Niagara Falls

There are two sides to Niagara Falls: The ‘Rust Belt’ New York Niagara Falls that became a casualty of corruption, with its chemical plants and a crime rate that was almost double the US average; and Niagara Falls, Ontario: a town of heart-shaped baths and stacked pancakes, where the only real danger is escaped animals from roadside zoos, or falling on one of the many slippery unmaintained paths.

There is something otherworldly about Niagara Falls. You can feel the rumbling underground before you can see it. In 1751 it was reported that you could hear it 15 leagues (45 km) away. It is one of the most iconic natural landmarks on the planet, with millions of vacationers flocking to the region each year to witness its stunning beauty. 

Everyone knows it’s a tourist trap, but they come anyway. They “Journey behind the Falls” and sail on The Maid of the Mist. They visit Marineland and do the “White Water Walk.” I went to Niagara for three reasons: the orca Kiska, a man named Eastman and Marilyn Monroe. 

• Read the full article
• See Rachel Hope Allan's exhibition JUST LIKE THE MOVIES at Fe29 gallery 3 - 27 November
  
• Contact Rachel Hope Allan to preorder a copy of her new book Slippery Paths & Heart-shaped Baths