are located in Oak Hall which is on the cliff above Dufferin Islands. In 1798 this land was granted by the crown to United Empire Loyalist James Skinner until 1898. A century later it was the home of the Clarks, Streets and Macklems. These families controlled the mills of Bridgewater which was a pioneer industrial village located at Dufferin Islands. Then, it was known as Clark Hill. Colonel Thomas Clark, commander of the Second Lincoln Militia in the War of 1812 is the earliest known occupant of the house. When Clark died in 1837, the house went to Thomas Clark Street who was the son of the Colonel’s partner. Mr. Street was a bachelor and his sister, widow of Dr. T.C. Macklem, managed his household. Mrs. Macklem had 2 sons. The eldest son drowned in the Niagara River at the age of 8 and the younger son, Sutherland became heir to the estate. Mr. Macklem opened Cynthia Islands and Cedar Island to the public and had roads built to reach them. Two suspension bridges connected them to the mainland and tolls were charged on the bridges. The improvements to the land cost Macklem $18,962. He called the bridges “Bridge Castor” and “Bridge Pollux”. There was also an office built at the end of Bridge Castor. Macklem also spent $454 fixing up the Burning Spring Building (the burning spring is enclosed in a barrel which collects gas and lets it out through a tube at the top). Macklem received a yearly income of $56,378.79 from tourists and visitors. In 1887 Cynthia Islands and Cedar Island were deeded to the crown and became part of Queen Victoria Park. The name Cynthia was changed to Dufferin in honour of Lord Dufferin. Sources: www.niagarafrontier.com/parks.html www.niagarafrontier.com/burningsprings.html

Acts of incorporation and amendments of the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Co'y and the Niagara Falls International Bridge Co'y, also articles of association, leases, agreements, etc. (1900)

Contains "Acts of Parliament of Province of Canada and Acts of Parliament of Dominion of Canada."

Report of the New York State Bridge and Tunnel Commission.

Title from caption.

Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company fonds, 1875-1876, 1878, 1884

In 1846, the governments of Upper Canada and the State of New York initiated the creation of two companies that would be authorized to build a bridge over the Niagara River. The bridge was to be owned by both companies, respectively known as the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company (Canadian) and the International Bridge Company (American). A suspension bridge was completed in 1848. This bridge was later replaced by a second suspension bridge that accommodated railways, built in 1853-54. However, the increasing weight of trains made it necessary for the bridge to be redesigned, and a third bridge was completed in 1886. Eventually, this bridge was replaced by a steel arch bridge, which was completed in 1897.

Hydro Electric Commission of Niagara Falls Ontario Scrapbook, 1936-1939, 1943-1951

Sir Adam Beck ( a London, Ontario manufacturer, Mayor and Conservative member of the provincial legislature) was a champion of municipal and provincial power ownership. Beck become the “Power Minister” and chairman of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario which was the world’s first publicly owned utility. In 1925 the first unit of the Hydro Electric Power Commission’s Queenston Chippawa hydro-electric development on the Niagara River went into service. The station was renamed in 1950 as “Sir Adam Beck #1”. This marked the 25th anniversary of Beck’s death. This is one of 2 generating stations in Niagara Falls. There is also Adam Beck Plant #2. The Niagara generating stations supply one quarter of all power used in New York State and Ontario.Ontario Hydro has two water tunnels which traverse the entire City of Niagara Falls from the Village of Chippawa in the South to the Sir Adam Beck Hydro Electric Generating Stations in the North. Also they are in the process of building the third tunnel. In addition, Ontario Hydro has a 13.6 km open canal which traverses the entire City of Niagara Falls. Source: http://www.hydroone.com/OurCompany/Pages/OurHistory.aspx

Niagara Suspension Bridge Bank note, 1841

The Niagara Suspension Bridge Bank operated in Queenston in 1840. The bank issued notes in denominations of ten dollars, five dollars and one dollar, and featured a drawing of the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, ten years prior to its construction. The notes are signed by the bank’s Cashier, Gilbert McMicken, and President, Joseph Hamilton. The bank failed a year after its establishment.

View of Falls from Steel Bridge, Niagara, U.S.A.

The description of the image reads "(4)-8972-General view of Falls from new steel bridge - Maid of the Mist at landing - Niagara, U.S.A." The reverse of the image includes the description, "We are standing on the new steel bridge over Niagara River, 190 feet above the water and looking a little west of south, up the river towards Lake Erie. The high cliff at the extreme left, on the American side, is Prospect Point, where a crowd is gathered at this moment to view the Falls that we see just beyond Prospect Point. That dark, tree-covered mass of rock beyond is Goat Island; and just this side of Goat Island we see a bit of its precipice has been cut off separate from the rest by the powerful current of the waters - the smaller portion is Luna Island, and the Luna Falls go pouring down between the two islands. The face of the precipice curves inward beneath the Luna Falls leaving behind the 160 foot sheet of water the unearthly hollow known as the Cave of the Winds. Beyond Goat Island we see the gigantic curve of the Horseshoe Falls, 3,010 feet long and 158 feet high, reaching around through the clouds of spray to the farther Canadian shore. (The boundary line between British and American territory is in mid-stream.) It has been estimated that every minute 375,000 tons of water pour over these Horseshoe Falls, and they are wearing away the cliffs, moving back up the stream at the rate of 2.4 feet per year. It was probably only about a thousand years ago that they took their plunge just about where we stand now. Down there below us, at the wharf is the Maid of the Mist at the American landing taking on passengers who have come down the steep bank by the inclined railway. Its course takes it through those clouds of spray almost to the very foot of both Falls, - waters falling from 167 feet overhead, and water surging at least as many feet deep under the staunch little vessel. See special 'keyed' maps of Niagara pub. by Underwood and Underwood, also the Niagara Book by Mark Twain, W.D. Howells and others."

Field Observation of Five Lightweight Aggregate Pretensioned Prestressed Bridge Beams, HR-104, 1969

The use of lightweight aggregates in pretensioned prestressed concrete beams is becoming more advantageous as our design criteria dictate longer span concrete bridges. Bridge beams of greater lengths have been restricted from travel on many of our highways because the weight of the combined beams and transporting vehicle was excessive, making hauls of any distance prohibitive. This, along with the fact that new safety requirements necessitate the use of longer spans in grade separation structures over major highways, prompted the State of Iowa to investigate the use of lightweight aggregate bridge beams. The objective of this project is the collection of field deflection measurements for five pretensioned prestressed lightweight aggregate concrete bridge beams fabricated by conventional plant processes; also the comparison of the actual cambers and deflections of the beams with that predicted from the design assumptions.